Meghalaya High Court directs state to act on 2016 linguistic minority report

The Meghalaya High Court has ordered the state government and the Union of India to provide updates on the implementation of a 2016 Commissioner's report that highlighted the need for better safeguards for linguistic minorities in the state.

Chief Justice IP Mukerji and Justice W Diengdoh issued the directive on July 1 while hearing a public interest litigation filed by the Meghalaya Linguistic Minority Development Forum, a registered society representing the interests of linguistic minorities in the state.

The case centres around a comprehensive report submitted by the Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities on March 29, 2016, which identified significant gaps in the protection of minority language speakers in Meghalaya. According to the 2001 census data cited in the report, while Khasi speakers constitute 47.05% of the population and Garo speakers 31.41%, several linguistic groups, including Bengali (8.01%), Nepali (2.25%), and Hindi (2.16%) speakers, remain underserved.

The Commissioner's report contained specific recommendations for the state government, including the translation of official documents into minority languages where speakers constitute 15% or more of the district population, the establishment of grant-in-aid mechanisms for minority educational institutions, and the creation of language preference registers in schools.

Most significantly, the report advised the state to "set up a State Level Committee under the Chairmanship of the Chief Secretary to monitor the implementation of the Safeguards for the linguistic minorities in the State" along with district-level committees for effective implementation.

Senior Advocate K. Paul, representing the petitioners, argued that the state should "immediately constitute a Board for linguistic welfare in terms of the said report/recommendations of the Commissioner dated 29th March, 2016."

Additional Advocate General K. Khan, appearing for the state, pointed out that under Article 350B of the Constitution, the Special Officer's report must be routed through the President of India for approval before being placed before Parliament and sent to state governments. He indicated uncertainty about whether the 2016 report had completed this constitutional process.

The constitutional provision, inserted in 1956, mandates that a Special Officer for linguistic minorities investigate safeguards and report to the President at regular intervals.

The court acknowledged the step-by-step approach needed for such matters and has scheduled the next hearing for July 10, 2025, when both the Union and state governments are expected to provide detailed updates on the status of the 2016 recommendations.