Demand for Bhoti's inclusion in 8th Schedule gets NCM backing

New Delhi, June 11 (UNI) If Sindhi, Nepali, Konkani, Kashmiri and Manipuri can be included in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, then why not Bhoti--the language of the local people of the Himalayas and link language of those living in border areas of the mountain range totalling over two million? The poser has been coming from several Buddhist organisations and other bodies for a long period and now the demand has got the backing of the National Commission for Minorities as well.

The Commission has decided to make a recommendation to the Government in this regard, Member of the NCM Lama Chosphel Zotpa told UNI.

The language, which has a 1300 years old history, is the link and cultural language of Zanskar, Ladakh, Spiti, Kinnaur, Uttar Kashi, Garhwal, Sikkim, Kalimpong, Darjeeling, Arunachal Pradesh and the entire Himalayan range of the country.

A note prepared by the Commission underscores the urgency of linking Bhoti with employment so that more and more number of people who have this language as their mother tongue could be attracted to the formal study of the language.

And for linking the language with jobs, constitutional protection were a must, said Mr Zotpa, who is also the president of the Himalayan Buddhist Cultural Association.

''It would not be wrong to say that these safeguards were vital to preserve a great part of the India culture,'' he said.

Bhoti, one of the most ancient languages of the Aryan family, boasts of rich literature relating to religion, art, science, philosophy, astrology, Ayurveda and grammar.

However, the language is not getting as much attention and importance as it deserves, he said.

Other languages whose speakers number around the same as those of Bhoti have been included in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, he said, pointing out that Sindhi speaking people were 21 22, 848 as per the 1991 census, while those speaking Gorkhali total 2,076,645.

Those speaking Konkani and Manipuri number less than two million, and the number of Kashmiri-speaking people was less than a even a million but these languages also found place in the Eighth Schedule, he said.

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