VPP legislator from North Shillong constituency Adelbert Nongrum today resorted to speaking in Khasi in the State Assembly to raise his objections to the Hindi speech by Governor Phagu Chauhan on February 16 which was the opening day of the budget session.
“There are two significant things that we cannot overlook in the Governor’s address on the opening day of the Budget Session 2024. One is that the Governor delivered his address in Hindi; and two, that he did not read the entire text prepared by the government,” Nongrum said during the debate on the Governor’s address.
He also said that he would not bother to debate on the contents of the text that was circulated to members of the House during the address of the Governor, “as it may not conform to what constitutes an address by the Governor under Article 176 of the Constitution of India.”
“Hindi is the official language of the Union Government. It is so by virtue of Article 343(1) of the Constitution of India. English, for that matter, continues to be used for all official purposes of the Union Government and in Parliament, by virtue of the Official Languages Act, 1963. We should know that the Constitution of India has not prescribed any national language. There is no national language of India, only official languages,” Nongrum said.
“Here in the State Assembly we have the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business. Rule 28 specifies that the business of the Assembly shall be transacted in English. The Proviso to Rule 28 allows a member to address the Assembly in his or her own mother tongue, when the English version of the intended speech is made over to the Speaker and copies are circulated to members. I wish to point out that the Governor is not a member of the House, and that Proviso of Rule 28 is not for the Governor,” he added.
Nongrum also said that what is official language to the Union government, represented by the Governor, may not be official language in the proceedings of the Meghalaya Assembly.
“So when we, in common knowledge, are all earnestly working under the legislative framework of the same Constitution of India, I ask Mr. Speaker Sir, why does the Union of India not recognise that there is a need to appoint a Governor whose language competency shall not be a hurdle for harmonious Centre-State relations here in Meghalaya,” Nongrum asked.
Reminding that during the Hill State Movement, Khasis and Garos bravely and unitedly took a stand when a non-native language was imposed as an official language upon the people and territory that is today Meghalaya, Nongrum said, “Elsewhere around the country, other than in North India, Hindi does not have a chance of being accepted and adopted as an official language of their state. There has been a stiff resistance to Hindi, for decades, and will continue so for years to come.”
“The length and breadth of India cannot be painted with one colour. There is diversity in states, and this beautiful uniqueness has to be appreciated and respected… So don’t get me wrong and don’t be surprised when I object to the Hon’ble Governor addressing this august House in Hindi. I am not speaking at a street corner or giving sound-bytes to the press and media, I am doing it right here in this very august House; because it is an issue that the people who we represent are sensitive to, it is an issue that needs to be considered with care,” Nongrum asserted.
