New Delhi, 12 May (HS):The Supreme Court has directed that the Rajasthani language be taught in schools across Rajasthan and gradually developed as a medium of instruction. A bench headed by Justice Vikramnath said the State Government should work towards giving Rajasthani the status of a local or regional language and phase‑wise introduce it as the medium of education in government and private schools.

The Court observed that instruction in Rajasthani should begin at the primary level and then be expanded to higher classes. It dismissed the Rajasthan Government’s argument that only languages included in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution could be granted space in school education. The Bench described this view as impractical and said it ignored the existing educational presence of the Rajasthani language.

The plea had been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the exclusion of Rajasthani from the syllabus of the Rajasthan Eligibility Examination. The petitioners argued that this amounted to discrimination against candidates who knew the Rajasthani language.

Speakers of Rajasthani in the State number over 4.62 crore, yet the language does not receive adequate recognition in education and competitive examinations. The State Assembly had adopted a resolution two decades ago to include Rajasthani in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, but this has not been implemented so far.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar