The Official Languages Act 1963

In one line

The Act that kept English, and then made it politically impossible to remove.

In the wording a student can write in an exam: the Official Languages Act 1963 was enacted under article 343(3) to provide for the languages which may be used for the official purposes of the Union, for the transaction of business in Parliament, for Central and State Acts and for certain purposes in the High Courts. Section 3, substituted by the amending Act of 1968, provides that notwithstanding the expiration of the fifteen-year period, English may continue to be used in addition to Hindi for all the official purposes of the Union for which it was being used, and for the transaction of business in Parliament. Its provisos require English to be used for communication between the Union and a State which has not adopted Hindi. Section 3(5) provides that those provisions shall remain in force until resolutions for the discontinuance of English have been passed by the legislatures of ALL the States which have not adopted Hindi and thereafter by each House of Parliament.

The scheme

Section 1. Short title and commencement. Section 3 came into force on 26 January 1965, the day the fifteen years expired; the remaining provisions came into force on dates appointed by notification, section 5(1) on 10 January 1965, section 6 on 19 May 1969, section 7 on 7 March 1970 and section 5(2) on 1 October 1976.

Section 2. "Appointed day" means, in relation to section 3, 26 January 1965; and "Hindi" means Hindi in Devanagari script.

Section 3, as substituted in 1968, subsection (1). Notwithstanding the expiration of the period of fifteen years from the commencement of the Constitution, the English language may, as from the appointed day, continue to be used, in addition to Hindi, for all the official purposes of the Union for which it was being used immediately before that day, and for the transaction of business in Parliament.

The three provisos to subsection (1), and they are examinable. First: the English language SHALL be used for purposes of communication between the Union and a State which has not adopted Hindi as its official language. Secondly: where Hindi is used for communication between a Hindi State and a non-Hindi State, it shall be accompanied by an English translation. Thirdly: nothing prevents a non-Hindi State from using Hindi for communication with the Union or with a Hindi State, or by agreement with any other State, and in such a case it is not obligatory to use English.

Notice the direction of the first proviso. It is mandatory and it protects the non-Hindi State: the Union must write to it in English.

Subsection (2) deals with communication between Ministries, Departments and offices of the Central Government and with corporations and companies owned or controlled by it.