Khasi Authors’ Society (KAS) president Dr. D Rockyer L. Nonglait today blamed the State government for delaying to write a follow up letter to the Union Home Ministry to pursue for the demand to include Khasi language in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India.
Informing media persons here today, Nonglait informed that after the peaceful demonstration at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi on September 29-30, KAS had met Chief Minister Conrad Sangma on October16 to urge the State government to make Khasi as an official language of the State as well as to write a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, to prepare an official bill to amend the Eighth Schedule and include Khasi language in it.
Nonglait said that the chief minister had assured the KAS delegation to do the needful.
“On the letter to follow up as well as support our demand to bring an Official Bill during the winter session of Parliament, he (Chief Minister) had then told us that he will do it in the coming weeks. He also told us to prepare the draft of the letter and the State government will prepare the official part. He even told us that we can hand over the letter (to the ministry) but we told him that the concerned department which is the Political Department should do so,” Nonglait added.
According to him, the KAS immediately drafted a letter and sent it to the Chief Minister’s office and the society has been following up on the matter every week and calls were even made to his office and the authorities there told them that they are still looking to prepare the letter to be sent to the Union Home Ministry.
Nonglait said that the KAS which is fighting to get Khasi recognised as an official language in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution is not disheartened over it.
According to him, if the State government does not do anything on the matter, KAS will take up other measures and go forward to press for the demand till Khasi language gets recognised in the Eighth Schedule.
The winter session of the Parliament got underway today but the central government has not brought an Official Bill to amend the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
According to Nonglait, the representation sent by the KAS to the Government of India through the Ministry of Home Affairs to initiate necessary steps to introduce an Official Bill in the winter session of Parliament is a difficult one this time since the Centre got less than two months’ time to take action on the matter.
“It seems the Centre is not yet ready to take up the matter since it has not made up its mind to amend the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution,” the KAS president said.
Nonglait also hinted that the KAS will not only confine their demand to include Khasi language only within the boundaries of the State but take the fight outside it.
He said that after 2003 when the last amendment to the Eighth Schedule was made, there are other languages like Rajasthani and Bhojpuri that are fighting to get recognition.
The KAS president also said that there is no coordination between the State government and Members of Parliament from the State on the issue even as he added that there are some who are not taking the matter seriously.
