Part XVII of the Constitution deals with language. An Article in Part XVII makes Hindi in Devanagari script the official language of the Union, with English to be phased out after 15 years; the Official Languages Act, 1963 kept English in use alongside Hindi. The Constitution names no national language.
Key facts
- Hindi in Devanagari is the Union's official language; the Official Languages Act, 1963 continued English.
- Eighth Schedule: 14 languages in 1950, enlarged by amendments: Sindhi first; then Konkani, Manipuri and Nepali together; then Bodo, Dogri, Maithili and Santali together.
- India has no national language; states choose their own official languages, such as Mizo in Mizoram and Kokborok in Tripura.
- Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan may use Hindi in their High Courts; the Supreme Court works in English.
Latest
The Eighth Schedule now lists 22 languages; the last additions were Bodo, Dogri, Maithili and Santali in 2003 (92nd Amendment).
Why exams ask about it
Official versus national language, the Eighth Schedule count and additions, and the Article for state languages are asked.
Pakka yaad trick
Official, not national: the Constitution gives Hindi an office, not the nation.