Official Language: Constitutional Provisions and Debates

Introduction

India's linguistic diversity - with 22 scheduled languages and hundreds of dialects - posed a unique challenge for the Constituent Assembly. The official language debate was among the most contentious issues during constitution-making, balancing national unity with linguistic pluralism. The constitutional scheme under Part XVII (Articles 343-351) reflects this delicate compromise.

Constitutional Provisions

Hindi in Devanagari Script - The Official Language (Article 343)

• Article 343(1): Hindi in Devanagari script is the official language of the Union
• Article 343(2): English to continue as associate official language for 15 years (until 1965)
• Article 343(3): Parliament may by law provide for continued use of English after 1965

Official Language of the States (Article 345)

• State legislature may adopt any language(s) in use in the state as its official language
• Example: Urdu in Jammu & Kashmir (now UT), Kashmiri medium education

Official Language of the Supreme Court and High Courts (Article 348)

• Supreme Court: English is the language of proceedings
• High Courts: English; can use Hindi or other languages with Presidential approval
• Bills, Acts, Regulations: English text is authoritative

Language of Communication...