Newmai News Network
Shillong: The Khasi Authors’ Society (KAS) has adopted four resolutions which include the demand for the centre to introduce an official Bill for the inclusion of the Khasi language in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India in the next session of the Parliament.
The resolutions were adopted after successfully holding the national seminar on ‘Khasi language, literature and culture’ in Delhi and a peaceful demonstration at Jantar Mantar on September 29-30.
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Addressing the media today, KAS president Dr DRL Nonglait said, “We have decided to urge the government of India through the Ministry of Home Affairs to initiate necessary steps to introduce an official Bill in the next session of the Parliament as that will be a step for bringing Khasi into the 8th Schedule to the Constitution of India. The government has to amend the 8th Schedule for inclusion of any language to be part of the other Eighth scheduled languages.”
He said the KAS has also decided to seek a response from the office of the Union Home Minister, government of India,regarding the status of its memorandum demanding the inclusion of the Khasi language in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
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He said the KAS had also met former Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in January 2019 and the incumbent Union Home Minister on July 24, 2021, in Shillong.
“But we got the response from the Ministry of Home Affairs only in March 2019 and after that there was no information, no correspondence from the ministry to the KAS or perhaps even to the State government. That is why we have adopted this resolution to seek a response from the government of India on the status of our demand,” Dr Nonglait said.
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Further, the KAS president informed that the society had also submitted documentation on the Khasi language, containing exhaustive information and concrete justifications, to the President of India, Prime Minister and Union Home Minister for their intervention.
“Because we have been demanding for over 4 decades now, our demands have been kept pending till now, so we feel that we should provide the state and central governments with exhaustive information and concrete justification,” he said.
“Last decision taken was to wait for a respectable lapse of time before the KAS took further steps of action or agitation with regards to this demand,” he added.
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He said that the KAS would wait for the upcoming session of the Parliament before taking a call on the next course of action.