Languages with official status in India
There is no national language in India.[4][5][6] However, article 343(1) of the Indian constitution specifically mentions that "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,"[6] while article 343(2) allowed for the continuation of English as an official language for another 15 years and 343(3) gave the parliament the power to provide for the use of English language after this period.[5] The clause 3 of the Official Languages Act, 1963 allows for the continued use of English language for official purposes of the Union government and for parliamentary business. Hence Indian English and Modern Standard Hindi are the Official Languages of the Government of India.[7]
Part of a series on | |
---|---|
| |
Constitutionally recognised languages of India | |
Category | |
22 Official Languages of the Indian Republic | |
Related | |
Business in the Indian parliament may only be conducted in Hindi or in English. In addition to the official languages, the constitution recognises 22 regional languages, which include Hindi but not English, as scheduled languages (see below). According to Article 120, members of parliament are allowed to speak and present their views in any of the 22 scheduled languages recognised by the Constitution of India. English is allowed to be used for official purposes, including in parliamentary proceedings, the judiciary, and communications between the Central Government and a State Government. There are various official languages in India at the state/territory-level.
States can specify their own official language(s) through legislation. The section of the Constitution of India dealing with official languages, therefore, includes detailed provisions which deal not just with the languages used for the official purposes of the union, but also with the languages that are to be used for the official purposes of each state and union territory in the country, and the languages that are to be used for communication between the union and the states.
History
The official languages of British India before independence were English, Standard Urdu and later Modern Standard Hindi, with English being used for purposes at the central level.[8] The origins of official Hindi usage traces back to 1900, when MacDonnell issued an order, which allowed the “permissive — but not exclusive — use” of Devanagari for Hindustani language in the courts of North-Western Provinces.[9]
Following independence, the Constituent Assembly remained divided on the language issue, with some like R. V. Dulekar and Seth Govind Das favouring declaring Hindi written in devanagri the national language of India immediately, while within the camp favouring Hindi there were divisions over whether the script of the language should be devanagri or roman, whether Hindustani with both devanagri and urdu scripts be retained, and whether the numerals should be international or devanagri. Meanwhile some like Frank Anthony, T A Ramalingam Chettiar, and Naziruddin Ahmad wanted to continue the usage of English, while Nehru although supporting the dropping of English as an official language in favour of Hindi/Hindustani cautioned against forcefully doing so in face of opposition in the South.[10][11] The Indian constitution, adopted in 1950; as a compromise, envisaged that English would be phased out in favour of Hindi, over a fifteen-year period, but gave Parliament the power to, by law, provide for the continued use of English even thereafter.[12]
Plans to make Hindi the sole official language of the Republic were met with resistance in many parts of the country, especially in Tamil Nadu, which had a history of opposing imposition of the Hindi language dating back to 1937, when the Justice Party opposed the then Congress led Madras Government's decision to make Hindi compulsory in secondary schools.[13]
English and Hindi continue to be used today, in combination with other (at the central level and in some states) official languages. The legal framework governing the use of languages for official purpose currently is the Official Languages Act, 1963, the Official Language Rules, 1976, and various state laws, as well as rules and regulations made by the central government and the states.
Scheduled languages of the Indian Constitution
The Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India contains a list of 22 "Scheduled Languages" (official languages) of the Republic of India.
The table below lists the 22 scheduled languages of the Republic of India as set out in the Eighth Schedule as of May 2008, together with the regions where they are widely spoken and used as the state's official language. However, states are not mandated to choose their official languages from the scheduled languages. Sindhi is not official in any states or union territories even though it is listed in the Eighth Schedule.
List
Sr. No. | Language[lower-alpha 2] | Family | Speakers (in millions, 2011)[14] |
Official recognition in State(s) | ISO 639 code |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | Assamese | Indo-Aryan, Eastern | 15.3 |
|
as |
2. | Bengali | Indo-Aryan, Eastern | 97.2 |
|
bn |
3. | Bodo | Tibeto-Burman | 1.48 |
|
brx |
4. | Dogri | Indo-Aryan, Northwestern | 2.6 |
|
doi |
5. | Gujarati | Indo-Aryan, Western | 55.5 |
|
gu |
6. | Hindi | Indo-Aryan, Central | 528 |
|
hi |
7. | Kannada | Dravidian | 43.7 |
|
kn |
8. | Kashmiri | Indo-Aryan, Dardic | 6.8 |
|
ks |
9. | Konkani | Indo-Aryan, Southern | 2.25 | gom | |
10. | Maithili | Indo-Aryan, Eastern | 13.6 |
|
mai |
11. | Malayalam | Dravidian | 34.8 |
|
ml |
12. | Manipuri | Tibeto-Burman | 1.8 |
|
mni |
13. | Marathi | Indo-Aryan, Southern | 83 |
|
mr |
14. | Nepali | Indo-Aryan, Northern | 2.9 |
|
ne |
15. | Odia | Indo-Aryan, Eastern | 37.5 | or | |
16. | Punjabi | Indo-Aryan, Northwestern | 33.1 | pa | |
17. | Sanskrit | Indo-Aryan | 0.02 |
|
sa |
18. | Santali | Austroasiatic | 7.6 |
|
sat |
19. | Sindhi | Indo-Aryan, Northwestern | 2.7 | sd | |
20. | Tamil | Dravidian | 69 |
|
ta |
21. | Telugu | Dravidian | 81.1 |
|
te |
22. | Urdu | Indo-Aryan, Central | 50.7 | ur |
For all the scheduled languages
The scheduled languages have the following benefits:
- Best Feature Film in any of the scheduled languages are eligible for the National Film Awards.[lower-alpha 3]
- Literary works in any of the scheduled languages are eligible for the Sahitya Akademi Awards, the Sahitya Akademi Translation Prizes and the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar.[30]
- Literary works in any of the scheduled languages are eligible for the Gyanpeeth Awards (Jnanpith Awards).[31]
- People who contribute to the literature of any of the scheduled languages are eligible for the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship, which is more honourable than even receiving the Sahitya Akademi Award.[30]
- Prose or poetry literary works in any of the scheduled languages are eligible for the Saraswati Samman, the highest among all the literary awards in India.[30]
- Writers who contribute to the literature of any of the scheduled languages are eligible for the Bhasha Samman Awards.[30]
- Candidates for Union Public Service Commission can appear examination for optional papers in any of the literature of the scheduled languages.[32]
For some of the scheduled languages
- 11 out of the 22 scheduled languages are made available in the official website of the Indian Prime Minister's Office, namely Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Meitei (Manipuri), Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil and Telugu in addition to English and Hindi.[33]
- 14 out of the 22 scheduled languages are made available in the Press Information Bureau (PIB) by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of India (GOI), namely Dogri, Punjabi, Bengali, Odia, Gujarati, Marathi, Meitei (Manipuri), Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, Konkani and Urdu, in addition to Hindi and English.[34][35]
- 13 out of the 22 scheduled languages are selected by the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) of the Government of India, to be made available in the conduction of the Multi-Tasking (Non-Technical) Staff examination across the country, namely Urdu, Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Konkani, Meitei (Manipuri), Marathi, Odia and Punjabi, in addition to Hindi and English.[36][37]
Demands for scheduled language status
At present, as per the Ministry of Home Affairs,[38] there are demands for inclusion of 38 more languages in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution. These are: Angika, Banjara, Bajjika, Bhojpuri, Bhoti, Bhotia, Bundelkhandi, Chhattisgarhi, Dhatki, English, Garhwali, Gondi, Gujjari, Ho, Kachhi, Kamtapuri, Karbi, Khasi, Kodava, Kokborok, Kumaoni, Kurukh, Kurmali, Lepcha, Limbu, Mizo, Magahi, Mundari, Nagpuri, Nicobarese, Pahari, Pali, Rajasthani, Sambalpuri, Shauraseni Prakrit, Saraiki, Tenyidi and Tulu.[38]
Official languages of the Union
The Indian constitution, in 1950, declared Hindi in Devanagari script to be the official language of the union. Unless Parliament decided otherwise, the use of English for official purposes was to cease 15 years after the constitution came into effect, that is, on 26 January 1965. The prospect of the changeover, however, led to much alarm in the non-Hindi-speaking areas of India, especially Dravidian-speaking states whose languages were not related to Hindi at all. As a result, Parliament enacted the Official Languages Act, 1963,[39][40][41][42][43][44] which provided for the continued use of English for official purposes along with Hindi, even after 1965.
In late 1964, an attempt was made to expressly provide for an end to the use of English, but it was met with protests from states and territories, including Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, West Bengal, Karnataka, Puducherry, Nagaland, Mizoram and Andhra Pradesh. Some of these protests also turned violent.[45] As a result, the proposal was dropped,[46][47] and the Act itself was amended in 1967 to provide that the use of English would not be ended until a resolution to that effect was passed by the legislature of every state that had not adopted Hindi as its official language, and by each house of the Indian Parliament.[48]
The position was thus that the Union government continues to use English in addition to Hindi for its official purposes[49] as a "subsidiary official language",[50] but is also required to prepare and execute a program to progressively increase its use of Hindi.[51] The exact extent to which, and the areas in which, the Union government uses Hindi and English, respectively, is determined by the provisions of the Constitution, the Official Languages Act, 1963, the Official Languages Rules, 1976, and statutory instruments made by the Department of Official Language under these laws.
Department of Official Language was set up in June 1975 as an independent Department of the Ministry of Home Affairs.[52]
Parliamentary proceedings and laws
The Indian constitution distinguishes the language to be used in Parliamentary proceedings, and the language in which laws are to be made. Parliamentary business, according to the Constitution, may be conducted in either Hindi or English. The use of English in parliamentary proceedings was to be phased out at the end of fifteen years unless Parliament chose to extend its use, which Parliament did through the Official Languages Act, 1963.[53] Also, the constitution permits a person who is unable to express themselves in either Hindi or English to, with the permission of the Speaker of the relevant House, address the House in their mother tongue.[54]
In contrast, the constitution requires the authoritative text of all laws, including Parliamentary enactments and statutory instruments, to be in English, until Parliament decides otherwise. Parliament has not exercised its power to so decide, instead merely requiring that all such laws and instruments, and all bills brought before it, also be translated into Hindi, though the English text remains authoritative.[55] The Official Languages act, 1963 provides that the authoritative text of central acts, rules, regulations, etc., are published in Hindi as well in the official gazette by President of India.[56]
Judiciary
The constitution provides, and the Supreme Court of India has reiterated, that all proceedings in the Supreme Court and the High Courts shall be in English.[57] Parliament has the power to alter this by law but has not done so. However, in many high courts, there is, with consent from the president, allowance of the optional use of Hindi. Such proposals have been successful in the states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar.[58]
Administration
The Official Language Act provides that the Union government shall use both Hindi and English in most administrative documents that are intended for the public, though the Union government is required by law to promote the use of Hindi.[39][59] The Official Languages Rules, in contrast, provide for a higher degree of use of Hindi in communications between offices of the central government (other than offices in Tamil Nadu, to which the rules do not apply).[60] Communications between different departments within the central government may be in English and Hindi (though the English text remains authoritative), although a translation into the other language must be provided if required.[61] Communications within offices of the same department, however, must be in Hindi if the offices are in Hindi-speaking states,[62] and in either Hindi or English otherwise with Hindi being used in proportion to the percentage of staff in the receiving office who have a working knowledge of Hindi.[63] Notes and memos in files may be in English and Hindi (though the English text remains authoritative), with the Government having a duty to provide a translation into the other language if required.[64]
Besides, every person submitting a petition for the redress of a grievance to a government officer or authority has a constitutional right to submit it in any language used in India.
Implementation
Various steps have been taken by the Indian government to implement the use and familiarisation of Hindi extensively. Dakshina Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha headquartered at Chennai was formed to spread Hindi in South Indian states. Regional Hindi implementation offices at Bangalore, Thiruvananthapuram, Mumbai, Kolkata, Guwahati, Bhopal, Delhi and Ghaziabad have been established to monitor the implementation of Hindi in Central government offices and PSUs.
Annual targets are set by the Department of Official Language regarding the amount of correspondence being carried out in Hindi. A Parliament Committee on Official Language constituted in 1976 periodically reviews the progress in the use of Hindi and submits a report to the President. The governmental body which makes policy decisions and established guidelines for the promotion of Hindi is the Kendriya Hindi Samiti (est. 1967). In every city that has more than ten central Government offices, a Town Official Language Implementation Committee is established and cash awards are given to government employees who write books in Hindi. All Central government offices and PSUs are to establish Hindi Cells for implementation of Hindi in their offices.[65]
In 2016, the government announced plans to promote Hindi in government offices in Southern and Northeast India.[66][67]
The Indian constitution does not specify the official languages to be used by the states for the conduct of their official functions and leaves each state free to, through its legislature, adopt Hindi or any language used in its territory as its official language or languages.[68] The language need not be one of those listed in the Eighth Schedule, and several states have adopted official languages which are not so listed. Examples include Kokborok in Tripura and Mizo in Mizoram.
Legislature and administration
The constitutional provisions in relation to use of the official language in legislation at the State level largely mirror those relating to the official language at the central level, with minor variations. State legislatures may conduct their business in their official language, Hindi or (for a transitional period, which the legislature can extend if it so chooses) English, and members who cannot use any of these have the same rights to their mother tongue with the Speaker's permission. The authoritative text of all laws must be in English unless Parliament passes a law permitting a state to use another language, and if the original text of a law is in a different language, an authoritative English translation of all laws must be prepared.
The state has the right to regulate the use of its official language in public administration, and in general, neither the constitution nor any central enactment imposes any restriction on this right. However, every person submitting a petition for the redress of a grievance to any officer or authority of the state government has a constitutional right to submit it in any language used in that state, regardless of its official status.
Besides, the constitution grants the central government, acting through the President, the power to issue certain directives to the government of a state in relation to the use of minority languages for official purposes. The President may direct a State to officially recognise a language spoken in its territory for specified purposes and in specified regions if its speakers demand it and satisfy him that a substantial proportion of the State's population desires its use. Similarly, States and local authorities are required to endeavour to provide primary education in the mother tongue for all linguistic minorities, regardless of whether their language is official in that State, and the President has the power to issue directions he deems necessary to ensure that they are provided these facilities.
State judiciary
States have significantly less freedom in relation to determining the language in which judicial proceedings in their respective High Courts will be conducted. The constitution gives the power to authorise the use of Hindi, or the state's official language in proceedings of the High Court to the Governor, rather than the state legislature and requires the Governor to obtain the consent of the President of India, who in these matters acts on the advice of the Government of India. The Official Languages Act gives the Governor a similar power, subject to similar conditions, in relation to the language in which the High Court's judgments will be delivered.[69]
Four states—Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan—[70] have been granted the right to conduct proceedings in their High Courts in their official language, which, for all of them, was Hindi. However, the only non-Hindi state to seek a similar power—Tamil Nadu, which sought the right to conduct proceedings in Tamil in the Madras High Court—had its application rejected by the central government earlier, which said it was advised to do so by the Supreme Court.[71] In 2006, the law ministry said that it would not object to Tamil Nadu state's desire to conduct Madras High Court proceedings in Tamil.[72][73][74][75][76] In 2010, the Chief Justice of the Madras High Court allowed lawyers to argue cases in Tamil.[77]
Official status in states and territories
Official languages of States
List of official languages of states of India
Official languages of Union Territories
Official languages of Union Territories[88]
No. | Union territory | Official language(s) | Additional official language(s) |
---|---|---|---|
1. | Andaman and Nicobar Islands | Hindi,[113] English | |
2. | Chandigarh | English[114] | |
3. | Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu | Hindi,[115][116] English | Gujarati |
4. | Delhi | Hindi, English[80] | Urdu, Punjabi[117] |
5. | Lakshadweep | English[118][119] | Hindi[118] |
6. | Jammu and Kashmir | Kashmiri, Dogri, Hindi, Urdu, English[120] | |
7. | Ladakh | Hindi, English | |
8. | Puducherry | Tamil, English, French[121] | Telugu in Yanam, Malayalam in Mahe[lower-alpha 4][122][123] |
Union–state and interstate communication
The language in which communications between different states, or from the union government to a state or a person in a state, shall be sent is regulated by the Official Languages Act and, for states other than Tamil Nadu, by the Official Languages Rules. Communication between states which use Hindi as their official language is required to be in Hindi, whereas communication between a state whose official language is Hindi and one whose is not, is required to be in English, or, in Hindi with an accompanying English translation (unless the receiving state agrees to dispense with the translation).[49]
Communication between the union and states which use Hindi as their official language (classified by the Official Language Rules as "the states in Region A"), and with persons who live in those states, is generally in Hindi, except in certain cases.[124] Communication with a second category of states "Region B", which do not use Hindi as their official language but have elected to communicate with the union in Hindi (currently Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Punjab)[125] is usually in Hindi, whilst communications sent to an individual in those states may be in Hindi and English.[126] Communication with all other states "Region C", and with people living in them, is in English.[127]
Writing systems
Each official language has a designated official script using which it is written for official purposes.
Official script(s) | Scheduled language(s) |
---|---|
Devanagari[lower-alpha 5] | Bodo, Dogri, Hindi, Konkani,[lower-alpha 6] Maithili, Marathi, Nepali, Sanskrit, Sindhi[lower-alpha 7] |
Bengali–Assamese (Eastern Nagari) | Assamese, Bengali, Meitei (constitutionally termed as "Manipuri")[lower-alpha 8] |
Gujarati | Gujarati |
Gurmukhi | Punjabi |
Kannada[lower-alpha 9] | Kannada |
Malayalam | Malayalam |
Meitei Mayek[lower-alpha 10] | Meitei (Manipuri) |
Odia | Odia |
Ol Chiki | Santali |
Perso-Arabic script | Kashmiri,[lower-alpha 11] Urdu, Sindhi |
Tamil | Tamil |
Telugu[lower-alpha 9] | Telugu |
See also
Notes
- Some languages may be over- or underrepresented as the census data used is at the state-level. For example, while Urdu has 52 million speakers (2001), in no state is it a majority as the language itself is primarily limited to Indian Muslims yet has more native speakers than Gujarati.
- Includes variants and dialects
- In certain years, films of languages other than the scheduled languages also get eligible.[29]
- See Official languages of Puducherry
- For languages that are not natively written using Devanagari, an extended version called Parivardhita Devanagari was proposed.
- Although Devanagri is promulgated as the official script, Romi script is used predominantly.
- Used by Sindhis in India.[128] However, Perso-Arabic is the sole official script in Pakistani province Sindh and a co-official script along with Devanagari in India.
- Meitei language uses both Bengali script and Meitei script as its official scripts simultaneously in accordance with "The Manipur Official Language (Amendment) Act, 2021".[129]
- Although Kannada and Telugu alphabets together is a same script called Telugu–Kannada alphabet, they are officially recognised as separate scripts.
- Although Eastern Nagari is also still widely in use.
- Extended-Perso-Arabic is the official and widely used script.[130] Some sections within the Kashmiri Pandit community started writing in Devanagari after 1990,[131] and extended-Devanagari script is used to represent Kashmiri whenever books are written in Hindi.[132]
References
- "Report of the Commissioner for linguistic minorities: 47th report (July 2008 to June 2010)" (PDF). Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities, Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India. pp. 84–89. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 May 2012. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
- "Languages Included in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution | Department of Official Language | Ministry of Home Affairs | GoI". rajbhasha.gov.in. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
- "Report of the Commissioner for linguistic minorities: 50th report (July 2012 to June 2013)" (PDF). Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities, Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 July 2016. Retrieved 17 September 2016.
- PTI (25 January 2010). "Hindi, not a national language: Court". The Hindu. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
- "Constitutional Provisions: Official Language Related Part-17 of The Constitution Of India". Department of Official Language, Government of India. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
- "THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGE POLICY OF THE UNION | Department of Official Language | Ministry of Home Affairs | GoI". rajbhasha.nic.in. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
- "THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGES ACT, 1963". rajbhasha.nic.in. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
- Mollin, Sandra (2006). Euro-English: assessing variety status. Gunter Narr Verlag. p. 17. ISBN 978-3-8233-6250-0.
- Rai, Alok (2001). Hindi Nationalism (tracks for the Times). Orient Blackswan. ISBN 978-81-250-1979-4.
- "Hindi Diwas, and the history of the debate over Hindi's status". The Indian Express. 14 September 2022. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
- "Hindi Diwas: How Constituent Assembly decided on Hindi as the official, and not national, language of India". The Indian Express. 14 September 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
- Kanchan Chandra, "Ethnic Bargains, Group Instability, and Social Choice Theory", Politics and Society 29, 3: 337–62.
- Ramakrishnan, T. (17 October 2022). "Explained | Hindi imposition and its discontents". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
- "Statement 1 – Abstract of Speakers' Strength of Languages and Mother Tongues – 2011" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 June 2018.
- "Jharkhand's 11 second languages will create new jobs: But also enrich national culture | BiharDays". Archived from the original on 6 January 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
- Das, Ananya (2 September 2020). "Cabinet approves Bill to include Kashmiri, Dogri, Hindi as official languages in Jammu and Kashmir". Zee News. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
- "The Goa, Daman and Diu Official Language Act, 1987" (PDF). indiacode.nic.in. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
- "The Gujarat Official Languages Act, 1960" (PDF). indiacode.nic.in. 1961. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
- "Multi-lingual Bengal". The Telegraph. 11 December 2012.
- Roy, Anirban (28 February 2018). "Kamtapuri, Rajbanshi make it to list of official languages in". India Today.
- "The Origins of the Konkani Language". www.kamat.com. 15 January 2016.
- "Indian Languages: Konkani Language". iloveindia.com. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
- "झारखंड : रघुवर कैबिनेट से मगही, भोजपुरी, मैथिली व अंगिका को द्वितीय भाषा का दर्जा" [Jharkhand: Second language status to Magahi, Bhojpuri, Maithili and Angika from Raghuvar cabinet]. prabhatkhabar.com. 21 March 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
- "Oriya gets its due in neighbouring state- Orissa- IBNLive". Ibnlive.in.com. 4 September 2011. Archived from the original on 15 August 2012. Retrieved 29 November 2012.
- Naresh Chandra Pattanayak (1 September 2011). "Oriya second language in Jharkhand". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 7 November 2011. Retrieved 29 November 2012.
- "Bengali, Oriya among 12 dialects as 2nd language in Jharkhand". daily.bhaskar.com. 31 August 2011. Retrieved 29 November 2012.
- "Jharkhand gives second language status to Magahi, Angika, Bhojpuri and Maithili". The Avenue Mail. 21 March 2018. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
- "Urdu second official language in Andhra Pradesh". Deccan Chronicle. 24 March 2022. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
- NEWS, NE NOW (22 July 2022). "68th National Film Awards: Here is the list of winners". NORTHEAST NOW. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
- Malik, Ravindra; ARSu, Team. HARYANA GK: HARYANA AT THE START OF 2021. MyARSu. p. 158.
- "Jnanpith Award | Indian literary award | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
- "Stung by row, UPSC allows regional language in Main exam". The Times of India. 22 March 2013. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
- "PMINDIA Multilingual Website now available in 13 languages Assamese and Manipuri versions of Prime Minister's Official Website launched". pib.gov.in. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
- "PIB press releases in Manipuri : 25th nov15 ~ E-Pao! Headlines". e-pao.net. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
- Press, Imphal Free. "PIB website has news in regional languages now – KanglaOnline". Retrieved 10 March 2023.
- "Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh lauds SSC for deciding to conduct the Multi-Tasking (Non-Technical) Staff examination 2022 in 13 regional languages in addition to Hindi and English for the first time". www.pib.gov.in. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
- "হিন্দি অমসুং ইংলিসকী মথক্তা অহানবা ওইনা লম-লমগী লোন ১৩দা মল্তি-তাস্কিং(নন-তেক্নিকেল) স্তাফ এজামিনেসন ২০২২ পাংথোক্নবা ৱারেপ লৌখিবগীদমক য়ুনিয়ন মিনিস্তর দোক্তর জিতেন্দ্র সিংহনা এস.এস.সি থাগৎখ্রে". pib.gov.in (in Manipuri). Retrieved 10 March 2023.
- "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - "The Official Languages (Use for Official Purpose of the Union) – Rules 1976 (As Amended, 1987)". Archived from the original on 25 March 2010. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
- Commissioner Linguistic Minorities Archived 8 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- Language in India Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow 2 April 2002 www.languageinindia.com accessed 4 August 2020
- "THE SCHEDULED LANGUAGES ACT, 1963". Archived from the original on 1 June 2009.
- "The Union: Official Language". www.india.gov.in. Archived from the original on 17 April 2007.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - Committee of Parliament on Official Language report www.rajbhasha.gov.in Archived 20 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- Hardgrave, Robert L. (August 1965). "The Riots in Tamilnadu: Problems and Prospects of India's Language Crisis". Asian Survey (University of California Press)
- "The force of words", Time, 19 February 1965, archived from the original on 14 October 2007, retrieved 5 June 2007
- Forrester, Duncan B. (Spring–Summer 1966), "The Madras Anti-Hindi Agitation, 1965: Political Protest and its Effects on Language Policy in India", Pacific Affairs, 39 (1/2): 19–36, doi:10.2307/2755179, JSTOR 2755179
- "The Official Languages (Use for Official Purpose of the Union) – Rules 1976 (As Amended, 1987) – Paragraph 3(5)". Archived from the original on 25 March 2010. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
- "The Official Languages (Use for Official Purpose of the Union) – Rules 1976 (As Amended, 1987) – Paragraph 3(1)". Archived from the original on 25 March 2010. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
- Notification No. 2/8/60-O.L. (Ministry of Home Affairs), dated 27 April 1960 archived from www.rajbhasha.gov.in, accessed 4 August 2020
- "The Official Languages (Use for Official Purpose of the Union) – Rules 1976 (As Amended, 1987) – Paragraph 1". Archived from the original on 25 March 2010. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
- "Functions of Department | Department of Official Language | Ministry of Home Affairs | GoI". rajbhasha.gov.in. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
- "The Official Languages (Use for Official Purpose of the Union) – Rules 1976 (As Amended, 1987) – Paragraph 3(1b)". Archived from the original on 25 March 2010. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
- Article 120(1) first proviso
- "The Official Languages (Use for Official Purpose of the Union) – Rules 1976 (As Amended, 1987) – Paragraph 5(1,2)". Archived from the original on 25 March 2010. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
- "Official Language Act : Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India".
- "Court language is English, says Supreme Court – The Economic Times". The Economic Times. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
- "Use of Hindi Language in Courts". Business Standard India. 28 April 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
- "The Official Languages (Use for Official Purpose of the Union) – Rules 1976 (As Amended, 1987) – Section 3(3)". Archived from the original on 25 March 2010. Retrieved 10 June 2015. names, amongst others, resolutions, general orders, rules, notifications, administrative or other reports or press communiques issued by a government department, agency or corporation; administrative and other reports and official papers laid before a House or the Houses of Parliament; and contracts and agreements executed, and licences, permits, notices and forms of tender issued by or on behalf of the government (including government companies).
- "The Official Languages (Use for Official Purpose of the Union) – Rules 1976 (As Amended, 1987) – Paragraph 1(ii)". Archived from the original on 25 March 2010. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
- "The Official Languages (Use for Official Purpose of the Union) – Rules 1976 (As Amended, 1987) – Paragraph 4(a)". Archived from the original on 25 March 2010. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
- "The Official Languages (Use for Official Purpose of the Union) – Rules 1976 (As Amended, 1987) – Paragraph 4(b, c)". Archived from the original on 25 March 2010. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
- "The Official Languages (Use for Official Purpose of the Union) – Rules 1976 (As Amended, 1987) – Paragraph 4(d)". Archived from the original on 25 March 2010. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
- "The Official Languages (Use for Official Purpose of the Union) – Rules 1976 (As Amended, 1987) – Paragraph 8". Archived from the original on 25 March 2010. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
- "Official Language – Constitutional/Statutory Provisions". Government of India. Archived from the original on 17 April 2007.
- PTI (9 June 2016). "Centre to promote the use of Hindi in South India, Northeast:Jitendra Singh". The Indian Express. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
In response to this several NGO and political parties have started agitation and some have even resorted to violent protests in the Darjeeling for separate statehood, which started in after the official statement in a press meet by Central parliamentary affairs minister. The monster himself hails from South India and many party leader of the government has felt like an insult to the mother language. The TANA has stated "It's high time the North should learn the lessons from the past and should try not to stir the broth"
The ADMK leader has said in New Delhi "It's a shame to see my neighboring state leader hailing from Telugu state speaking against his own mother tongue.
The Dravida Samrakshana Samiti Head has said " it's a direct assault on our culture and is an insult for saying the minister hailing from South India - "Govt to promote use of Hindi in routine conversation, NE – Times of India". The Times of India. 8 June 2016. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
- Constitution of India, Article 345
- "The Official Languages (Use for Official Purpose of the Union) – Rules 1976 (As Amended, 1987) – Section 7". Archived from the original on 25 March 2010. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
- "Language in Courts – a bridge or a barrier?".
- Special Correspondent (12 March 2007), "Karunanidhi stands firm on Tamil in High Court", The Hindu, p. 1, archived from the original on 13 March 2007
- The Hindu: Tamil Nadu / Thanjavur News: No objection to Tamil as court language: A.P. Shah 2006/12/03 www.hindu.com, accessed 4 August 2020
- "Silobreaker: Make Tamil the language of Madras High Court: Karu". Archived from the original on 30 December 2008.
- The Hindu: Tamil Nadu News: Karunanidhi hopeful of Centre's announcement 2008/04/21 www.hindu.com, accessed 4 August 2020
- "indianexpress.com". Archived from the original on 25 April 2008.
- Tamil Nadu government press release www.tn.gov.in, archives, accessed 4 August 2020
- "Advocate argues in Tamil in High Court". The New Indian Express. 23 June 2010. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
- "Languages". APOnline. 2002. Archived from the original on 8 February 2012. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
- "Andhra Pradesh Official Language Act, 1966". www.courtkutchehry.com. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
- "52nd REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER FOR LINGUISTIC MINORITIES IN INDIA" (PDF). nclm.nic.in. Ministry of Minority Affairs. p. 18. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 May 2017. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
- "The Assam Official Language Act, 1960". Northeast Portal. 19 December 1960. Archived from the original on 26 February 2016. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
- ANI (10 September 2014). "Assam government withdraws Assamese as official language in Barak Valley, restores Bengali". DNA India. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
- "The Bihar Official Language Act, 1950" (PDF). National Commission for Linguistic Minorities. 29 November 1950. p. 31. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 July 2016. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
- The National Commission for Linguistic Minorities, 1950 (ibid) makes no mention of Chhattisgarhi as an additional state language, despite the 2007 notification of the State Govt, presumably because Chhattisgarhi is considered as a dialect of Hindi.
- "The Chhattisgarh Official Language (Amendment) Act, 2007" (PDF). indiacode.nic.in. 2008. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
- Mishra, Ritesh; Sahay, Abhinav (15 August 2020). "Chhattisgarh CM writes to PM Narendra Modi, demands inclusion of Chhattisgarhi dialect in 8th Schedule". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
- "The Goa, Daman and Diu Official Language Act, 1987" (PDF). U.T. Administration of Daman & Diu. 19 December 1987. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
- "Report of the Commissioner for linguistic minorities: 50th report (July 2012 to June 2013)" (PDF). Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities, Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 July 2016. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
- Kurzon, Dennis (2004). "3. The Konkani-Marathi Controversy : 2000-01 version". Where East Looks West: Success in English in Goa and on the Konkan Coast. Multilingual Matters. pp. 42–58. ISBN 978-1-85359-673-5. Retrieved 26 December 2014. Dated, but gives a good overview of the controversy to give Marathi full "official status".
- Benedikter, Thomas (2009). Language Policy and Linguistic Minorities in India: An Appraisal of the Linguistic Rights of Minorities in India. LIT Verlag Münster. p. 89. ISBN 978-3-643-10231-7.
- "The Haryana Official Language Act, 1969" (PDF). acts.gov.in (server). 15 March 1969. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 December 2014. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
- "Haryana grants second language status to Punjabi". Hindustan Times. 28 January 2010. Archived from the original on 3 September 2015.
- "The Himachal Pradesh Official Language Act, 1975" (PDF). 21 February 1975. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 January 2014. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
- Pratibha Chauhan (17 February 2019). "Bill to make Sanskrit second official language of HP passed". The Tribune. Shimla. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
- "Jharkhand notifies Bhumij as second state language". The Avenue Mail. 5 January 2019. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
- "Language and Literature", Official website of Government of Madhya Pradesh, Government of Madhya Pradesh, archived from the original on 29 September 2007, retrieved 16 July 2007
- "Language". Official website of Directorate of languages, Government of Maharashtra. Government of Maharashtra. Archived from the original on 3 September 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
- Section 2(f) of the Manipur Official Language Act, 1979 states that the official language of Manipur is the Manipuri language (an older English name for the Meitei language) written in the Bengali script. The Sangai Express, Mayek body threatens to stall proceeding, retrieved 16 July 2007
- Commissioner Linguistic Minorities, 42nd report: July 2003 – June 2004, p. para 25.5, archived from the original on 8 October 2007, retrieved 16 July 2007
- Commissioner Linguistic Minorities, 43rd report: July 2004 – June 2005, p. para 25.1, archived from the original on 10 April 2009, retrieved 16 July 2007 On 21 March 2006, the Chief Minister of Meghalaya stated in the State Assembly that a notification to this effect had been issued. Meghalaya Legislative Assembly, Budget session: Starred Questions and Answers – Tuesday, the 21st March 2006., retrieved 16 July 2007.
- "Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region, North East India". mdoner.gov.in. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
- "Oriya to be official language in Orissa – Indian Express". archive.indianexpress.com. 2 January 2016. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
- "1977 Sikkim government gazette" (PDF). sikkim.gov.in. Governor of Sikkim. p. 188. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 July 2018. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
- "Urdu is Telangana's second official language". The Indian Express. 16 November 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
- "Urdu is second official language in Telangana as state passes Bill". The News Minute. 17 November 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
- "Bengali and Kokborok are the state/official language, English, Hindi, Manipuri and Chakma are other languages". Tripura Official government website. Archived from the original on 12 February 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2013.
- Tripura Official Language Act, 1964 www.lawsofindia.org
- "Laws of India : The Tripura Official Language Act, 1964". lawsofindia.blinkvisa.com. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
- Commissioner Linguistic Minorities, 43rd report: July 2004 – June 2005, pp. paras 6.1–6.2, archived from the original on 10 April 2009, retrieved 16 July 2007
- "Fact and Figures". www.wb.gov.in. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
- Shiv Sahay Singh (2 March 2017). "Revitalising a language". The Hindu. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
- "West Bengal shows 'Mamata' to Telugus". Hans India. 24 December 2020. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
- "Most Spoken Language In Andaman And Nicobar Islands : Here's All You Need To Know". IndiaTimes. 7 October 2020. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
- "Languages in Chandigarh". Chandigarh City.
- "Administration of Dedra and Nagar Haveli, U.T. (Official Language Department) Secretariat Citizens charter-2011" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
- "Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu – Culture and Tradition". RitiRiwaz. 7 April 2020.
- Urdu and Punjabi are the two secondary official languages of Delhi under the Delhi Official Language Bill, 2000 "Punjabi, Urdu made official languages in Delhi", The Times of India, 25 June 2003, archived from the original on 11 August 2011, retrieved 17 July 2007
- "50th Report of the Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities in India" (PDF). 16 July 2014. p. 153. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 July 2016. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
- Thomas Benedikter (2009). Language Policy and Linguistic Minorities in India: An Appraisal of the Linguistic Rights of Minorities in India. LIT Verlag Münster. p. 134. ISBN 978-3-643-10231-7.
- "The Jammu and Kashmir Official Languages Act, 2020" (PDF). The Gazette of India. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
- Steinberg, S.; Paxton, J. (28 December 2016). The Statesman's Year-Book 1969-70: The one-volume Encyclopaedia of all nations. McMillan St Martin Press. p. 386. ISBN 978-0-230-27098-5. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
- There are three primary languages used for official purposes – Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam. Only, English is recognised for official use as per the official language policy. The official language policy of the union territory states that the Tamil language should be the primary language used for all or any of the official purposes of the union territory. In the case of Mahe and Yanam, Malayalam and Telugu, respectively, may be used instead of or in conjunction with Tamil. The English language may also be used for official purposes. (ACT 28, Gazetteer, Pondicherry Vol. 1, P. II)Multilingualism and second language acquisition and learning in Pondicherry
- Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, Puducherry, General Information on Pondicherry, archived from the original on 28 September 2007, retrieved 6 June 2007
- "The Official Languages (Use for Official Purpose of the Union) – Rules 1976 (As Amended, 1987) – Paragraph 3(1)". Archived from the original on 25 March 2010. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
- "The Official Languages (Use for Official Purpose of the Union) – Rules 1976 (As Amended, 1987) – Paragraph 2(g)". Archived from the original on 25 March 2010. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
- "The Official Languages (Use for Official Purpose of the Union) – Rules 1976 (As Amended, 1987) – Paragraph 3(2)". Archived from the original on 25 March 2010. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
- "The Official Languages (Use for Official Purpose of the Union) – Rules 1976 (As Amended, 1987) – Paragraph 3(3)". Archived from the original on 25 March 2010. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
- Iyengar, Arvind; Parchani, Sundri (2021). "Like Community, Like Language: Seventy-Five Years of Sindhi in Post-Partition India". Journal of Sindhi Studies. 1: 1–32. doi:10.1163/26670925-bja10002. S2CID 246551773. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
- "GAZETTE TITLE: The Manipur Official Language (Amendment) Act, 2021". manipurgovtpress.nic.in.
- "Braj B. Kachru: An Introduction to Spoken Kashmiri". www.koshur.org. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
- "There's a new Hindu-Muslim conflict in Kashmir—this time over one language, two scripts". The Print. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
- "Building a cross script Kashmiri Converter Issues and Solutions". Retrieved 24 July 2023.
External links
- Department of Official Language (DOL) – Official webpage explains the chronological events related to Official Languages Act and amendments
- Central Institute of Indian Languages – A comprehensive central government site that offers complete info on Indian Languages (archived 13 December 2004)
- Reconciling Linguistic Diversity: The History and the Future of Language Policy in India by Jason Baldridge
- Multilingualism and language policy in India (archived 7 February 2012)
- Words and phrases in more than 30 Indian languages