Hindi as the official language of India

After a long discussion by the Constituent Assembly, on 14 September 1949, Hindi was accepted as the official language of India. After this, provisions were made in the Constitution regarding the official language from Articles 343 to 351. To keep its memory fresh, the day of 14 September is celebrated every year as Hindi Diwas. It is noteworthy that the Indian Constitution does not mention the national language.

After the conclusion of the debate in the Constituent Assembly on the evening of September 14, when the then part 14A of the Constitution and the present part 17, became part of the constitution, then Dr. Rajendra Prasad said a few words of congratulations in his speech. He said, "Today for the first time such a constitution has been made when we have kept a language in our constitution, which will be the language of the administration of the Union. This unique chapter will have a great impact on the building of the country". He expressed his happiness that the Constituent Assembly accepted the linguistic provisions with an overwhelming majority. What he said in the conclusion of his speech is unforgettable. He said, it is also a question of mental condition which will affect our whole life. The language we use at the center will bring us closer to each other. After all, we have come closer to English because it was a language. Now instead of that English we have adopted an Indian language. This will certainly make our relations closer, especially because our traditions are the same, our culture is the same and all things are the same in our civilization. Therefore, if we did not accept this formula, the result would have been that either many languages ​​would have been used in this country or those provinces would have been separated which did not want to accept any particular language by compulsion. We have acted as wisely as possible and I am happy, I am happy and I hope that future generations will appreciate us for that.

According to Article 343(1) of the Constitution, the official language of the Union of India is Hindi and the script is Devanagari. The form of numerals used for the official purposes of the Union is the international form of Indian numerals (i.e. 1, 2, 3 etc.). But along with this provision was also made in the constitution that the use of English would continue till 1965 for the executive, judicial and statutory purposes of the Union. However, a provision was made that even during the said period, the President can authorize the use of Hindi for certain specific purposes.

The business of Parliament can be done in Hindi or in English. Provided that the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha or the Speaker of the Lok Sabha may, in special circumstances, permit a member of the House to address the House in his mother tongue (Article 120 of the Constitution). For which purposes only Hindi is to be used, for which use of both Hindi and English languages ​​is necessary, And for which functions the English language is to be used, it has been prescribed by the Official Language Act 1963, the Official Language Rules, 1976 and the instructions issued under them from time to time by the Department of Official Language, Ministry of Home Affairs.

Justification for acceptance of Hindi as official language

Although India was a multilingual country, for a long time Hindi or some form of it was used as a contact language on a large part of it. During the Bhakti period, from north to south, from east to west, many saints composed their compositions in Hindi. Hindi journalism played a great role in the freedom movement. Raja Rammohun Roy, Swami Dayanand Saraswati, Mahatma Gandhi, Subhash Chandra Bose, Subrahmanya Bharati, etc. had dreamed of establishing Hindi as the national language.

Mahatma Gandhi, in his presidential address at the Gujarat Educational Conference in Bharuch in 1917, emphasized the need for a national language, saying that among Indian languages, Hindi was the only language that could be adopted as the national language as it was spoken by most of the Indians. She goes; It is capable of being used as a medium of economic, religious, and political communication all over India and it is necessary to learn it for the whole country.

Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation, had given the following characteristics of 'official language'-

• The language should be easy for the users to use.
• There should be mutual religious, economic, and political interaction of India through that language.
• It is necessary that many people of India speak that language.
• That language should be easy for the nation.
• While thinking of that language, emphasis should not be placed on any momentary or short-lasting condition.

In the context of India, the Hindi language perfectly fits these characteristics.

Article 343 Official language of the Union

• The official language of the Union shall be Hindi and the script Devanagari, the form of numerals to be used for the official purposes of the Union shall be the international form of Indian numerals.
• Not with standing anything contained 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 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 order, authorize the use of the Hindi language in addition to the English language and the Devanagari form in addition to the international form of Indian numerals for any of the official purposes of the Union.
• Not with standing anything contained in this article, Parliament may, after the said period of fifteen years, by law

Article 351 Instructions for the development of Hindi language

It shall be the duty of the Union to spread, develop and promote the Hindi language so that it may become a medium of expression for all the elements of the composite culture of India, and without interfering with its nature, in Hindustani and in other languages ​​of India specified in the Eighth Schedule. Ensure its prosperity by assimilating the form, style, and terms used and where necessary or desirable, by taking words mainly from Sanskrit and secondarily from other languages ​​for its vocabulary.

References

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