Steps are being taken to explore possibilities for inclusion of Mizo language in the 8th schedule of the country’s constitution, officials said on Thursday.
The initiative is undertaken by the Mizo Language Development Board (MLDB) established by the government, they said.
Chief Minister Lalduhoma on Thursday chaired a meeting with members of Eighth Schedules Study Group of MLDB to review and assess the progress of the initiatives taken by the study group, according to an official statement issued by the state’s Information and Public Relations department.
The study group informed Lalduhoma that its report is nearing completion for submission to the government, the statement said.
It also told the Chief Minister that they have been meeting representatives of various organisations and ethnic communities across the state to gather opinion on the inclusion of the Mizo language in the eighth schedule, it said.
The members said that there is overwhelming consensus and support for inclusion of Mizo language in the 8th schedule, it said.
They informed Lalduhoma that Mizoram had submitted a proposal for inclusion of Mizo language in the 8th schedule to the Centre in the past, but no concrete follow-up action was taken, the statement said.
The study group suggested that a task group be constituted to resubmit the proposal in a comprehensive manner and to pursue the matter vigorously.
It said that Mizo was declared the official language of Mizoram in 1974 and serves as a common medium of communication or lingua franca among Zo ethnic communities living in different parts of the world.
The Sahitya Akademi has already recognised Mizo as a regional language, which can be studied up to Ph.D level, according to the study group.
