Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma today said that the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly will conduct an orientation programme on language, wherein legislators from Garo Hills will be given basic orientation on Khasi language, while MLAs from Khasi – Jaintia Hills will be given orientation in Garo language.
“We want to promote our language and also encourage our leaders to understand each other’s languages”, Sangma said.
The Chief Minister was addressing at the Babu Hajom Kissor Sing Memorial Lecture organised by the Unitarian Union North Eastern India to commemorate the Death Centenary of Babu Hajom Kissor Sing at U Soso Tham Auditorium in Shillong.
He also informed that local languages are being introduced as mandatory subjects for various examinations in the state.
“While recognition for our language by its inclusion in the Eighth Schedule is awaited, we don’t want to leave any stone unturned to promote our own language through different interventions in the State,” the Chief Minister said.
According to Sangma, the government will support research, development and promotion of local languages by providing financial assistance to scholars, writers and authors.
“In our endeavour to promote Khasi and Garo language, we should all come together as a society to promote our own culture and language,” the Chief Minister added.
He also said that the state government has been continuously engaging with the centre for inclusion of Khasi and Garo languages in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India that would accord recognition to the language.
According to Sangma the documentation of culture and language is very important and realising its importance, the state government is coming up with a special programme to support writing and research that aims to promote local language and culture of our people.
“We are giving shape to the policy and sufficient funds will be made available for research to those who are keen to write about different aspects of our society, our people and our leaders. The idea for this being that our younger generation should be able to learn about our culture and the rich tradition in the local language,” he added.
The Chief Minister also informed that funds will be made available to film makers for creating audio-visual content that promotes the culture and language.
