Efforts on to include Mizo language in 8th Schedule: Officials

Aizawl, Jan 23 (PTI) Steps are being taken to explore possibilities for inclusion of Mizo language in the 8th schedule of the Constitution, officials said.

The initiative is undertaken by Mizo Language

Development Board (MLDB) established by the government, they said on Thursday.

Chief Minister Lalduhoma on Thursday chaired a meeting with members of the Eighth Schedule 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.

The members 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 PhD level, according to the study group.

Lalduhoma appreciated the significant progress achieved by the MLDB and the study group within a short period and commended their dedicated efforts, the statement said.

He said that the recommendations and proposals put forward by the study group were well-considered and assured that these would be followed up appropriately, it said.

According to the 2011 Census, Mizo-speaking people are spread across 26 states and 7 Union Territories, officials said.

It is believed that ethnic Mizos, who speak the Mizo language, are now present in all states, they said.

According to the 2011 census, the number of Mizo speakers in Mizoram was more than 8.3 lakh and the number is expected to increase substantially by now, officials said.

Some scholars estimated that the total number of Mizo speakers worldwide has now exceeded 2.2 million, they said.

Google has included Mizo in google translator in May 2022.

The People’s Linguistic Survey of India has classified Mizo as a growing language, while UNESCO has placed it under the “vulnerable” category among the world’s languages. PTI CORR RG