TURA: The A’chik Youth Welfare Organisation (AYWO) recently submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Conrad Sangma urging him to work towards the inclusion of Garo and Khasi languages in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
According to AYWO general secretary Sengbath Ch Marak, the inclusion of Garo language will be a boon for the people of Garo Hills as it would open up opportunities for the people of the region.
Marak added that the inclusion of the language in the Constitution would enable a Garo person to be a member of the official language commission and monetary benefits can be tapped and utilised for literary promotions. He said that the move would also enable civil service aspirants to opt for Garo subject in various Civil Service Examinations.
“Currently about 2 million speak the language in Meghalaya, Assam, West Bengal and other NE states. It is also spoken by about 1 lakh in Bangladesh and taking into account the contiguous nature of the nature it can be termed as a regional language. The language is also used as a medium of instruction in many elementary and secondary government schools and can also be opted for as subject for majoring,” Marak said.
While pointing out that the Garo language is given the status of ‘Associate Official Language’ under five districts of Garo Hills under the Meghalaya State Language Act 2005, Marak felt that it is ready to be included in the 8th schedule.
According to the memorandum, “The very idea of ES is to honor the linguistic rights of language communities of India.”
“In keeping all these factors into account, AYWO wants MDA government to be pro active while dealing with such an important issue which will determine the recognition of ‘linguistic minorities’ and clear all the hurdles.”
“Both the Garo and Khasi community has its own literary body which strives towards the well being of linguistic upliftment and for the progress. We have our own A’chik Literature Society. The ALS is the premier literary organization of the A·chiks which was started in 1963. It is noteworthy to mention that there is also ‘Garo Sahitya Sabha’ in Garo dominated areas of Assam,” said the organisation.
