A case for including Tulu in the Eighth Schedule | The Hindu

Context: Recently, Karnataka Tulu Sahitya Academy has proposed a radio station for programmes only in Tulu.

Background:

• Originally, the Indian constitution recognized 14 languages under the Eighth Schedule.
• In 1967, 21^st Amendment Act included Sindhi in Eighth Schedule. In 1992, the 71st Amendment Act added Konkani, Manipuri and Nepali in Eighth Schedule.
• In 2003, 92nd Amendment Act added Bodo, Dongri, Maithili and Santhali under Eighth Schedule. Currently, there are 22 languages recognized in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian constitution.
• As per 2001 Census data, 30 languages were spoken by more than one people each and 122 languages were spoken by at least 10,000 people each.
• 2011 census data on languages was released in June 2018. As per the 2011 census data on languages, 121 languages are spoken by at least 10,000 people each.
• As per the Census 2011, the number of speakers of Manipuri and Sanskrit in Census 2011 stands at 17, 61,079 and 24,821, respectively.

Census 2011 data on speakers of Tulu and some other unscheduled languages in India:

Census 2011 data show that some languages in India are having a large number of speakers. But, they are not included in the eighth schedule of the Indian constitution. These languages and the number of their speakers as per census 2011 data are following.

Census 2011 data clearly that number of native speakers of Tulu in India stands at 18, 46,427. This number is more than number of speakers of Manipuri (17, 61,079) and Sanskrit (24,821). Despite having less speakers than Tulu, Sanskrit and Manipuri are included in the eighth schedule. But, Tulu and other languages are not included in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.

Importance and advantages of including Tulu and other unscheduled languages in Eighth Schedule:

• Recognition by the Sahitya Akademi and other institutions: The inclusion of Tulu and other unscheduled languages in the Eighth schedule will lead to its recognition by the Sahitya Akademi and books written in these languages will be translated into other recognized Indian languages. Currently, Sahitya Akademi implements its programmes in 24 languages. Out of these, 22 languages are included in the 8^th After the inclusion of unscheduled languages having a large number of speakers in the Eighth schedule, it will be possible for MPs and MLAs to express themselves in them in legislatures.
• Fundamental right to conserve distinct languages: The inclusion of unscheduled languages in the Eighth schedule will lead to their conservation and protection. The protection of a distinct language related to the section of citizens living in any part of India is a fundamental right in Article 29 of the Constitution of India.

Way Forward:

There are many distinct languages in India that are spoken by a large number of people, but they are not currently included in the eighth schedule. Being restricted to some regions only, these languages may become extinct in the future. UNESCO’s Yuelu Proclamation, 2018 has highlighted that protection and promotion of linguistic diversity improve social inclusion. India should also learn from UNESCO’s Yuelu Proclamation and treat all deserving languages equally in order to achieve ideals of fraternity and national unity enshrined in the preamble of the constitution.