Chief Minister Conrad Sangma today strongly urged Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to do what he can to include the Khasi and Garo languages in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
Pradhan was on a visit to Shillong where he inaugurated a Central Institute of Hindi (Kendriya Hindi Sansthan) in Mawdiangdiang here.
At the function, Sangma said it would be the greatest gift for Meghalaya ahead of the state’s 50th anniversary of statehood in January. He also told the Union minister that the Meghalaya government is ready to fulfil whatever criteria the Centre lays down for the inclusion of the two languages in the Eighth Schedule.
Meanwhile, Sangma also batted for Meghalayans to learn Hindi.
The CM said that many states do not give due importance to Hindi and the youth are, instead, learning foreign languages in the hope of getting jobs in other countries.
“If similar importance of learning foreign languages is given to learning Hindi, one will be at an advantageous position,” he said.
Learning Hindi would also help North Easterners in breaking the language barrier when they look to study and work in much of India.
In saying this, he referred to his own experience of having lived in New Delhi.
“I have studied in Delhi and learnt Hindi and we would converse in the language as today, as the Chief Minister, when I go to Delhi and interact with the ministers and officials, I find a different comfort level in communication,” he said.
He also highlighted the need for preserving the richness of languages in the North East, as is mandated by the New Education Policy.
Meanwhile, Pradhan said that the new centre will cater to the needs of students from Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram wishing to learn Hindi.
He said that language cannot be imposed on anyone but learning any language other than one’s mother tongue is not harmful. “India is a country rich in diversity and every language spoken in this country is my mother tongue,” he said.
Education Minister Lakhmen Rymbui also spoke on the occasion and said that India is blessed with many languages and dialects, especially in the North East. He added that the institute will help the people of the region in learning and understanding Hindi in a better way. He also said that Hindi can be used as the medium of communication alongside English and informed that the State government has trained teachers to help students have a basic knowledge of the Hindi language.
