Inclusion of Khasi language in 8th Schedule: KAS seeks Home Ministry’s response

Khasi Authors' Society has resolved to provide the government with documentation containing the exhaustive information and concrete justification for their demand

The Khasi Authors’ Society (KAS) has sought a response from the Union Home Ministry regarding the status on inclusion of the Khasi language in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution.

Briefing newspersons, KAS president DRL Nonglait said, “We seek a response from the office of the Union Home Minister regarding the status of our memorandum demanding for the inclusion of the Khasi language in the 8th Schedule. We have submitted our memorandums in the recent years. We also met the Union Home Minister in 2019 and 2021. We have got the response from the MHA only in March 2019, but after that there was no information or correspondence from the Ministry to the society or perhaps to the state government. That is why we adopted a resolution to seek response from the Government of India on the status of our demand.”

The KAS has also resolved to urge the GoI through the MHA to initiate necessary steps to introduce an official bill in the next session of the Parliament. According to KAS that will be a step for bringing Khasi language into the 8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution prompting the government to amend the 8th Schedule for inclusion of any languages.

Besides, the Khasi Authors’ Society has also decided to submit documentation containing the exhaustive information and concrete justification for the demand.

The KAS president said, “Our demand has been kept pending till now. So we feel that we should provide the government, both at the centre and the state, concrete information and justification.”

On October 1, Meghalaya cabinet ministers Ampareen Lyngdoh, Paul Lyngdoh, former Speaker Metbah Lyngdoh, Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) Chairman Lam-phrang Blah, opposition leader Titos Chyne were among those who joined a protest in Delhi demanding inclusion of Khasi language in 8th Schedule of the Constitution.

It needs to be mentioned that pressure groups as well as civil society organisations including the Khasi Students Union (KSU) have been pressing for inclusion of the Khasi language in the 8th Schedule. The groups say that it is a long standing demand of the Khasis spanning over 40 years which is yet to be fulfilled.

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