Centre conscious of sentiments for inclusion of languages in the 8th Schedule, says Rai

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaJuly 30, 2021

Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai said that the government of India is conscious of the sentiments and requirements for inclusion of other languages in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India.

“Such requests have to be considered keeping in mind these sentiments, and the other relevant considerations,” Rai said.

He was replying to a query raised by Congress MP from Shillong Vincent H Pala on the steps taken by the government to include the Khasi language in the Eighth Schedule, in the Lok Sabha on July 27.

Rai said there have been demands from time to time for inclusion of Khasi in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution and that the central government had received a proposal in this regard.

He however said that as the evolution of dialects and languages is a dynamic process, influenced by socio-cultural, economic and political developments, it is difficult to fix any criteria for languages, whether to distinguish them from dialects, or for their inclusion in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution.

The earlier attempts, through the Pahwa (1996) and Sitakant Mohapatra (2003) Committees, to evolve such fixed criteria have been inconclusive, Rai added.