Our Bureau
SHILLONG/ NEW DELHI, Sep 30: With the intention of putting pressure on the central government to include the Khasi language in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, a mass movement was organised at Jantar Mantar in the national capital on Saturday.
The mass movement was organised by the Khasi Authors’ Society (KAS) in association with the Hynniewtrep Delhi Association (HDA) and KSU’s Delhi unit.
Cabinet ministers Ampareen Lyngdoh and Paul Lyngdoh, former Assembly Speaker Metbah Lyngdoh, KHADC Chairman Lamphrang Blah, MLAs, MDCs and leaders of several political parties also lent physical support to the movement.
Leaders of several pressure groups including KSU, FKJGP, HYC, CORP, JSU and HANM, among others, also took part in the protest.
The KAS adopted a resolution to seek a response from Union Home Minister Amit Shah regarding the memorandum for the inclusion of the Khasi language in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution that the former had submitted to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on January 21, 2021 and again on July 24, 2021.
KAS also resolved to urge the Centre, through the MHA, to initiate necessary steps to introduce an official bill in Parliament for inclusion of Khasi language in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
They also resolved to submit the documentation containing exhaustive information about Khasi language, literature and culture and also concrete justifications for the inclusion of the Khasi language in the Eighth Schedule.
The KAs further decided to wait for a respectable lapse of time, before taking up further actions on their demand.
KAS member, Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih exuded confidence that the national seminar followed by the mass movement would send a strong message to the Centre that citizens of Meghalaya mean business as far as the demand for inclusion of Khasi language in the Eighth Schedule is concerned.
The KAS member said the support lent by political leaders and members of various groups to the mass movement would yield positive results as the world would know about the unity of the Hynniewtrep community.
Arts and Culture Minister, Paul Lyngdoh said the state government has diligently responded to all queries and inquiries from the MHA on the resolution adopted by the Assembly in 2018.
Lyngdoh said they are also aware that Khasi language is one of the 38 languages pending official recognition.
Health Minister, Ampareen Lyngdoh said the mass movement in New Delhi was “something new and had never been done before”.
“We have qualified on all criteria and we have responded to all the queries which have been raised. I don’t think it will be right on the part of the Centre to delay our demand,” Lyngdoh said.
Back home in Shillong, the KSU central body put up banners in several parts of Shillong on Saturday to extend support to the KAS in their fight for inclusion of the Khasi Language in the Eighth Schedule.
Some of the banners contained messages like: “As a Khasi community let us support the move of the KAS” and “Im ka Ktien Im ka Jaidbynriew (if the language is alive so are the people)”.