India News | No Timeframe for Considering Demands for Inclusion of Languages in 8th Schedule: Govt

New Delhi, Jul 30 (PTI) No time-frame can be fixed for consideration of the demands for inclusion of more languages in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution since there are no fixed criteria at present, Rajya Sabha was informed Wednesday.

In a written reply, Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai said the government is conscious of the sentiments and requirements for inclusion of other languages in the Eighth Schedule.

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He said such requests have to be considered, keeping in mind these sentiments and the other relevant considerations.

"Since at present, there are no fixed criteria for any language to be considered for inclusion in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution, no time-frame can be fixed for consideration of the demands for inclusion of more languages in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution," he said.

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The minister said there have been demands from time to time for the inclusion of several languages, including Bhojpuri and Rajasthani, in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution.

"However, there are no fixed criteria for consideration of any language for inclusion in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution.

"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 languages for inclusion in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution," he said.

He said the earlier attempts, through the Pahwa (1996) and Sitakant Mohapatra (2003) Committees, to evolve such fixed criteria have been inconclusive.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)