New Delhi, Nov 3: A delegation of National People’s Party leaders, with Lok Sabha MP, Agatha Sangma, Speaker, Thomas A Sangma, and Marcuise N Marak held a meeting with the Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs in New Delhi on Friday.
Dr Caroline R Marak President of A’chik Literature Society (Garo) and other members of Literature society were also part of the delegation led by Agatha K Sangma.
The meeting was held to discuss and advocate for the inclusion of the Garo Language in the list of demands for recognition under the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
The aim of this meeting was to ensure that the Garo Language receives its due recognition.
Also, a formal memorandum for inclusion of Garo as a scheduled language, was submitted to the Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs, A. K. Bhalla, and A. Subramanian, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs (Language).
The officials also provided the assurance that a formal communication would be issued, officially acknowledging the presence of the Garo language in the current list of languages aspiring to be included in the 8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution.
MHA agrees to include Garo language…: Tweets CM
The information was shared by Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma on his social media handle on Thursday.
Taking to X, CM wrote, “After Garo language was excluded from the 38 languages to be reviewed for inclusion in the 8th Schedule notified by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), GoI, Honble MP, Smti. Agatha K Sangma and Hon’ble Speaker, Shri Thomas A Sangma led the delegation to request the same from the MHA. Based on their request, the MHA has now agreed to include Garo language in the list of languages demanding 8th schedule inclusion.”
After Garo language was excluded from the 38 languages to be reviewed for inclusion in the 8th Schedule notified by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), GoI, Honble MP, Smti. Agatha K Sangma and Hon’ble Speaker, Shri Thomas A Sangma led the delegation to request the same from the… https://t.co/51IuoitShL pic.twitter.com/iB4btByQnN
— Conrad K Sangma (@SangmaConrad) November 3, 2023
This comes days after Garo language, known as A’chikku language was not included in the proposed list of 38 languages for consideration for inclusion in the Eight Schedule of the Constitution, which has saddened the ethnic community.
Earlier, President of the Garo Baptist Convention (GBC) had expressed his concern and disappointment over the exclusion of Garo or Achik from the tentative list of 38 languages to be incorporated in the Eight Schedule notified by the Ministry of Home Affairs recently.
Development of Garo language
Talking about the development of Garo language and literature, using the Roman script, has been ongoing since the 1860s. In 2005, the Meghalaya State Language Act recognised the language. Furthermore, in 2018, the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly passed a resolution advocating for the inclusion of both Khasi and Garo languages in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, highlighting their cultural and linguistic significance.
Also, the Meghalaya government has provided substantial support, including funding for research and the development of literature, to organisations such as the A’chik Literature Society and publication houses that are dedicated to promoting the Garo language.
It must also be noted that the Khasi language has already made to the list of 38 languages which is yet to be approved.
List of 38 languages that are yet to get approval
The languages in the list that are pending and are yet to get approval includes Angika, Banjara, Bazika, Bhojpuri, Bhoti, Bhotia, Bundelkhandi, Chhattisgarhi, Dhatki, English, Garhwali (Pahari), Gondi, Gujjar or Gujjari, Ho, Kaachachhi, Kamtapuri, Karbi, Khasi, Kodava (Coorg), Kok Barak, Kumaoni (Pahari) and Kurak.
The other languages are, Lepcha, Limbu, Mizo (Lushai), Magahi, Mundari, Nagpuri, Nicobarese, Pahari (Himachali), Pali, Rajasthani, Sambalpuri or Kosali, Shaurseni (Prakrit), Siraiki, Tenyidi and Tulu.
Currently, there are 22 languages in the Eighth Schedule : Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santhali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu.
Also Read: Assam: Active Ulfa(I) cadre surrenders before police in Tinsukia
Also Watch
Find latest news from every corner of Northeast India at hubnetwork.in, your online source for breaking news, video coverage.
Also, Follow us on-
Twitter-twitter.com/nemediahub
Youtube channel- www.youtube.com/@NortheastMediaHub2020
Instagram- www.instagram.com/nemediahub
