The Meghalaya High Court has directed the Union and state governments to file a report on the implementation status of key recommendations made in 2016 by the Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities concerning the development and welfare of linguistic minority communities in the state.
The directive was issued by a division bench comprising Chief Justice I.P. Mukerji and Justice W. Diengdoh while hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by the Meghalaya Linguistic Minority Development Forum. The forum had raised concerns over the state’s inaction in safeguarding the rights of non-Khasi and non-Garo linguistic groups.
The court observed that while Khasi and Garo are the dominant languages in Meghalaya, a substantial segment of the population comprises speakers of Bengali, Nepali, Hindi, Assamese, and other languages who remain underrepresented in official and educational domains.
The 2016 report by the Commissioner had recommended, among other measures, the translation of official documents into minority languages, maintenance of language preference registers in schools, and state recognition and support for minority language educational institutions. It also proposed the formation of a dedicated Board for Linguistic Welfare to oversee these efforts.
During the proceedings, the petitioner’s counsel urged the court to issue specific directions to the state for establishing the Board. However, counsel for the state submitted that the Commissioner’s report is not binding, arguing that it requires presidential vetting and parliamentary approval before implementation.
The High Court, in its order, stated: “We direct learned counsel for the Union of India and the State to take suitable instructions in the matter with regard to the status of the report of the Commissioner dated 29th March, 2016 and report to this Court before the returnable date.”
The matter is listed for the next hearing on July 10, 2025
