Parliament to discuss inclusion of Garo & Khasi language in the 8th schedule: Meghalaya AITC

The All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) on Tuesday claimed that its recent protest in Delhi had paid off after the Parliament listed the issue relating to the demand for inclusion of Garo and Khasi languages in the Eighth Schedule for discussion in the Zero Hour.

“Less than a week after TMC leaders raised state specific issues in the national capital, today the Parliament has listed one of the most crucial topics, that of inclusion of Garo and Khasi languages in the Eighth Schedule for discussion in the Zero Hour,” the party said in a statement.

On July 26, a delegation of AITC leaders including Dr. Mukul Sangma and MLA George Lyngdoh, and MPs held a protest outside the Parliament demanding the repeal of the Assam-Meghalaya border pact and the inclusion of Garo and Khasi languages in the Eighth Schedule.

In his media briefing, Dr. Sangma stated that language is an indispensable part of identity. The Garo and Khasi inclusion would increase job opportunities for the youth of the state.

TMC Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien on July 5 had written to the Secretary General of the Rajya Sabha to discuss the matter pertaining to the languages of Meghalaya.

In his letter, he stated, "The recurring denial of Garo and Khasi languages as official languages of this country, shows the second-hand treatment that the Central Government portrays towards North-East in general and Meghalaya in particular. I condemn the current Meghalaya Government and the Union Government for their continued apathy and ignorance towards the sentiments of people of the state."

“With this matter coming up for discussion in Parliament today, Meghalaya TMC has proven itself to be a credible alternative that has and will continue to push Meghalaya-specific issues at the national level, something that the ruling dispensation has failed to do ever since coming to power,” the party stated.

TMC MP Sudip Bandopadhyay said that on September 27, 2018, the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly had adopted a resolution to petition the central government to include the Khasi and Garo languages in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution.

“We urge the Union government to take cognizance of the state’s demand to include Garo and Khasi in the eighth schedule,” he said.

He said Article 29 of the Constitution states that a section of citizens having a distinct language, script, or culture has the right to conserve the same. Under the Meghalaya State Legislature Act 2005, Garo and Khasi have been declared associate official languages.

He further stated that the Khasi is an Austro-Asiatic language spoken primarily among the tribe in Meghalaya and the hilly areas of Assam. Garo is a Tibeto-Burmese language of the Boro-Jingpko group, said in Meghalaya, Assam, Tripura, and Nagaland.

According to the Census 2011, there are over 13 lakh (46.5%) Khasi speakers and 9 lakhs (31.5%) Garo speakers. The issue in the inclusion of the two languages has been the lack of their own original script, he added.

“On this historic day, I would like to thank all the party leaders, especially our honorable chairperson Smt. Mamata Banerjee, our honorable National General Secretary Shri Abhishek Banerjee, our leaders in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha who have really stood by the people and citizens of Meghalaya. They have raised a very important demand of including the Garo and Khasi languages under the eighth schedule”, TMC legislator from Umroi George B Lyngdoh said.

"It is indeed much more important to note that the voices were not only raised outside the Parliament but also inside, on the Parliament's floor. This kind of effort would continue beyond the inclusion of languages. We would raise all pertinent issues of the state, giving a voice to the people”.