English in India: Constitutional Status, Three-Language Formula & History

28 Aug 2026

Subject: GS 02: Polity and Governance

Context: The Supreme Court, while hearing challenges to the CBSE three-language formula, recently examined whether English should be treated as a “non-indigenous” or foreign language in India, given its long history of use and its role in administration, higher education, communication and social mobility.

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English in India

Origin: English originated in England and belongs to the Indo-European language family.
Arrival in India: Its interaction with Indian society began during the 17th century, initially through traders and missionaries and later expanding into administration and education.
Colonial Administration: English gradually gained importance in governance and eventually replaced Persian as the principal language of higher administration under British rule.
Macaulay’s Minute: Thomas Babington Macaulay’s Minute on Indian Education (1835) strongly advocated English education and influenced colonial educational policy.
Post-Independence Role: English continued to be used as an important link language in administration, higher education, judiciary, science and technology, and inter-State communication.
Indianisation: English has developed distinct Indian varieties, vocabulary and usage, and has become an important medium of Indian literature, journalism, cinema and digital communication.

Constitutional Position of English

Article 343: Declares Hindi in Devanagari script as the official language of the Union.
Article 343(2): Provided for the continued use of English for official purposes of the Union for 15 years from the commencement of the Constitution.
Official Languages Act, 1963: Provided for the continued use of English, alongside Hindi, for specified official purposes of the Union.
Eighth Schedule: English is not included among the 22 constitutionally recognised languages listed in the Eighth Schedule.
Important distinction: Being outside the Eighth Schedule does not mean that English is constitutionally prohibited or legally treated simply as a “foreign language.”

Three-Language Formula

Origin: The three-language formula emerged from the 1968 National Policy on Education and was subsequently modified through later education policies.
Objective: Its broad objective is to promote multilingualism while balancing the learning of regional languages, Hindi and English.
NEP 2020: Under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, students are to learn three languages, with at least two being native to India.
Language Choice: NEP 2020 emphasises that no language should be imposed on any State and provides flexibility in the choice of languages.