NEW DELHI: The Centre on Tuesday said there are currently no fixed criteria for the inclusion of any language in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, making it difficult to set a timeline for considering long-pending demands, including the demand to include Bhojpuri.
Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai said this in a written reply in the Lok Sabha to a question by MP Ramashankar Vidharthi Rajbhar, who sought to know whether the government was considering the proposal to include Bhojpuri in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
Rai said demands for the inclusion of several languages, including Bhojpuri, have been raised from time to time. "However, the evolution of languages and dialects is a dynamic process shaped by socio cultural, economic and political developments, making it challenging to establish uniform criteria for inclusion," he said.
The minister informed the House that previous efforts to formulate such criteria through the Pahwa Committee (1996) and the Sitakant Mohapatra Committee (2003) did not arrive at conclusive recommendations.
Rai said the government is aware of the sentiments and aspirations of speakers seeking constitutional recognition for their languages.
At the same time, he stressed that requests for inclusion in the Eighth Schedule must be examined in light of these sentiments as well as 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," the minister said.
The Eighth Schedule currently recognises 22 languages, granting them constitutional status and enabling their use in various official and administrative functions.
Over the years, several linguistic groups have sought the inclusion of their languages in the Schedule, arguing that constitutional recognition would help promote and preserve their linguistic and cultural heritage.