27 languages are on the verge of extinction: Oram

From A Reporter

SHILLONG, Nov 3: Union Minister of Tribal Affairs at the iugural function of the two-day Intertiol Semir on ‘Understanding the Tribes of Asia’, which kick started today, organized by the Synod College Shillong, said there are around 700 tribes in India enlisted in the Scheduled Tribe (ST) list. Addressing the iugural function as Chief Guest, J Oram said, “In India, there are plenty of tribes and around 700 of them have been enlisted in the Schedule of the Constitution of India and out of the 700, more than 500 tribes have their own separate dialects.”

He said, “I’m sure that this semir will bring closeness among the people of the country and I hope that through this there will be an exchange of ideas of different customs, rituals and practices by the many tribes of Asian county participating in the semir.”

The intertiol semir is being participated by many Asian countries including faculty members of the college, research scholars and traditiol heads. “Very recently there was a report which was released in which it showed that 27 languages are enlisted as endangered or on the verge of extinction,” he said adding that this is a huge concern for the government of India. Earlier, Professor Kumar Sarkar, vice chancellor, university of Burdwan, West Bengal in his key note address said culturally the North East is the most diverse region of India and home to nearly 200 fasciting tribes.