New Delhi: The Union Government on Tuesday said it is conscious of the sentiments and requirements for inclusion of other languages including in the Eighth Schedule. However, no timeframe has been set in this regard.
This was informed by Union Minister of State (MoS) for Home, Nityanand Rai in Lok Sabha.
While giving a written reply to a question of senior BJD Parliamentarian Pinaki Misra, Nityanand said, at present, there are demands for inclusion of several languages, including Ho, Bhumij and Mundari, in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India.
As the evolution of dialects and languages is a dynamic process, influenced by socio-cultural, economic and political developments, it is difficult to fix any criterion for inclusion of a language in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution, he said.
The Union Minister further said, “The Government is conscious of the sentiments and requirements for inclusion of other languages in the Eighth Schedule. However, no time frame can be fixed for the process of inclusion of additional languages in the Eighth Schedule.”
In another written statement to the Lower House, Rai said such requests have to be considered keeping in mind these sentiments, and the other relevant considerations.
Many of these languages are spoken in several States and therefore, their use is not restricted by State boundaries, he added.
A total of 22 languages of India including Odia are included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India. The Government of India has received a demand for inclusion of 38 languages including Ho, Bhumij, Mundari and Sambalpuri from Odisha.
Notably, the Odisha Government has been demanding inclusion of the three tribal languages—Ho, Bhumij & Mundari in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution.
In August 2018, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had written a letter to the then Union Minister for Home Affairs Rajnath Singh to consider the proposal at the earliest.
In July last year, BJD MP Dr Sasmit Patra had raised this issue in Rajya Sabha through a Special Mention notice.
With a Scheduled Tribe (ST) population of over 22.85 per cent, Odisha is home to 62 tribal communities, including 13 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG).