21st Amendment Act of Indian Constitution

What is 21st (Twenty-First Amendment Act)?

Twenty-First Amendment 1967 was enacted by Yashwantrao Chavan in Rajya Sabha on March 20, 1967, and then the Minister of Home Affairs amend the 8th Schedule to the Constitution, to include Sindhi as one of the languages ​​listed in the schedule. The bill was considered by Rajya Sabha on April 4, 1967, and passed in its original form on the same day. The law passed by Rajya Sabha was reviewed and passed by Lok Sabha on April 7, 1967. The law was approved by then-President Zakir Hussain on April 10, 1967. It was notified in the Indian official bulletin and came into effect on the same day.

21st Amendment Act, 1967

The Eighth Schedule to the Constitution was amended by the Twenty-first Amendment Act of 1967, adding Sindhi as one of the languages, bringing the total number of languages included in the schedule to fifteen.

Reason for Twenty-First Amendment:

Sindhi-speaking people demand the inclusion of the Sindhi language in the 8th schedule. At the time commissioner for linguistic minorities also demanded the inclusion of the Sindhi language in the 8th schedule of the constitution of India, although Sindhi is not a regional language. So on the behalf of the demand of the Sindhi-speaking people government decided to include the Sindhi language in the 8th schedule of the constitution.

Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India:

In the eighth schedule of the constitution of India, the official languages of the Republic of India are listed. Inclusion in this list meant that the language was eligible for representation in the Commission for Official Languages. The eighth schedule includes the following 22 languages:-

Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Maithili, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santhali, Sindhi, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali Odia, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu.

Significance of Twenty-First Amendment Act, 1967:

Sindhi-speaking people have persistently called for the inclusion of Sindhi in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. The Linguistic Minority Commission also recommends the inclusion of Sindhi in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. With the addition of Sindhi in the eighth schedule, now the language can be used to take up competitive exams like civil service exams, any MP or MLA can use this language to speak in parliament or state legislative, and the special fund is allocated by the government for its promotion.

FAQs on 21st Amendment Act:

1. What was the 21st Amendment Act, of 1967 all about?

Ans: Twenty-First Amendment Act is all about the inclusion of the Sindhi language as an official language.

2. Who approved the law on the Sindhi Language and when?

Ans: At that time president Zakir Hussain approved the law on April 10, 1967.

3. Who introduced the Sindhi Language bill for the first time in the Rajya Sabha and when?

Ans: Yashwantrao Chavan introduced this bill for the first time in the Rajya Sabha on 20th March 1967 and then the Minister of Home Affairs, amend the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution to include Sindhi as one of the languages.

4. What is in Amendment of the Eighth schedule?

Ans: In the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution-

(a) entries 12 to 14, shall be re-numbered as entries 13 to 15 respectively.
(b) before entry “13” is so re-numbered, the entry “12” “Sindhi” shall be inserted.

5. How many total numbers of languages are in Eighth Schedule to the Constitution now?

Ans: Eighth Schedule of the constitution covered 22 official languages.