Lok Sabha Question No. 1917 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-03-14
Subject: Preservation of Tribal Languages
Ministry: TRIBAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: M V V Satyanarayana, Goddeti Madhavi, Chandra Sekhar Bellana

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF TRIBAL AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO1917

TO BE ANSWERED ON-14/03/2022

## PRESERVATION OF TRIBAL LANGUAGES

1917. SHRI M.V.V. SATYANARAYANA: SHRIMATI GODDETI MADHAVI: SHRI CHANDRA SEKHAR BELLANA:

Will the Minister of TRIBAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  the  Government  has  undertaken  any  steps  in  Preservation  and Documentation of Threatened Tribal Languages;
- (b)  whether  the  Government  is  contemplating  in  providing  official  status  to  more languages among the 880 dialects/languages spoken in the country; and
- (c) the steps taken by the Government to promote tribal literature in the mainstream?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE FOR TRIBAL AFFAIRS (SMT. RENUKA SINGH SARUTA)

(a): Ministry of Tribal Affairs provides grants to State Tribal Research Institutes for promotion of tribal languages and development of bilingual primers for preservation of tribal languages.   Further New Education Policy also stipulates that young child learn  and  grasp  quickly  in  their  home  language  and  mother  tongue.  Accordingly, Central and State Government are making efforts to encourage multi-lingual policy for imparting  education  and  preservation  of  language.  Further,  under  the  component 'Financial  Assistance  for  support  to  Centres  of  Excellence'  of  the  scheme  "Tribal Festival, Research, information and Mass Education", financial assistance is provided to reputed Institution for carrying out research study programmes  including documentation of tribal languages. In this regard, Ministry has sanctioned projects to Bhasha Research and Publication Centre during 2018-19 and 2019-20 which interalia covered activity of identification and documentation of threatened/dying languages.

(b): Ministry  of  Home  Affairs,  the  nodal  Ministry  for  inclusion  of  languages  in  the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution, has stated that there are 22 languages included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution and there have been demands for inclusion of more languages. 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 criterion for languages, whether to distinguish them from dialects, or for inclusion in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution. Government of India is conscious of the sentiments and requirements for inclusion of other languages in the Eighth Schedule. Such requests have to be considered keeping in mind these sentiments, and the other relevant considerations.

(c): Under the scheme 'Support to Tribal Research Institutes', efforts are being made to promote tribal literature in the mainstream through provision of financial assistance to State Governments for organization of literary festivals, publication of books written by tribal writers/ authors, translation works and literature competitions, based on the proposals received from the Tribal Research Institutes.

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