Eleanor Finch
The Indian Constitution has undergone many amendments since its adoption in 1950, with one of the most dynamic aspects being the recognition of official languages. The Eighth Schedule, which lists the country's official languages, has expanded from 14 to 22 languages, with demands for the inclusion of 38 more. The Constitution also contains directives to protect the interests of linguistic minorities and promote the development of the Hindi language. English, though not listed in the Eighth Schedule, continues to be used for official purposes alongside Hindi.
Characteristics and Values of Language in the Indian Constitution
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of official languages | 22 |
| First official language | Hindi |
| Second official language | English |
| Number of scheduled languages on the official website of the Indian Prime Minister's Office | 12 |
| Number of scheduled languages in the Press Information Bureau | 15 |
| Number of scheduled languages selected by the Staff Selection Commission | 14 |
| Number of Classical languages | 6 |
| Number of languages in the Eighth Schedule | 22 |
| Number of languages in the Eighth Schedule in 1950 | 14 |
| Number of languages in the Eighth Schedule in 1967 | 15 |
| Number of languages in the Eighth Schedule in 1992 | 18 |
| Number of languages in the Eighth Schedule in 2003 | 22 |
| Number of languages in the Eighth Schedule in 2011 | 22 |
| Number of languages in the Eighth Schedule in 2024 | 22 |
| Number of languages with demands for inclusion in the Eighth Schedule | 38 |
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What You'll Learn
- The Indian Constitution declared Hindi as the official language
- English was to be phased out 15 years after the constitution came into effect
- The Official Languages Act, 1963, continued the use of English for official purposes
- The Indian Constitution contains directives to protect the interests of linguistic minorities
- The Constitution lists 22 official languages, including Hindi, Bengali, and Punjabi
The Indian Constitution declared Hindi as the official language
The Indian Constitution, adopted in 1950, declared Hindi in Devanagari script to be the official language of the union. The Indian Constitution also envisaged that English would be phased out in favour of Hindi over a fifteen-year period. However, this prospect led to alarm in non-Hindi-speaking areas of India, especially Dravidian-speaking states whose languages were not related to Hindi. As a result, the Official Languages Act of 1963 was enacted, providing for the continued use of English for official purposes alongside Hindi.
The choice of the official language for India generated intense debate and conflict in the Constituent Assembly. While some favoured declaring Hindi written in Devanagari the national language of India immediately, there were divisions within this camp over the script of the language and whether Hindustani should be retained. Others wanted to continue the usage of English, and Nehru, although supporting the dropping of English, cautioned against doing so forcefully in the face of opposition in the South.
To address these concerns, the Indian Constitution included a compromise, providing that English would be phased out gradually over a fifteen-year period, with Parliament having the power to extend the use of English by law if needed. Despite this compromise, the proposal to end the use of English was dropped in 1967, and English continues to be used as a "subsidiary official language" in addition to Hindi.
The Indian Constitution also provides that every person submitting a petition for the redress of a grievance to a government officer has a constitutional right to submit it in any language used in India. Additionally, the Constitution recognises 22 scheduled languages, including Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Meitei (Manipuri), Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, and Telugu, in addition to English. These languages are made available on the official website of the Indian Prime Minister's Office and in various government examinations.
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English was to be phased out 15 years after the constitution came into effect
The Indian Constitution, which came into effect on 26 January 1950, declared Hindi in Devanagari script to be the official language of the union. It also stated that English would serve as an additional official language for a period not exceeding 15 years, after which its use for official purposes was to cease.
This meant that by 26 January 1965, 15 years after the constitution came into effect, English was to be phased out. However, this prospect caused much alarm in the non-Hindi-speaking areas of India, especially Dravidian-speaking states whose languages were not related to Hindi. As a result, the Parliament enacted the Official Languages Act, 1963, which allowed for the continued use of English for official purposes alongside Hindi even after 1965.
The Official Languages Act, 1963, came into effect on 26 January 1965, the same date that English was initially supposed to be phased out. This Act provided for the continued use of English as an official language, alongside Hindi. The Act was later amended in 1967 to state that the use of English would not be ended until a resolution to that effect was passed by the legislature of every state that had not adopted Hindi as its official language and by each house of the Indian Parliament.
The Indian Constitution is the world's longest for a sovereign nation, with about 145,000 words. It has had more than 100 amendments since it was enacted and is the second-longest active constitution in the world. The Constitution of India has been translated into various Indian languages, including Hindi, Sanskrit, Tamil, and Maithili. It is worth noting that there is no national language of India, and the Constitution distinguishes the language to be used in Parliamentary proceedings from the language in which laws are to be made.
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The Official Languages Act, 1963, continued the use of English for official purposes
The Indian Constitution, adopted in 1950, declared Hindi in Devanagari script to be the official language of the union. It also envisaged that English would be phased out in 15 years, ceasing to be used for official purposes by 26 January 1965. However, the prospect of this changeover caused alarm in non-Hindi-speaking areas of India, especially Dravidian-speaking states. As a result, the Official Languages Act, 1963, was enacted to allow for the continued use of English for official purposes alongside Hindi.
The Act, which came into force on 26 January 1965, provided that the use of English would not be ended until a resolution to that effect was passed by the legislature of every state that had not adopted Hindi as its official language and by each house of the Indian Parliament. This ensured that English would continue to be used for official purposes in addition to Hindi, as a "subsidiary official language".
The Official Languages Act, 1963, also made provisions for the use of languages in the transaction of business in Parliament, Central and State Acts, and certain purposes in High Courts. It allowed for the optional use of Hindi or another official language in judgements of High Courts, with the previous consent of the President. Additionally, it required the publication of authorised Hindi translations of State Acts, alongside English translations, in the Official Gazette of the State.
The Indian Constitution also grants every person submitting a petition for the redress of a grievance to a government officer or authority the right to submit it in any language used in India. The Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, as of 2024, lists 22 languages that are officially recognised by the Government of India. These include Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santhali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu. However, there are demands for the inclusion of 38 more languages in the Eighth Schedule, with communities arguing that inclusion would help preserve and promote their cultural heritage and linguistic identity.
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The Indian Constitution contains directives to protect the interests of linguistic minorities
The Indian Constitution, adopted in 1950, contains directives to protect the interests of linguistic minorities. It also promotes the development of the Hindi language. The Constitution declared Hindi in Devanagari script to be the official language of the union. However, the use of English for official purposes was to continue for 15 years after the constitution came into effect, i.e., until 1965. This was because there was much alarm in non-Hindi-speaking areas of India, especially Dravidian-speaking states whose languages were not related to Hindi.
The Indian Constitution has 12 schedules, and the 8th schedule deals with the official languages in India. As of 2024, 22 languages have been classified under the schedule. The 8th schedule initially included 14 languages: Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya (now Odia), Punjabi, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu. In 1967, the 21st amendment added Sindhi to the 8th schedule. The 71st Amendment, enacted in 1992, added three more languages: Konkani, Manipuri, and Nepali. In 2003, the 92nd Amendment added Bodo, Dogri, Santhali, and Maithili, raising the total number of languages to 22.
The Constitution contains certain special directives to protect the interests of linguistic minorities. These include the right of every aggrieved person 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. This means that a representation cannot be rejected on the ground that it is not an official language. Additionally, every state and 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.
Furthermore, the Constitution provides for a Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities, known as the Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities in India (CLM). The CLM investigates all matters relating to the safeguards provided for linguistic minorities and reports to the President. The CLM interacts with linguistic minority groups and states/UTs on matters concerning the implementation of the Constitutional and nationally agreed Scheme of Safeguards for linguistic minorities.
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The Constitution lists 22 official languages, including Hindi, Bengali, and Punjabi
The Indian Constitution recognises 22 official languages, including Hindi, Bengali, and Punjabi. The Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, which deals with official languages, initially recognised 14 languages in 1950. However, through various amendments, the list has expanded to 22. The languages currently recognised under the Eighth Schedule are: Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Maithili, Nepali, Odia (previously Oriya), Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santhali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu.
The Indian Constitution has provisions in place to protect the interests of linguistic minorities and promote the development of the Hindi language. These include the right to submit a petition to a government officer or authority in any language used in India and the requirement for state and local authorities to provide adequate facilities for instruction in the mother tongue at the primary level for children from linguistic minority groups.
The Indian government has taken several steps to promote the use of Hindi, including establishing regional implementation offices and setting annual targets for the amount of official correspondence carried out in Hindi. The Official Languages Act of 1963 provided for the continued use of English for official purposes, alongside Hindi, even after the original 15-year timeline for the phasing out of English had passed.
There are ongoing demands for the inclusion of additional languages in the Eighth Schedule, with communities arguing that inclusion would help preserve and promote their cultural heritage and linguistic identity. However, recognising too many languages could also complicate governance, translation, and communication, and may dilute resources available for the development of existing languages.
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Frequently asked questions
22 languages are officially recognised by the Indian Constitution as of 2024.
The Indian Constitution officially recognises the following languages: Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Maithili, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santhali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu.
The Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution lists the official languages of the Republic of India.
