Shillong, July 1: The banned Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) militant outfit on Monday termed the inclusion of Khasi in Google Translate as a “historic milestone.”
Google has included Khasi as one of the many languages, which would be available for translation through its AI tool. Google in fact included 110 languages covering an estimated 614 million speakers from across the globe.
In a statement, HNLC’s self-styled General and Publicity Secretary, Sainkupar Nongtraw said, out of the 7,000 different languages spoken worldwide and 700 languages in India, Khasi language has gained recognition by Google Translate. “This marks a historic milestone,” he said.
At the same time, the HNLC slammed the state and central government for the failure to include Khasi and Garo languages in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India.
The outfit said recognition of the Khasi language is a matter of “cultural pride and unity” and at the same time opens up possibilities for socio-economic progress and communal well-being.
He said the inclusion of Khasi by Google for translation now requires a collective advocacy so that the central government includes the language in the Eight Scheduled.
Nongtraw claimed, failure of the government to officially recognise the Khasi language is “an intent to suppress, alienate, and disconnect” the people from their historical roots and hinder its learning.
 militant outfit on Monday termed the inclusion of Khasi in Google Translate as a “historic milestone.”){kind=link}