17Part XVII (A:343-351): Official Language
· Article 343 :
Official language of the Union
343. (1) The
official language of the Union shall be Hindi in Devanagari script.
The form of numerals to be used for the official purposes of the Union shall be
the international form of Indian numerals.
(2) Notwithstanding anything in clause (1), for a period of fifteen years from
the commencement of this Constitution, the English language shall continue to
be used for all the official purposes of the Union for which it was being used
immediately before such commencement:
Provided that the President may, during the said period, by order1 authorise
the use of the Hindi language in addition to the English language and of the
Devanagari form of numerals in addition to the international form of Indian
numerals for any of the official purposes of the Union.
(3) Notwithstanding anything in this article, Parliament may by law provide for
the use, after the said period of fifteen years, of-
(a) the English language, or
(b) the Devanagari form of numerals, for such purposes as may be specified in
the law.
· Article 344 :
Commission and Committee of Parliament on official language
344. (1) The
President shall, at the expiration of five years from the commencement of this
Constitution and thereafter at the expiration of ten years from such
commencement, by order constitute a Commission which shall consist of a
Chairman and such other members representing the different languages specified
in the Eighth Schedule as the President may appoint, and the order shall define
the procedure to be followed by the Commission.
(2) It shall be the duty of the Commission to make recommendations to the
President as to-
(a) the progressive use of the Hindi language for the official purposes of the
Union;
(b) restrictions on the use of the English language for all or any of the
official purposes of the Union;
(c) the language to be used for all or any of the purposes mentioned in article
348;
(d) the form of numerals to be used for any one or more specified purposes of
the Union;
(e) any other matter referred to the Commission by the President as regards the
official language of the Union and the language for communication between the
Union and a State or between one State and another and their use.
(3) In making their recommendations under clause (2), the Commission shall have
due regard to the industrial, cultural and scientific advancement of India, and
the just claims and the interests of persons belonging to the non-Hindi
speaking areas in regard to the public services.
(4) There shall be constituted a Committee consisting of thirty members, of
whom twenty shall be members of the House of the People and ten shall be
members of the Council of States to be elected respectively by the members of
the House of the People and the members of the Council of States in accordance
with the system of proportional representation by means of the single
transferable vote.
(5) It shall be the duty of the Committee to examine the recommendations of the
Commission constituted under clause (1) and to report to the President their
opinion thereon.
(6) Notwithstanding anything in article 343, the President may, after
consideration of the report referred to in clause (5), issue directions in
accordance with the whole or any part of that report.
· Article 345 :
Official language or languages of a State
345. Subject to
the provisions of articles 346 and 347, the Legislature of a State may by law
adopt any one or more of the languages in use in the State or Hindi as the
language or languages to be used for all or any of the official purposes of
that State:
Provided that, until the Legislature of the State otherwise provides by law,
the English language shall continue to be used for those official purposes within
the State for which it was being used immediately before the commencement of
this Constitution.
· Article 346 :
Official language for communication between one State and another or between a
State and the Union
346. The
language for the time being authorised for use in the Union for official
purposes shall be the official language for communication between one State and
another State and between a State and the Union:
Provided that if two or more States agree that the Hindi language should be the
official language for communication between such States, that language may be
used for such communication.
· Article 347 :
Special provision relating to language spoken by a section of the population of
a State
347. On a
demand being made in that behalf the President may, if he is satisfied that a
substantial proportion of the population of a State desire the use of any
language spoken by them to be recognised by that State, direct that such
language shall also be officially recognised throughout that State or any part
thereof for such purpose as he may specify.
· Article 348 :
Language to be used in the Supreme Court and in the High Courts and for Acts,
Bills, etc.
348. (1)
Notwithstanding anything in the foregoing provisions of this Part, until
Parliament by law otherwise provides-
(a) all proceedings in the Supreme Court and in every High Court,
(b) the authoritative texts-
(i) of all Bills to be introduced or amendments thereto to be moved in either
House of Parliament or in the House or either House of the Legislature of a
State,
(ii) of all Acts passed by Parliament or the Legislature of a State and of all
Ordinances promulgated by the President or the Governor * of a State, and
(iii) of all orders, rules, regulations and bye-laws issued under this Constitution
or under any law made by Parliament or the Legislature of a State, shall be in
the English language.
(2) Notwithstanding anything in sub-clause (a) of clause (1), the Governor * of
a State may, with the previous consent of the President, authorise the use of
the Hindi language, or any other language used for any official purposes of the
State, in proceedings in the High Court having its principal seat in that
State:
Provided that nothing in this clause shall apply to any judgment, decree or order
passed or made by such High Court.
(3) Notwithstanding anything in sub-clause (b) of clause (1), where the
Legislature of a State has prescribed any language other than the English
language for use in Bills introduced in, or Acts passed by, the Legislature of
the State or in Ordinances promulgated by the Governor * of the State or in any
order, rule, regulation or bye-law referred to in paragraph (iii) of that
sub-clause, a translation of the same in the English language published under
the authority of the Governor * of the State in the Official Gazette of that
State shall be deemed to be the authoritative text thereof in the English
language under this article.
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* The words "or Rajpramukh" omitted by the Constitution (Seventh Amendment)
Act, 1956, s. 29 and Sch
· Article 349 :
Special procedure for enactment of certain laws relating to language
349. During the
period of fifteen years from the commencement of this Constitution, no Bill or
amendment making provision for the language to be used for any of the purposes
mentioned in clause (1) of article 348 shall be introduced or moved in either
House of Parliament without the previous sanction of the President, and the
President shall not give his sanction to the introduction of any such Bill or
the moving of any such amendment except after he has taken into consideration
the recommendations of the Commission constituted under clause (1) of article
344 and the report of the Committee constituted under clause (4) of that
article.
· Article 350 :
Language to be used in representations for redress of grievances
350. Every
person shall be entitled 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.
· Article 350A :
Facilities for instruction in mother-tongue at primary stage
[350A. It shall
be the endeavour of every State and of every local authority within the State
to provide adequate facilities for instruction in the mother-tongue at the
primary stage of education to children belonging to linguistic minority groups;
and the President may issue such directions to any State as he considers
necessary or proper for securing the provision of such facilities.]*
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* Ins. by the Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956, s. 21
· Article 350B :
Special Officer for linguistic minorities
[350B. (1)
There shall be a Special Officer for linguistic minorities to be appointed by
the President.
(2) It shall be the duty of the Special Officer to investigate all matters
relating to the safeguards provided for linguistic minorities under this
Constitution and report to the President upon those matters at such intervals
as the President may direct, and the President shall cause all such reports to
be laid before each House of Parliament, and sent to the Governments of the
States concerned.]*
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* Ins. by the Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956, s. 21
· Article 351 :
Directive for development of the Hindi language
351. It shall
be the duty of the Union to promote the spread of the Hindi language, to
develop it so that it may serve as a medium of expression for all the elements
of the composite culture of India and to secure its enrichment by assimilating
without interfering with its genius, the forms, style and expressions used in
Hindustani and in the other languages of India specified in the Eighth
Schedule, and by drawing, wherever necessary or desirable, for its vocabulary,
primarily on Sanskrit and secondarily on other languages.