Laxmikanth Test: Official Language - UPSC MCQ

Part XVII of the Constitution deals with the official language in Articles 343 to 351

The Official Languages Act (1963) lays down that English should be used for purposes of communication between the Union and the non-Hindi states (that is, the states that have not adopted Hindi as their official language).

Part XVII of the Constitution deals with the official language in Articles 343 to 351

• Bodo language is spoken mainly in Assam.
• Boro, also called Bodo, is the largest ethnolinguistic group in the Assam state of India.
• They are spread across northeastern India.
• They are concentrated mainly in the Bodoland Territorial Region of Assam, though Bodos inhabit all other districts of Assam and Meghalaya.

• In 1967, the Nagaland Assembly proclaimed Indian English as the official English language of Nagaland.
• English is also the medium of Education in Nagaland.
• Other than English, Nagamese, a creole language based on Assamese, is widely spoken. 

In 2017 istilaValaro Kannada and Sanskrit were  given the classical language status.

The Parliament enacted the Official Languages Act in 1963. The act provides for the continued use of English (even after 1965), in addition to Hindi, for all official purposes of the Union and also for the transaction of business in Parliament.

The Parliament has not made any provision for the use of Hindi in the Supreme Court. Hence, the Supreme Court hears only those who petition or appeal in English. In 1971, a petitioner insisted on arguing in Hindi a habeas corpus petition in the Supreme Court. But, the Court cancelled his petition on the ground that the language of the Court was English and allowing Hindi would be unconstitutional.

Sindhi was added by the 21st Amendment Act of 1967; Konkani, Manipuri and Nepali were added by the 71st Amendment Act of 1992; and Bodo, Dongri, Maithili and Santhali were added by the 92nd Amendment Act of 2003

Accordingly, in 1955, the president appointed an Official Language Commission under the chairmanship of B.G. Kher. The commission submitted its report to the President in 1956. The report was examined by a committee of Parliament constituted in 1957 under the chairmanship of Gobind Ballabh Pant.