Raphael Warjri

The Khasi Authors' Society (KAS) is an autonomous literary organization recognized and funded by the Government of Meghalaya. The organization has spearheaded the demand for the inclusion of Khasi in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution. The society has been organizing various literary activities including seminars, workshops, competitions, etc, for the promotion of Khasi language and literature. Such programmes were organized in Shillong and elsewhere within the state of Meghalaya. It is for the first time that this National Seminar is organized here, in New Delhi, to create a national awareness about our demand.

The main objective of the national seminar is to bring together Khasi intellectuals from across the country, having expertise in the Khasi language, literature and culture; to remind the children of the Hynñiew Trep community known as the Khasis, to do something for their people, and most of all to raise our voice more loudly in our demand for the inclusion of the Khasi language in the Eight schedule of the Constitution. We would like to convey a clear reminder to the Government of the day that our demand has been kept pending with the Centre for four decades now. As a community which has a distinct language, literature and culture, we have concrete justifications to place our demand before the Government.