Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, addressing the state assembly, emphasized the importance of languages being included in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution before they can be recognized as official or associate official languages.
He explained that languages like Kachari, which is currently not part of the Eighth Schedule, cannot be made an official language until it is officially recognized by the Government of India. Sarma highlighted that Bengali and Bodo are recognized as official and associate official languages in Assam due to their inclusion in the Eighth Schedule. He also pointed out that while Manipuri is included, Bishnupriya Manipuri and Kachari are not.
The Chief Minister stressed that the first initiative for any language is to seek inclusion in the Eighth Schedule. Once included, the Assam government will conduct a survey on the number of speakers using the language in the state to move forward with its recognition.
Sarma also announced that, for the first time, the Assam government has recognized Santhali as a medium of instruction in schools and adopted the Ol Chiki script for the language. Despite Santhali already being in the Eighth Schedule, the lack of a recognized script and medium of instruction had limited its use in schools. With the recent developments, the education department is now in the process of recruiting teachers to teach in Santhali using the Ol Chiki script.
The Chief Minister expressed hope that, over time, the Santhali language could gain official language status once it is established as a medium of instruction and widely used in educational institutions, similar to Manipuri, which has reached a "fulfillment" and has now been made an official language.
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