KHASI AND GARO: OFFICIAL LANGUAGE STATUS IN MEGHALAYA

NEWS: Meghalaya Cabinetà Approved the Meghalaya Official Languages Ordinance, 2026, designating Khasi and Garo as official state languages alongside English.

ABOUT

• Meghalaya State Language Act, 2005à Made English the sole official language, limiting Khasi and Garo to “associate official” status.
• Khasià Austroasiatic language spoken by the Khasi people of Meghalaya, originally oral but now written in the Latin script
• It is a Sino-Tibetan language of Meghalaya, using the Latin script in India and the Bengali script in Bangladesh.

Official Language of a State

• Article 345à Empowers state legislatures to adopt any language in use or Hindi for official purposes. English continues unless otherwise provided by state law.
• States can recognise any language “in use” beyond the 22 Eighth Schedule languages
• g. Kokborok (Tripura), Mizo (Mizoram), and Khasi/Garo (Meghalaya).
• Article 347à Empowers the President to direct the state to officially recognise a language for specific purposes if a substantial proportion of the population desires it.
• States can adopt multiple official languages. Sikkim recognises 11 regional languages, while Jharkhand recognises Hindi and 16 others.