Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India

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The Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India lists the official languages of the Republic of India. At the time when the Constitution was enacted, inclusion in this list meant that the language was entitled to representation on the Official Languages Commission,[1] and that the language would be one of the bases that would be drawn upon to enrich Hindi and English, the official languages of the Union.[2] The list has since, however, acquired further significance. The Government of India is now under an obligation to take measures for the development of these languages, such that "they grow rapidly in richness and become effective means of communicating modern knowledge."[3] In addition, a candidate appearing in an examination conducted for public service is entitled to use any of these languages as the medium in which he or she answers the paper.[4]

Schedule languages[edit]

As per Articles 344(1) and 351 of the Indian Constitution, the eighth schedule includes the recognition of the following 22 languages:[5][6]

Chronology[edit]

  • 1950: 14 were initially included in the Constitution.
  • 1967: Sindhi was added by 21st Constitutional Amendment Act
  • 1992: Konkani, Manipuri (Meitei) and Nepali were added by 71st Constitutional Amendment Act
  • 2003: Bodo, Dogri, Maithili and Santali were added by 92nd Constitutional Amendment Act.[7]
  • 2011: The spelling Oriya was replaced by Odia by 96th Constitutional Amendment Act.

Demand for more languages for inclusion in the Eighth Schedule[edit]

At present, as per the Ministry of Home Affairs,[8] there are demands for inclusion of 38 more languages in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution. These are:

References[edit]

  1. Constitution of India, Article 344(1).
  2. Constitution of India, Article 351.
  3. Official Languages Resolution, 1968, para. 2. Archived March 18, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  4. Official Languages Resolution, 1968, para. 4. Archived March 18, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  5. Bakshi, PM (2010). The Constitution of India. ULPCL. ISBN 978-8-17534-840-0.
  6. Basu, DD (2008). Introduction to the Constitution of India. Lexis Nexis Butterworths. ISBN 978-8-18038-559-9.
  7. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 4 October 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 4 October 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)