Official Language Debate

• Official Language Debate

The controversy over the language issue became especially intense when it evolved into opposition against Hindi, creating a rift between Hindi-speaking and non- Hindi-speaking regions of the country.

The dispute wasn’t about choosing a national language— one common language that all Indians would eventually adopt since the idea that a single national language was crucial to India’s identity had already been largely rejected by the secular majority of the national leadership. India was a multilingual country and it needed to remain that way.

The question of a national language was settled when the constitution recognized all major languages as “languages of India.”

Gandhi, considering English a foreign language, opposed the idea of it being the sole medium of communication in free India.

The time frame for transitioning from English to Hindi also sparked tension. Proponents of Hindi wanted an immediate shift, while those from non-Hindi areas favoured retaining English for a longer, if not indefinite, period.

Nehru supported Hindi as the official language but also advocated for the continued use of English as an additional official language.

The case for Hindi was based on the fact that it was spoken by the largest number of people, though not a majority, and was understood in many urban areas across northern India, from Bengal to Punjab, and in Maharashtra and Gujarat.

However, one major flaw in the Hindi movement was its attempt to Sanskritize the language—replacing common, widely understood words with newly coined, often cumbersome terms. This effort to ‘purify’ the language made it harder for both non-Hindi speakers and even Hindi speakers to understand or learn.

Critics of Hindi argued that it was underdeveloped as a literary language especially in fields like science and politics. However, their primary concern was that making Hindi the official language would disadvantage non-Hindi regions, especially South India, in areas like education and employment, particularly in securing government and public sector jobs.

Language provisions in the constitution

The constitution designated Hindi, written in the Devanagari script with international numerals, as India’s official language.

English was to be used for all official purposes until 1965, after which it would gradually be replaced by Hindi. However, Parliament could allow English to be used for specific purposes even after 1965.

The government was tasked with promoting the spread and development of Hindi. To monitor progress, a commission and a Joint Parliamentary Committee were to be set up.

State legislatures were given the authority to decide the official language at the state level, but the official language of the Union would be used for communication between the states and the Centre, as well as between the states themselves.

The constitution’s framers hoped that by 1965, Hindi would have overcome its weaknesses and gained acceptance in non-Hindi areas. They also anticipated that with the rapid spread of education, Hindi would gradually become more widely spoken and resistance to it would fade. Unfortunately, the spread of education was slower than expected, and the impact was not significant.

In 1956, the Official Language Commission, which was set up in 1955, recommended that Hindi should progressively replace English in central government functions, with the change becoming effective in 1965. However, two members of the commission, one from West Bengal and one from Tamil Nadu, dissented, accusing the rest of the commission of a pro-Hindi bias.

The commission’s report was reviewed by a Joint Parliamentary Committee, and in April 1960, the President issued an order that after 1965, Hindi would become the principal official language, with English continuing as an

associate official language without restrictions on its use.

Following the President’s directive, the central government took several steps to promote Hindi, including establishing the Central Hindi Directorate, publishing standard works in Hindi, making Hindi training mandatory for central government employees, and translating major legal texts into Hindi for use in the courts.

These measures raised concerns in non-Hindi areas. To ease these fears, Nehru assured Parliament in 1959 that English would continue as an alternative language for as long as people needed it.

Official Language Act

In 1963, the Official Languages Act was passed.

The objective of the Act was to remove a restriction that had been placed by the constitution on the use of English after a certain date namely 1965.

The Act laid down that ‘the English language “may “continue to be used in addition to Hindi’.

Non-Hindi groups raised concerns over the use of the word “may” instead of “shall,” arguing that it left too much room for ambiguity.

In response, many non-Hindi leaders, who had previously called for a slower transition away from English, now shifted their stance and demanded the complete removal of a deadline for the language shift. Leaders like C. Rajagopalachari and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) called for an amendment to the constitution, proposing that English be made India’s sole official language.

Protests in Tamil Nadu escalated, with students even setting themselves on fire. Two Tamil ministers, C. Subramaniam and Alagesan, resigned in protest. The unrest led to tragic consequences, with 60 people killed in police shootings during the agitation.

In 1967, the Indira Gandhi government amended the Official Languages Act of 1963. The key provisions of the amended Act included:

It clarified Nehru’s 1959 assurance by ensuring English continued as an associate language alongside Hindi for official work at the Centre. Additionally, Hindi would remain an official language in non-Hindi states as long as those states desired it.

The Act introduced an indefinite policy of bilingualism.

The states were to adopt a three-language formula, which included the study of one modern Indian language (preferably from the South) alongside Hindi and English in Hindi-speaking regions, and Hindi, the regional languages, and English in non-Hindi areas.

A resolution was passed in Parliament that public service exams would be conducted in both Hindi and English, as well as in regional languages, with the requirement

that candidates have a working knowledge of Hindi or English.

In July 1967, another important step was taken regarding the language issue. Based on the 1966 Education Commission’s report, the government declared that Indian languages would eventually be used as the medium of instruction at the university level. However, each university would determine its own timeline for implementing this change.