What are the Official Languages of India?

Official Status of Languages in India

What is the official language of India?

India has no National Language. Yet, Article 343(1) of the Indian constitution exclusively states, “The official language of the Union shall be Hindi in Devanagari script.” However, English is permitted to be utilized for official purposes, for instance, parliamentary businesses, judiciary, communications amid the Central Government and a State Government. Therefore, the proceedings in the Indian parliament can only be conducted in Hindi or English. 

Besides the official languages, the constitution identifies 22 regional languages, Hindi but not English, as scheduled languages.

 History

British India had English, Urdu, and Hindi as its official languages, with English being used for functions at the central level.  

The Indian constitution implemented in 1950 envisioned that English would be parted out in favor of Hindi over fifteen years but bestowed Parliament the authority to, by law, grant for the continued usage of English even beyond that. Plans to make Hindi the only official language of the Republic were met with conflict in many parts of the country. English and Hindi persist in being used today, in amalgamation with other (at the central level and in some states) official languages.

 Official languages of the Union

The Indian constitution, in response to what is the official language of India, proclaimed Hindi in the Devanagari script to exist as the official language of the union. Till the Parliament chose otherwise, the usage of English for authorized purposes was to end 15 years after the constitution came into existence, i.e., on 26 January 1950. Nevertheless, the vision of the switch led to much distress in the non-Hindi-speaking areas of India, particularly Dravidian-speaking states whose languages were not linked to Hindi at all. 

Consequently, Parliament passed the Official Languages Act, 1963, which provided for the continued use of English for official purposes alongside Hindi, even after 1965.

Hence, the position is that the Union government prolongs the use of English besides Hindi for its authorized purposes as a “subsidiary official language” but is also obliged to organize and implement a program to augment its use of Hindi increasingly.

 Parliamentary proceedings and laws

As per the Constitution, a parliamentary business may be performed in either Hindi or English. Furthermore, the constitution allows a person who is incapable of expressing themselves in either Hindi or English to, with the authorization of the Speaker of the concerned House, address the House in their mother tongue.

On the contrary, the constitution necessitates the authoritative text of all laws, comprising Parliamentary enactments and constitutional instruments, to be in English until Parliament decides otherwise. 

Judiciary

The constitution grants and the Supreme Court of India have restated that all proceedings in the Supreme Court (the country’s Apex court) and the High Courts shall be in English. Parliament has the authority to amend this by-law. However, it has not done so. 

Nevertheless, in many high courts, there is permission for the voluntary use of Hindi with authorization from the President. Such proposals have been triumphant in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar.

 Administration

The Official Language Act grants that the Union government shall make usage of both Hindi and English in most governmental documents meant for the public. However, the Union government is necessitated by law to encourage the use of Hindi. 

Moreover, every person presenting a petition to remedy a grievance to a government officer or authority has a lawful right to present it in any language used in India.

 Legislature and administration

State legislatures may perform their business in their official language, Hindi or (for an intermediary period, which the legislature can lengthen if it so decides) English, and members who cannot use any of these have equal rights to speak their mother tongue with the Speaker’s consent.

Conclusion

Since India is a land of multiple ethnicities and cultures, the Indian constitution ensures that no citizen is deprived of their mother tongue. Therefore, there are several official languages in India at the state/territory level. Even if the answer to India’s official language would be Hindi and English, states in India have the autonomy and authority to stipulate their official language(s) via legislation.