Classical Languages

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 ● News: The Union Cabinet on (October 3, 2024) approved classical language
status to Marathi, Bengali, Assamese,Pali, and Prakrit.
● India has had six classical languages till now. Tamil, Telugu,Malayalam,
Kannada, Sanskrit, and Odia.
● Tamil was the first language to be given classical status in 2004 followed by
Sanskrit in 2005

Classical Language Status in India

● In 2004, the Government of India introduced the category of Classical Languages.
● 11 languages have been granted Classical Language status so far

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Benefits of Classical Language Status
● Two international awards for eminent scholars annually.
● Establishment of a Centre of Excellence for studies in the classical language.
● UGC is requested to create professional chairs in Central Universities for
promoting the classical language.

● The Linguistic Expert Committee discussed and understood that it was 'very
difficult to prove or disprove (original literary tradition) as all ancient languages
borrowed from each other'

Criteria for Declaring a Classical Language

● High Antiquity: Texts or recorded history of 1500-2000 years.
● Ancient Literature/texts: A body of ancient literature considered valuable by
generations of speakers
● Original Tradition: Independent literary tradition, not borrowed from another
speech community .
● Distinct from Modern Forms: It should be distinct from its modern forms or
offshoots.

there may also be a discontinuity between the classical language and its later forms
or its offshoots.

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The official languages of the United Nations (UN) are:
● Arabic
● Chinese (Mandarin)
● English
● French
● Russian
● Spanish

● Voting in the General Assembly : To adopt a resolution that would change the
list of official languages, the General Assembly typically follows a two-thirds
majority rule.

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Part XVII of Constitution [Languages]

● Part XVII of the Constitution of India deals with the official language
provisions under Articles 343 to 351.
● These provisions are divided into four key categories: 1 Language of the
Union 2 Regional Languages 3 Language of the Judiciary and Texts of Laws 4
Special Directives

Language of the Union: Key Provisions Official Language:

● Hindi in Devanagari script is the official language of the Union.
● For official purposes, the form of numerals used must be the international form of
Indian numerals, not Devanagari numerals.

Use of English (Transition Period):

● For 15 years from the commencement of the Constitution (1950–1965), English
would continue to be used for all official purposes, alongside Hindi.
● After 15 years, Parliament may legislate to continue the use of English for
specified official purposes.
Presidential Commissions: Article 344
● At the end of 5 years and 10 years after the Constitution's commencement, the
President must appoint a commission to recommend measures for the progressive
use of Hindi and restrictions on the use of English.

Parliamentary Committee:
● A committee of Parliament is constituted to review the commission's
recommendations and report its views to the President.

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In 1955, an Official Language Commission was appointed under B.G. Kher, and its
report was reviewed by a Parliamentary committee chaired by Gobind Ballabh Pant
in 1957. Subsequently, the Parliament enacted the Official Languages Act in 1963.

The Commission's role is to recommend:

• Progressive use of Hindi for official purposes.
• Restrictions on the use of English for official purposes.
• The language for purposes mentioned in Article 348.
• Numeral forms to be used.
• Any other matter regarding official language as referred by the President.
• Composition: The Commission is constituted by the President of India and
includes: - A Chairman.
- Other members representing different languages listed in the Eighth Schedule of
the Indian Constitution.

Official Languages Act, 1963:

● The Act allowed the continued use of English indefinitely for all official Union
purposes, alongside Hindi.
● In 1967, an amendment to the Act made the use of English compulsory in certain
cases, in addition to Hindi

Languages of the state governments

● The Constitution does not specify the official language of the states, but it
provides certain provisions regarding their language choices.

State Legislature's Authority: Article 345

• The legislature of a state may adopt any of the languages used in the state or Hindi
as the official language.
• The choice is not restricted to languages listed in the Eighth Schedule of the
Constitution
• Until a state adopts an official language, English will continue to be the official
language of that state.

Communication Between Union and States: Article 346

• Official language of the Union, remains the link language for communication
between the Union and the states or between various states.
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• Two or more states may agree to use Hindi instead of English for communication
among themselves.
• The Official Languages Act (1963) mandates that English be used for
communication between the Union and non-Hindi states.

Bilingual Communication:
• If Hindi is used for communication between a Hindi and a non-Hindi state, it must
be accompanied by an English translation.

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Direction by President for state's official language: Article 347
• If the President is satisfied, based on a demand, that a significant portion of a
state's population desires the use of their language, he may direct that the language
be officially recognized in that state.

Language of the Judiciary

● All proceedings in the Supreme Court and high courts must be conducted in
English until Parliament provides otherwise.
● The Supreme Court has no provision for the use of Hindi; hence, all petitions and
appeals are heard in English
● The Governor of a state, with the prior consent of the President, can authorize the
use of Hindi or any other official language of the state in high court proceedings.
● Judgements, decrees, and orders of high courts must still be issued in English
unless Parliament provides otherwise.
● The Official Languages Act, 1963 allows state governors, with the President's
consent, to authorize the use of Hindi or any state official language for judgements,
decrees, and orders passed by the high court, provided they are accompanied by an
English translation.

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Language of legislation
● Authoritative texts of bills, acts, ordinances, orders, rules, regulations, and bylaws
at both the Central and State levels must be in English until Parliament provides
otherwise.
● The Official Languages Act, 1963 mandates that Hindi translations of acts,
ordinances, orders, regulations, and bylaws published under the authority of the
President are deemed to be authoritative texts.
● The Authorized Translations (Central Laws) Act, 1973 allows translations of
central acts, ordinances, orders, rules, regulations, and bylaws into any regional
language specified in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution to be deemed
authoritative, provided they are published under the President's authority in the
Official Gazette.
● State legislatures can prescribe languages other than English for bills, acts,
ordinances, orders, rules, regulations, and bylaws. A translation in English must be
published alongside these documents.

Special Directives
Protection of Linguistic Minorities
Article 350
● Every aggrieved person has the right to submit a representation to the
government in any language used in the Union or the state.
● A representation cannot be rejected on the grounds of language

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Article 350A :
● Every state and local authority must provide adequate facilities for instruction in
the mother-tongue at the primary stage for children of linguistic minorities. The
President can issue necessary directions for this.

Article 350B
● The President should appoint a Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities to
investigate issues related to constitutional safeguards for linguistic minorities and
report to him/her. These reports are to be placed before Parliament and sent to the
concerned state governments

Development of Hindi Language : Article 351

● The Constitution directs the Centre to promote the spread and development of
Hindi to make it the lingua franca of India's composite culture.
● The Centre is tasked with enriching Hindi by assimilating forms, styles, and
expressions from Hindustani and other languages in the Eighth Schedule, drawing
primarily from Sanskrit and secondarily from other languages.

Linguistic Minorities

● The Constitution and or any legislation do not define the term "linguistic
minority." ● In the 1971 DAV College vs. State of Punjab case, the SC defined
linguistic minorities as groups with at least a spoken language, whether or not they
have a script.
● In the TA Pai Foundation vs. State of Karnataka case, the SC clarified that
linguistic minority status should be determined at the state level, not the national
level.
● The National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities report identifies
linguistic minority status based on numerical inferiority, non-dominant status in a
state, and possessing a distinct identity.

Ministry of Minority Affairs website:

● Linguistic minorities refer to groups or individuals in India with a distinct
language or script of their own.

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● The minority language does not need to be one of the 22 languages in the Eighth
Schedule.
● At the state level, linguistic minorities are groups whose mother tongue differs
from the state's principal language.
● At district and taluka/tehsil levels, linguistic minorities are those whose mother
tongue differs from the principal language of the district or taluka/tehsil.

Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities

Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities.

● Originally, the Constitution of India did not include provisions for a Special Officer
for Linguistic Minorities.
● The States Reorganisation Commission (1953-55) recommended the need for
such an officer.
● In 1956, the 7th Constitutional Amendment Act introduced Article 350-B into
Part XVII of the Constitution.

Key Provisions of Article 350-B

● A Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities must be appointed by the President of
India.
● The officer's duty is to investigate matters related to safeguards provided for
linguistic minorities under the Constitution.
● The officer reports to the President at intervals as directed, and these reports are
presented to both Houses of Parliament and sent to relevant state governments.
● The Constitution does not specify qualifications, tenure, salary, allowances,
service conditions, or removal procedure for the Special Officer.

Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities (CLM)

● The office of the Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities was created in 1957,
following the introduction of Article 350-B. This officer is designated as the
Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities (CLM).
● The CLM headquarters are in New Delhi with three regional offices in Belgaum
(Karnataka), Chennai (Tamil Nadu), and Kolkata (West Bengal). Each office is
headed by an Assistant Commissioner.
● The CLM is supported at headquarters by a Deputy Commissioner and an
Assistant Commissioner.

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● The CLM maintains liaison with state governments and union territories through
nodal officers appointed by them.
● At the central level, the CLM falls under the Ministry of Minority Affairs and
submits reports to the President through the Union Minority Affairs Minister.

It must be noted here that the Constitution does not specify the qualifications,
tenure, salaries a nd allowa nces, service conditions and procedure for removal of
the Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities.

Role of the Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities (CLM)

● Interacts with states and union territories on implementing constitutional
safeguards for linguistic minorities.
● Addresses issues raised by linguistic minority individuals, groups, or
organizations. ● Conducts on-the-spot assessments in linguistic minority areas and
educational institutions.

Functions of the Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities (CLM)

● Investigate all matters related to safeguards provided to linguistic minorities.
● Submit reports to the President of India on the status of implementation of
constitutional and nationally agreed safeguards.
● Monitor the implementation of safeguards through questionnaires, visits,
conferences, seminars, meetings, and other review mechanisms.

Eighth Schedule Languages

● The Eighth Schedule lists the official languages recognised by the government of
●India Currently specifies 22 languages (originally 14).
●These languages are: Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada,
Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi,
Sanskrit, Santali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu.

Amendments:
• Sindhi was added by the 21st Amendment Act, 1967.
• Konkani, Manipuri, and Nepali were added by the 71st Amendment Act, 1992.
• Bodo, Dogri, Maithili, and Santali were added by the 92nd Amendment Act, 2003.

Objectives of the Eigth Schedule:

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● The members of these languages are to be given representation in the Official
Language Commission. Article 341(1)
● The forms, styles, and expressions of these languages are to be used for the
enrichment of Hindi. Article 354

In 1968, the Parliament passed the official language resolution which obligated the
government to take measures for the development of the languages defined in the
eighth schedule.

Benefits of Inclusion in the Eighth Schedule:

• Recognized as literary languages by the National Sahitya Akademi.
• Allows MPs and MLAs to use language in Parliament and State Assemblies.
• Offers the option to take competitive exams, including the Civil Services exam, in
schedule language.
• Leads to special funding from the Central government for the promotion of
language. • Serves as a criterion for deciding the medium of instruction in secondary
schools, advocating for the use of modern Indian languages listed in the Eighth
Schedule along with English.

Committee of Parliament on Official Language

● The Official Languages Act (1963) mandated the establishment of a Committee of
Parliament to review the progress of using Hindi for official purposes.
● Set up in 1976, with 30 members (20 from Lok Sabha, 10 from Rajya Sabha),
operates under the Department of Official Language, Ministry of Home Affairs
● Chairman to be elected by the members, conventionally the Union Home Minister

Tasks:

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● Review the progress in Hindi usage based on the Constitution, Official Languages
Act (1963), and relevant rules.
● Examine additional aspects like medium of instruction in schools and colleges,
recruitment for Central Government services, and departmental exams.
● Submit a report with recommendations to the President
● The President lays the report before Parliament and sends it to State
Governments. Directions may be issued based on the report and state views.

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