Meghalaya vows to include Khasi in 8th Schedule

Shillong: The Meghalaya government has promised to get Khasi language, spoken by at least 1.5 million people in the state, included in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution recognizing it as one of the official languages in the country.
“I will do what I can to get Khasi (language) included in the Eighth Schedule (of the Constitution). I have spoken to the chief minister in this regard,” deputy chief minister RS Laloo, who also holds the education portfolio, told the assembly on the second day of the winter session on Monday.
He added that the government will take up the matter with the Central Board of School Education (CBSE) to ensure that Khasi was made one of the languages in its curriculum. Laloo was replying to a question raised in the House on why Khasi was made elective (non-compulsory) in the higher secondary school exam in the state. The language spoken by Khasi and Jaintia tribes had been recognized and notified as associate official language of the state after the Meghalaya State Language Act, 2005, received the governor’s assent on May 1, 2005.
In 2011, the government approved the Meghalaya Board of School Education regulations for higher secondary school exam, changing the status of MIL to an elective subject in view of the dynamic changes in the field of education, said Laloo.
“This has broadened the scope for students to opt for subjects that matter to the career of their choices as per the National Curriculum Framework, 2005,” he said.
United Democratic Party legislator Paul Lyngdoh said the move could be detrimental to the ‘only surviving Monkhmer language’ in India.
After the Board's notification last year, there was an increase of at least 1,000 more students opting for Khasi as one of their subjects, the deputy chief minister said. Later, Hill State People’s Democratic Party leader Ardent Basaiawmoit also raised a call attention motion on withdrawal of Khasi as a compulsory subject by the state's school education board.