Union Government is taking positive steps for the listing of three languages Bhojpuri, Rajasthani, and Bhoti into the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
Key Point
- Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal said that matter related to 38 languages inclusion into the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution is under consideration of the government.
- The issue was raised during Zero hour in Lok Sabha by Jagdambika Pal of the BJP. He urged the government to consider the listing of these languages into the Eighth schedule. Mr. Pal said that almost 20 crore people in 16 countries speak them.
8th Schedule
- The Eighth Schedule to the Constitution consists of the following 22 languages, these are (1) Assamese, (2) Bengali, (3) Gujarati, (4) Hindi, (5) Kannada, (6) Kashmiri, (7) Konkani, (8) Malayalam, (9) Manipuri, (10) Marathi, (11) Nepali, (12) Oriya, (13) Punjabi, (14) Sanskrit, (15) Sindhi, (16) Tamil, (17) Telugu, (18) Urdu (19) Bodo, (20) Santhali, (21) Maithili and (22) Dogri.
- Of these languages, 14 were initially included in the Constitution. The Sindhi language was added in 1967. Thereafter three more languages viz., Konkani, Manipuri, and Nepali were included in 1992. Subsequently, Bodo, Dogri, Maithili, and Santhali were added in 2004.
- The Constitutional provisions relating to the Eighth Schedule occur in article 344(1) and 351 of the Constitution.
Bhojpuri, Rajasthani & Bhoti Languages
i) Bhojpuri – Bhojpuri is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in northern-eastern India and the Terai region of Nepal. It is chiefly spoken in western Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh. Sociolinguistically, Bhojpuri is considered one of several Hindi dialects. The language is a minority language in Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, South Africa, and Mauritius.
ii) Rajasthani – Rajasthani refers to a group of Indo-Aryan languages and dialects spoken primarily in the state of Rajasthan. The Rajasthani language is distinct from neighboring related Hindi languages as it is a western Indo-Aryan language.
iii) Bhoti – The Ladakhi language also called Bhoti or Bodhi, is the Tibetan language spoken in the Ladakh union territory of India. It is the predominant language in the Buddhist-dominated district of Leh of the Union territory of Ladakh.