Private Members’ Bill on inclusion of Lepcha in 8th schedule waits to be tabled

PRASHANT ACHARYA, PRAKASH ADHIKARI, EOI, SILIGURI / GANGTOK, JULY 24, 2023 : Rajya Sabha M.P. from West Bengal Shanta Chhetri has moved a Private Members’ Bill for the inclusion of the Lepcha language in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. The M.P. said from Delhi over the phone on Monday that on two days in succession the Bill could not be moved in Rajya Sabha because of the Manipur situation.

On July 21 the House had to be adjourned and on Monday there was a discussion on Manipur. There was a chance that the Bill would be moved in Rajya Sabha on August 4.

Meanwhile, the Hamro Sikkim Party during the day requested all Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha M.P.s from Sikkim to support a Bill coming up in the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament for the inclusion of the Lepcha language in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. HSP also requested the Sikkim government to pass a resolution endorsing the “Inclusion of Lepcha Language in the Eighth Schedule Bill.”

People of the Lepcha community, it may be mentioned, are among the autochthons in the hills of Sikkim, Kalimpong and Darjeeling. Dzongu in north Sikkim is a Lepcha reserve. 

The Lepcha language has an established script and literature. The Lepcha Development Board in West Bengal has taken the initiative to translate some well-known pieces of Bengali literature in the Lepcha language.