No plans to include Tulu in 8th Schedule: Centre

New Delhi: The hopes of the Tulu people were dashed with the announcement by the central government that it has no plans to include the Tulu language into the 8th schedule of the Indian Constitution.

Lok Sabha MP Rajmohan Unnithan had asked the government its stand about the inclusion of Tulu Language in 8th Schedule. In a written reply, Minister of State in Home Ministry Nityananda Rai categorically denied any plans of inclusion in the foreseeable future.

The minister acknowledged that there have been demands from time to time for the inclusion of Tulu in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution.

The minister informed the Lok Sabha that, Dr. Sitakant Mohapatra Committee had recommended that status quo ante should continue in regard to the recognition of the languages in the Eighth Schedule as Official Languages of the Union. “It is neither practical nor administratively feasible, at present, to increase the number of Official Languages,” the reply said.

“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 criteria for languages, whether to distinguish them from dialects, or for inclusion in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution,” Lok Sabha was informed.

The earlier attempts, through Pahwa (1996) and Sitakant Mohapatra (2003) Committees, to evolve such fixed criteria, have been inconclusive. “The Government of India is conscious of the sentiments and requirements for the inclusion of other languages in the Eighth Schedule. Such requests have to be considered keeping in mind these sentiments, and other relevant considerations. Since several of these languages are spoken in several States, their use is not restricted by state boundaries,” the minister replied.