The Naveen Patnaik-led Odisha government Wednesday asked the Centre to include the Saora language — spoken by the Saoras, a particularly vulnerable tribal group — in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution to give it official status. The Odisha government’s recommendation came a day after the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) accused the Centre of not considering a longstanding demand to include the Ho, Mundari and Bhumij languages in the 8th Schedule. “Inclusion of the language in the 8th Schedule will accelerate activities such as publication, creation of content and recognition. The move will create an ecosystem to facilitate research and studies anchored around preservation, promotion and propagation of the Saora language,” said Jagannath Saraka, the Minister for Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes Development, after a state cabinet meeting. The move also assumes significance politically as nearly six lakh Saoras live in Odisha, the majority of them in the Gajapati and Rayagada districts. The decision to recommend the Saora language’s inclusion in the 8th Schedule has been taken in view of the United Nations General Assembly proclamation to observe the period between 2022 and 2032 as the International Decade of Indigenous Languages, said official sources. “Despite the chief minister having written several letters to the Union government and our (BJD) MPs raising the demand in parliament, the Centre is yet to consider the demand to include the Ho, Mundari and Bhumij languages in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution. What is most unfortunate is the silence of the BJP MPs from Odisha on the matter,” said Basanti Hembram, Odisha’s Women and Child Development Minister and one of the BJD’s tribal faces. While over 10 lakh tribal people living in Sundargarh and Mayurbhanj districts of Odisha speak Ho, nearly eight lakh tribal people speak Mundari. Around three lakh tribal people speak Bhumij in Odisha. By pushing inclusion of tribal languages in the 8th schedule of the Constitution, Naveen Patnaik’s BJD is attempting to project itself as a party concerned about the preservation and growth of tribal communities, which comprise more than 22 per cent of Odisha’s total population. The state has 62 tribes, 13 of which have been classified as “primitive”. As many as 33 of total 147 seats and five of the total 21 Lok Sabha seats are reserved for the ST communities. In 2019, the ruling BJD won 18 of the 33 seats reserved for tribal people while BJP bagged 11.Two seats had gone to the Congress. The CPI(M) and Independent candidates had won one seat each. In the Lok Sabha polls, the BJD and BJP won two parliamentary constituencies each reserved for ST while the Congress won one.
