Sikkim High Court Orders Reinstatement of Nepali Consonants to Preserve Linguistic Integrity
Gangtok, October 2025 – In a significant judgment, the Sikkim High Court has issued comprehensive directions to safeguard the linguistic integrity and sanctity of the Nepali language in the state, specifically ordering the reinstatement of certain Nepali consonants that were reportedly omitted or distorted in academic curricula.
The ruling, delivered by a Division Bench, comes after a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed by a retired government teacher and scholar of the Nepali language, Mr. Dhan Raj Gurung, seeking judicial intervention to protect the constitutional sanctity and academic accuracy of the language being taught in Sikkim.
The Key Order: Reinstatement of Consonants
The core of the High Court’s directive is the mandatory reinstatement of specific Nepali consonants into the curriculum and publications. Based on the recommendations of a court-mandated ‘Linguistic Oversight Expert Committee,’ the court ordered the immediate reinstatement of the following consonants (or conjuncts) which were deemed vital for the conservation and preservation of the Nepali alphabets:
- ण (ṇa)
- श (śa)
- ष (ṣa)
- ड़ (ṛa)
- ढ़ (ṛha)
- क्ष (kṣa)
- त्र (tra)
- ज्ञ (jña)
The Expert Committee, comprising eminent language experts and scholars, had “strongly recommended” the reinstatement, stating it was “logical and important for the conservation and preservation of Nepali Alphabets for future posterity.”
Court’s Observations and Directions
The High Court accepted the petitioner’s grievance as bona fide, noting that even minor distortions in the teaching and propagation of the Nepali language could “compromise with the linguistic integrity and academic accuracy.”
The court issued several explicit directions to the concerned authorities, including Sikkim University (named as a respondent):
- Immediate Action on Recommendation: Sikkim University must take immediate steps to act on the Expert Committee’s recommendation to reinstate the specified Nepali consonants.
- Issuance of Corrigendum: The university is directed to ensure that the authors of the concerned textbooks issue the necessary corrigendum (corrections) forthwith.
- Removal of Non-Compliant Books: Should the authors fail to comply, Sikkim University must not allow those books to be part of its curriculum.
- Continuous Monitoring: The ‘Linguistic Oversight Expert Committee’ has been tasked with continued monitoring of the usage of the Nepali language across various domains, including universities, colleges, schools, publication houses, and media (both print and social).
- State Cooperation: The State of Sikkim has been directed to provide full support and cooperation to the Linguistic Oversight Expert Committee for the execution of its duties.
The court’s judgment highlights the imperative necessity to preserve and protect the linguistic integrity and sanctity of the Nepali language, which is widely spoken across Sikkim and is recognized under the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution. The ruling is expected to be widely welcomed by language activists and the Nepali-speaking community, who view it as a crucial step against the perceived dilution and distortion of their mother tongue in the education system.
