Shillong: The Meghalaya High Court has directed both the state government and the Union of India to furnish detailed updates on the implementation status of a 2016 report submitted by the Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities, which had flagged serious concerns regarding the protection of non-tribal language groups in Meghalaya.
The order was passed on July 1 by a division bench comprising Chief Justice IP Mukerji and Justice W Diengdoh while hearing a public interest litigation filed by the Meghalaya Linguistic Minority Development Forum—a registered body advocating the rights of linguistic minorities. The Forum contends that despite the passage of nine years since the report’s submission, the recommendations remain largely unimplemented, leaving minority communities without adequate safeguards.
The report, submitted on March 29, 2016, offered a detailed analysis of linguistic demographics based on 2001 census data. While Khasi and Garo speakers collectively make up nearly 78.5% of the state’s population, the report noted that minority groups such as Bengalis (8.01%), Nepalis (2.25%), and Hindi-speaking communities (2.16%) continue to face systemic neglect in terms of language rights and access to government services in their mother tongues.
Key recommendations included translating official documents into minority languages where their speakers make up at least 15% of a district’s population, setting up language preference registers in schools, and granting financial support to minority-run educational institutions. Most notably, the report urged the creation of a State Level Committee under the Chief Secretary to monitor these safeguards, along with district-level implementation committees.
During the hearing, Senior Advocate K. Paul, appearing for the petitioners, pressed for the immediate constitution of a linguistic welfare board in line with the report’s proposals. He argued that minority communities were entitled to institutional representation to ensure their constitutional and linguistic rights are upheld.
However, the Additional Advocate General of Meghalaya, K. Khan, pointed out a procedural hurdle. He cited Article 350B of the Constitution, which stipulates that such reports by the Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities must first be submitted to the President of India before they are forwarded to the concerned state governments and Parliament. Khan said there was no clear confirmation yet whether the 2016 report had followed this constitutional pathway.
The court acknowledged the complexity of the matter, particularly the need to reconcile constitutional procedures with urgent ground realities. It noted that a structured, step-by-step approach was essential to resolving such long-standing issues but emphasized that prolonged inaction could not be justified.
Both the Union and the state governments have been asked to submit comprehensive status reports by the next hearing scheduled for July 10, 2025. The case marks a significant moment in the ongoing struggle for language rights in Meghalaya, and its outcome could have wide implications for policy and inclusion across the state.