LANGUAGE OF THE UNION
The Constitution contains the following provisions in respect of the official language of
the Union.
1. Hindi written in Devanagari script is to be the official language of the Union.
But, the form of numerals to be used for the official purposes of the Union has to
be the international form of Indian numerals and not the Devanagari form of
numerals.
2. However, for a period of fifteen years from the commencement of the
Constitution (i.e., from 1950 to 1965), the English language would continue to be
used for all the official purposes of the Union for which it was being used before
1950.
3. Even after fifteen years, the Parliament may provide for the continued use of
English language for the specified purposes.
4. At the end of five years, and again at the end of ten years, from the
commencement of the Constitution, the president should appoint a commission
to make recommendations with regard to the progressive use of the Hindi
language, restrictions on the use of the English language and other related
issues.
5. A committee of Parliament is to be constituted to examine the recommendations
of the commission and to report its views on them to the president.
Accordingly, in 1955, the president appointed an Official Language Commission under
the chairmanship of B G Kher. The commission submitted its report to the President in
1956. The report was examined by a committee of Parliament constituted in 1957 under
the chairmanship of Gobind Ballabh Pant.
However, another Official Language Commission (as envisaged by the Constitution)
was not appointed in 1960. Subsequently, the Parliament enacted the Official Language
Act in 1963. The act provides for the continued use of English (even after 1965), in

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addition to Hindi, for all official purposes of the Union and also for the transaction of
business in Parliament.
Notably, this act enables the use of English indefinitely (without any time-limit).
Further, this act was amended in 1967 to make the use of English, in addition to Hindi,
compulsory in certain cases.
Regional Languages:
The Constitution does not specify the official language of different states. In this
regard, it makes the following provisions:
1. The legislature of a state may adopt any one or more of the languages in use in the
state or Hindi as the official language of that state. Until that is done, English is to
continue as official language of that state.
Under this provision, most of the states have adopted the major regional language as
their official language.
For example, Andhra Pradesh has adopted Telugu,
Kerala—Malayalam,
Assam—Assamese,
West Bengal—Bengali,
Odisha—Odia.
The nine northern states of Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya
Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Haryana and Rajasthan have adopted Hindi.
Gujarat has adopted Hindi in addition to Gujarati. Similarly, Goa has adopted Marathi
in addition to Konkani. Jammu and Kashmir have adopted Urdu (and not Kashmiri).
On the other hand, certain north eastern States like Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and
Nagaland have adopted English.
Notably, the choice of the state is not limited to the languages enumerated in the
Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
2. For the time being, the official language of the Union (i.e., English) would remain
the link language for communications between the Union and the states or between
various states.

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But, two or more states are free to agree to use Hindi (instead of English) for
communication between themselves. Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and
Bihar are some of the states that have entered into such agreements.
The Official Language Act (1963) lays down that English should be used for purposes of
communication between the Union and the non- Hindi states (that is, the states that
have not adopted Hindi as their official language).
Further, where Hindi is used for communication between a Hindi and a non-Hindi
state, such communication in Hindi should be accompanied by an English translation.
3. When the President (on a demand being made) is satisfied that a substantial
proportion of the population of a state desire the use of any language spoken by them
to be recognized by that state, then he may direct that such language shall also be
officially recognized in that state. This provision aims at protecting the linguistic
interests of minorities in the states.
Language of the Judiciary and texts of Laws
The constitutional provisions dealing with the language of the courts and legislation are
as follows:
1. Until Parliament provides otherwise, the following are to be in the English language
only:
(a) All proceedings in the Supreme Court and in every high court.
(b) The authoritative texts of all bills, acts, ordinances, orders, rules, regulations
and bye-laws at the Central and state levels.
2. However, the governor of a state, with the previous consent of the president, can
authorise the use of Hindi or any other official language of the state, in the proceedings
in the high court of the state, but not with respect to the judgements, decrees and
orders passed by it.
3. Similarly, a state legislature can prescribe the use of any language (other than
English) with respect to bills, acts, ordinances, orders, rules, regulations or bye-laws,
but a translation of the same in the English language is to be published.

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The Official Language Act of 1963 lays down that Hindi translation of acts, ordinances,
orders, regulations and bye-laws published under the authority of the president are
deemed to be authoritative texts.
Further, every bill introduced in the Parliament is to be accompanied by a Hindi
translation. Similarly, there is to be a Hindi translation of state acts or ordinances in
certain cases. The act also enables the governor of a state, with the previous consent of
the president, to authorize the use of Hindi or any other official language of the state
for judgements, decrees and orders passed by the high court of the state but they
should be accompanied by an English translation.
For example, Hindi is used in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan for
this purpose.
However, the Parliament has not made any provision for the use of Hindi in the
Supreme Court. Hence, the Supreme Court hears only those who petition or appeal in
English.
In 1971, a petitioner insisted on arguing in Hindi a habeas corpus petition in the
Supreme Court. But the Court cancelled his petition on the ground that the language of
the Court was English and allowing Hindi would be unconstitutional.
Special Directives:
The Constitution contains certain special directives to protect the interests of linguistic
minorities and to promote the development of Hindi language.
There are:
Protection of Linguistic Minorities
In this regard, the Constitution makes the following provisions:
1. Every aggrieved person has the right to submit a representation for the redress
of any grievance to any officer or authority of the Union or a state in any of the
languages used in the Union or in the state, as the case may be. This means that
a representation cannot be rejected on the ground that it is not in the official
language.

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2. Every state and a local authority in the state should provide adequate facilities
for instruction in the mother-tongue at the primary stage of education to
children belonging to linguistic minority groups. The president can issue
necessary directions for this purpose.
3. The president should appoint a special officer for linguistic minorities to
investigate all matters relating to the constitutional safeguards for linguistic
minorities and to report to him. The president should place all such reports
before the Parliament and send to the state government concerned.
Development of Hindi Language
The Constitution imposes a duty upon the Centre to promote the spread and
development of the Hindi language so that it may become the lingua franca of the
composite culture of India.
Further, the Centre is directed to secure the enrichment of Hindi by assimilating the
forms, style and expressions used in hindustani and in other languages specified in the
Eighth Schedule and by drawing its vocabulary, primarily on sanskrit and secondarily
on other languages.
At present (2016), the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution specifies 22 languages
(originally 14 languages). These are Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri (Dongri), Gujarati,
Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Mathili (Maithili), Malayalam, Manipuri,
Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santhali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu.
Sindhi was added by the 21st Amendment Act of 1967; Konkani, Manipuri and Nepali
were added by the 71st Amendment Act of 1992; and Bodo, Dongri, Maithili and
Santhali were added by the 92nd Amendment Act of 2003.
In terms of the Constitution provisions, there are two objectives behind the
specification of the above regional languages in the Eighth Schedule:
(a) the members of these languages are to be given representation in the Official
Language Commission; and
(b) the forms, style and expression of these languages are to be used for the enrichment
of the Hindi language.

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Questions:
1. Discuss in detail about Official Language in India.