By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Aug 31: The Khasi Authors’ Society (KAS) would take the four-decade-long movement for the constitutional recognition of the Garo and Khasi languages to the national capital through a series of seminars and demonstrations.
“It has been five years since the state Assembly adopted a resolution toward the inclusion of the Garo and Khasi languages in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. We now want to take the voices of the people to New Delhi by holding a national seminar on Khasi language and literature on September 29 and 30,” KAS president DRL Nonglait said.
He said Khasi intellectuals, including university teachers from across the country, are expected to attend the seminar to share their ideas on how to promote Khasi language and literature as well as to intensify the demand for recognition of the Garo and Khasi languages.
The event in Delhi should attract the attention of the central government and the “national” media, he hoped.
Nonglait said a mass movement made the state government pass the Assembly resolution on the Garo and Khasi languages. Influencing the Centre needs scaling up such movements closer to the seat of power in Delhi, he added.
“No reason has been given to us for the non-inclusion of the (Khasi) language so far. The official letter that we received from the Ministry of Home Affairs said Khasi is one of the 38 languages of the country and the demand has been kept pending for consideration,” he said.
Citing states such as Rajasthan, which have made similar demands, Nonglait said the government might have to amend the Eighth Schedule to include new languages.
He betrayed a degree of disappointment with the state government. “They are saying they have been following up but the Centre is not responding,” he said.
He said the KAS expected Prime Minister Narendra Modi to mention something about the Khasi language during the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Meghalaya. Both the PM and Union Home Minister Amit Shah disappointed the people in this regard, he felt.
