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Describe the Language Policy of India

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When we think about the Indian languages, the first thing that comes to mind is Hindi. Of course, Hindi is an important aspect of India’s language policy, however, it is not a national language. In fact, there is no national language constituted by the constitution of India.

When it comes to language policy, it’s important to understand the distinction between a country’s national language and its official language. While the national language is the language most widely used in cultural, political, and social domains, the official language is the language used for all government operations.

Language policy of India

Language Policy of India

History of Languages in India

India is a vast country with a rich cultural heritage and thousands of languages. Because of its long history, it has been a melting pot of cultures, religions, and ethnicities. In addition to these, India has a long history in the field of language. There is an old saying in India that languages change every 60 to 80 kilometers. Many languages are used in daily life in a multilingual society like India. One language may be preferred for domestic and social groups, another for administration and work, and a third for religious discourse, and it’s all very normal and on daily practices. 

According to the 1971 Census, more than 1600 languages and dialects were spoken in India. however, most of these languages were spoken by very few people and failed to gain recognition by the government. Although it varies from different contexts, it is said that more than 280 languages and dialects were spoken by more than 5000 people each. Such languages are recognized by the government of India.

Hindi is not a National Language

Hindi, as it is used today, is regarded as a national language due to its common use throughout the nation. among various languages in India, Hindi is the only language that is not state or region-specific. Moreover, it is spoken by more than 40% of the Indian population. which is a huge portion. However, Hindi is only designated as India’s official language by the Indian Constitution, just like any other official language, and not as a national language. In fact, being a country of many religions and languages, the Indian language policy is not in favor of any one language. The Indian Constitution recognizes 22 additional languages, including Hindi and English as Scheduled Languages.

The Language Policy of India

Here are a few important features of India’s Language policy:

No National Language

India has a liberal language policy that allows all cultures and languages to grow and be respected equally. In India, there is no national language. The government has made certain that all regions, languages, and cultures are acknowledged and respected. This has strengthened the country while also reducing the possibility of social conflicts arising from diverse social interests.

Official Language Act of 1963

According to the Official Language Act of 1963, the Indian government placed a foundation for India’s linguistic policy. The Kothari Commission developed the language policies, which at the time used Hindi, to meld India’s various cultures and dialects. However, in response to some non-Hindi speaking states’ objections, particularly those in the south, also due to the failure of the three-language formula, it underwent a transformation of goals that ultimately resulted in the designation of Hindi and English as quasi-official languages.

The policy grants a candidate to take the examinations in any of the mentioned languages, and newly appointed members of state assemblies can take the oath in any of the mentioned languages. Each state has a predetermined set of official languages, and state governments ensure that the languages of that state are recognized by using them in 4 official documents. Furthermore, no language in India has the status of national language under the Indian constitution. 

The Scheduled Languages

There are 22 languages listed in the Indian Constitution’s Eighth Schedule that are recognized as Scheduled Languages, including Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Marathi, Meitei (Manipuri), Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu.

These languages are designated as scheduled languages and receive official recognition and support to be safeguarded and preserved by the law. In addition, six ancient classical languages dating back more than 5,000 years have been recognized by the government. 

Implementation of Three-Language Formula

The three-language formula was a policy introduced by the Education Ministry of India in 1968 under the National Policy Resolution. It states that three languages must be taught in all government schools across India, according to the policy, English will be taught as a mandated language, Hindi will, be compulsory for the students, both in Hindi-speaking and non-Hindi-speaking states, and the third language is the local language of the region where the school is located, will also be a compulsory subject. 

As expected, the three-language formula took various forms in India based on states and their respective officers and local languages. While Hindi and English are still widely spoken by the people till now. 

Apart from the apparent goal of increasing awareness of Hindi and English as mandate languages, the basic goal of the three-language formula was to increase multilingualism in children across the country. Multilingualism, as scientific evidence suggests, not only broadens a child’s horizons but also promotes creativity and social tolerance. Which, the leaders of India wanted to create a base for the youth of India. 

However, the three-language formula failed for a variety of reasons, leading many states to adopt a two-language formula, generally in Hindi-speaking states: Hindi and English, and in non-Hindi-speaking states: state language and mostly English or seldomly Hindi.

22 Official Languages by 2022

Hindi in Devanagari script was initially designated as the official language of the union by the 1950 Indian constitution. The goal was to replace English as the official language of the countries with Hindi. However, it sparked a backlash in several parts of India where Hindi is not spoken, particularly in the Dravidian-speaking states, where Hindi has no relation to their native tongues. As a result, the Official Languages Act, of 1963 was passed by Parliament, ensuring that Hindi and English would continue to be used for official purposes.

Currently, including Hindi and English, there are more than 20 languages, that are recognized as the official languages of India, being spoken in different subcontinents of the Indian region. Such as Bengali, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Gujarati, Punjabi, Nepali, Marathi, etc.

Spread of Hindi but Cautiously

The leaders of India initially chose to support Hindi as the nation’s official tongue. However, the Idea was opposed in some non-Hindi-speaking regions. The Dravidians in particular, whose language was very different from Hindi. As a result, it was decided to use both Hindi and English for official purposes, which is still continued today.

However, the government never put the idea of making Hindi familiarise to the whole nation aside. The government took various steps to spread Hindi throughout the nation, however, this time with great caution, so that not to offend any regional or linguistic sentiments of the people. 

Here are a few examples of the steps taken by the Indian government to familiarise people with Hindi: 

  1. Dakshina Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha: The Dakshina Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha was founded in Chennai to promote the Hindi language in southern India. Regional Hindi implementation offices were also established in Bengaluru, Thiruvananthapuram, Mumbai, Kolkata, Guwahati, Bhopal, Delhi, and Ghaziabad to monitor Hindi implementation in Central government offices and PSUs.
  2. Setting the annual targets: the Department of Official Language set out Annual targets regarding the amount of correspondence being carried out in Hindi. Also, worked to encourage people to learn Hindi as an additional language. 
  3. Reports regarding Progress were reviewed by the President: In 1976, the Parliamentary Committee on Official Language was established. Its mandate was to report to the President on the use of Hindi and to review its progress periodically. 
  4. Kendriya Hindi Samiti: Kendriya Hindi Samiti was established by the government in 1967, which makes policy decisions and established guidelines for the promotion of Hindi. In every city, it has more than ten central Government offices, working to implement the use of Hindi throughout the nation. 
  5. Official Language Implementation Committee and rewards: to encourage the people to use and accept Hindi, the government established the Town Official Language Implementation Committee, and cash awards are given to government employees who write books in Hindi.
  6. Plans to promote Hindi in Northeast India: in the year 2016, the government of India announced its plans to promote Hindi in the government offices in Southern and Northeast India.

Conclusion

As can be seen, there has been debate over India’s official language for years. On the side, English has served as a de facto official language in India, on the other side, Hindi has been playing the role of the de jure national tongue of India. for such a coexistence, the historical, cultural, social, and political contexts of Indian languages are responsible to a great extent. Even though it is still a topic of debate to choose an official language of India, we can say that both Hindi and English, along with other regional languages, are coexisting with great harmony throughout the different regions of India.

FAQs on the Language Policy of India

Question 1: What is language policy in Indian Constitution?

Answer:

Language policy is a written law contained in the constitution of the nation, that safeguards the official languages recognized by the government. It is one of the important aspects of the nation’s constitution. For example, in India, besides Hindi, 21 other languages are recognized as Scheduled Languages by the Constitution of India.

Question 2: What is the language education policy in India?

Answer:

According to the NEP 2020 learning three languages will be the choice of states, regions, and the students themselves, as long as two to three languages are native to India.



Last Updated : 21 Jan, 2024
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