Context: 

Recently the Supreme Court observed that although there are at least 22 official languages in the country, Hindi is “the national language”.

What was the Case?

• Transfer Petition of Case: The top court was dealing with a transfer petition filed in a motor accident case that occurred in Siliguri, West Bengal.
  • The plea to transfer the case from the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) in Uttar Pradesh (UP) to the one in Darjeeling was filed under the Motor Vehicles Act (MVA) 1988.
  • The Act allows an application for compensation to be made by the persons sustaining the injury in the accident.
  • According to the petitioner, since all the witnesses of the petitioner are from Siliguri, language could be a barrier.
  • Since the claimants had opted for the MACT in Farrukhabad, UP, and the same was permitted by law, the court rejected the transfer plea.
• Dismiss of Plea: Justice Dipankar Datta dismissed a plea by holding that Hindi being the national language, it is expected of the witnesses to communicate and convey their version in Hindi.
  • If the contention of the petitioner is to be accepted, it is the claimants who would be seriously prejudiced because they have to convey their version in Bengali.

Percentage of Speakers of Most Spoken Languages in India: 

Constitutional Provisions Related to Hindi:

• Article 343 of the Indian Constitution: According to this Article, the official language of the Union of India is to be Hindi in Devanagari script, and numerals should follow the international form of Indian numerals. 
  • Use of English for a Particular Period: The Article also states that English will continue to be used as an official language for 15 years from the commencement of the Constitution. 
  • Continuation of English even after 25th January 1965: The Article also made provisions for the continuation of English even after 25th January 1965 by empowering the Parliament to make laws to that effect.
    • Accordingly, the Official Languages Act, 1963 was passed which provided for the continued use of English even after the said date in 1965.
• Article 346 of the Indian Constitution: This article is about the official language for communication between the States and between a State and the Union. 
  • The Article states that the “authorized” language will be used for official communication. 
  • However, if two or more states agree that their communications shall be in Hindi, then Hindi may be used.
• Article 347 of the Indian Constitution: This Article gives power to the President to recognise a language as an official language of a given State. 
  • But this can be done if the President is satisfied that a substantial proportion of that State desires that the language be recognised. Such recognition can be for a part of the State or the whole state. 
• Article 351 of the Indian Constitution: This Article gives power to the Union Government to issue a directive for the development of the Hindi language. 

Challenges in Promoting Hindi as a Common Language:

• Vulnerability of Local Language: Each language has vocabulary, gender rules and locutions that do not come instinctively to everyone. 
  • When the government uses Hindi as a common language, it will not be easy to understand the government’s policies, decisions and position to non-Hindi speakers. 
• Challenges to the Bureaucracy: The government’s decision to make Hindi an official language might hamper the efficiency of the Indian Bureaucracy. 
  • For instance, there might be a situation where a bureaucrat from Kerala state in Delhi has to read and write file notations in Hindi and has to submit them to a superior officer belonging to Odisha state. 
• Failure of the Three-Language Formula: In the five decades since the promulgation of the ‘three-language formula’, implementation has largely failed across the country. 
  • This is for two reasons:
    • Anti-Hindi agitations in various states, such as Tamil Nadu
    • There is no demand for learning a Southern or North-Eastern Language in states that demand Hindi as an official language
• Against Constitutional Ideas: The Constitution envisages India as a Union of States working within a federal framework. 
  • Further, in India, most of the States have been formed on a linguistic basis. So, promoting Hindi will go against these ideas and aspirations and violate constitutional provisions. 
• Eighth Schedule to the Constitution: The Eighth Schedule consists of the 22 languages (Hindi, Bengali, Punjabi, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Sanskrit, Assamese, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, and Urdu, among others). 
  • Of these languages, 14 were initially included in the Constitution; others including Bodo, Dogri, Maithili, and Santhali were added in 2004.
• Article 350A of the Indian Constitution: This article facilitates instruction in the mother tongue at the primary stage. 
• Article 350B of the Indian Constitution: This Article provides for the establishment of a Special Officer for linguistic minorities and safeguards their identity. 
• Creates Discrimination in the Long Run: The government’s move to make Hindi as a common language might provide Hindi speakers with the economic, academic and administrative edge. 

Conclusion:

Language is an integral part of People’s culture and giving preference to Hindi over all other languages spoken in India takes away from its diversity.
Rather than impose Hindi as a National Language, the time is to strengthen those official languages whose importance cannot be disregarded.

News Source: The Indian Express

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