Constituent Assembly Of India -Volume IX
Dated: September 14, 1949
Mr. President: About numbering the clauses?
Shri Mahavir Tyagi: Yes, Sir. I would like........
Mr. President: That I think will be taken care of by the Drafting Committee.
Shri Mahavir Tyagi: Sir, there is not to be much discussion and I do
not want to speak also. I only want to submit that in the clause as it
originally stood there was the word "and", between these two sentences,
and the only change now proposed is that the word "and" be removed and
a full-stop be put in after the word "Devanagari script", and the paragraph
has been split into two. I submit that the first sentence be lettered (a)
and the second (b).
Mr. President: As it is placed before me, there are two separate paragraphs.
Mr. Mohamed Ismail: Mr. President, Sir, since the debate has been re-opened
and the closure has been nullified, I think I can refer to the amendments
which I have already tabled and are before the House.An Honourable Member
: Other amendments?
Mr. Mohamed Ismail: No, the amendments of which I have already given
notice of; because the closure has been nullified and the debate has been
reopened, I think I have got the right to speak on the amendments.
Mr. President: Fundamentally he is right.
Mr. Mohamed Ismail : Sir, in doing that, first I have to say that I
oppose the amendments that have been placed before the House just now by
Mr. K. M. Munshi. The amendments which I have given notice of, in effect,
ask for the acceptance by the House of Hindustani with Devanagari and Urdu
scripts as the' official language of the Union, and the international form
of Indian numerals as the numerals to be used for purposes of the Union.
And one of my amendments also proposes that the English language which
shall be continued for fifteen years in use for the purposes of the Union
shall, even after the period of fifteen years, be so continued until Parliament
decides, otherwise by a majority of the total membership of each of the
Houses of Parliament. That in effect is my amendment.
Mr. President: Number ?
Mr. Mohamed Ismail : Sir, yesterday the Honourable Prime Minister in
his noteworthy speech made three points amongst others. Firstly, he quoted
the views and the authority of Mahatma Gandhi over this subject. Secondly,
he said that we should not go back and look back too much, lest we should
be retarded in our forward progress. Thirdly, he wanted us to realise that
the world is becoming smaller and smaller now, and in that context we must
realise how the world is pressing upon us from hour to hour. If we bear
in mind the principles implied in these points, I think, the subject before
us is very easy of solution.
It is agreed that the official language of the Union shall be an Indian
language. It is also agreed that that language must be one that is spoken
by the largest number of the people of the Union.
It is further agreed that that language must be such in nature as to
be able to assimilate the modem tendencies and modern conditions in our
national life. With regard to these points I do not think there is any
disagreement. But what exactly is the language which satisfies all these
conditions is a matter of discussion and controversy. On this matter I
cannot do better than quote the authority of Mahatma Gandhi. In an article
which was published on August 10, 1947, Mahatma Gandhi says :
"In Delhi I daily come in contact with Hindus and Muslims, The number
of Hindus is larger. Most of them speak a language which has very few Sanskrit
words and not many more Persian or Arabic. They or the vast majority do
not know the Devanagari script. They write to me in indifferent English
and when I take them to task for writing in a foreign language, they write
in Urdu script. If the lingua franca is to be'Hindi and the script only
Devanagari, what will be the plight of these Hindus ?"
That is the question Mahatma Gandhi asked, not very many years ago but
as late as August 1947. It may be said that he refers here only to Delhi
and
the surrounding parts. But in the same article later on he says-I am
reproducing his exact words :
"The millions of villagers of India have nothing to do with books. They
speak Hindustani which the Muslims write in Urdu script and the Hindus
in the Urdu script or in the Nagari script. Therefore the duty of people
like you and me is to learn both the scripts."
That, Sir, is the view of Mahatma Gandhi. Here lie makes it very clear
that the language that is spoken by the largest number of people is Hindustani
and the script used for that language, according to him, is Urdu and Devanagari,Therefore
I and certain of my friends appeal to this House to adopt Urdu as well
as Devanagari as the script of the official language, of the Union.
This language, Hindustani, is not a foreign language as you all know.
It is an indigenous language. It was born and bred up in this country.
A further advantage with regard to this language is that it was born under
modem conditions and it has developed itself under and has been adapting
itself to modern conditions. So I say it is the most suitable language
for expressing modern ideas, sentiments and requirements. As I have already
pointed out, it is this Hindustani, which is really the language that is
being spoken by the largest number of people of this country.
With regard to the question of going back too much to the past, I have
to say that if we want to go back we must be logical about it. Why do we
want to go to the past ? Because some friends of ours want to have an ancient
language not only an Indian language but an ancient language of the country-to
be the official language of the Union. If it were granted then I make bold
to say that Tamil, or to put it generally, the Dravidian languages are
the earliest among the languages that are spoken on the soil of this country.
No historian or archaeologist will contradict me when I say that it is
the Dravidian language that was spoken first here on the soil of this country,
and that is the earliest language. Tamil language has got a rich literature
of a high order. It is the most ancient language. It is, I may say, my
mother-tongue. I love it, and I am proud of that language. However, I am,
and so also the other Tamilians are, sensible enough not to insist that
this undoubtedly most ancient language of the country should become the
official language of the country, because we know that it is not spoken
by as large a number of people as some other language; if we go to the
past, as I said, it is this language that must become the official language
of the country, but the speakers of that language do not put forward that
claim.
We are of course bound to our past. We cannot get away from it, as even
Tandonji explained. But what I say is if we are to be bound by the chain
of the past, that chain must not be static, must not be rigid : it must
be elastic. We must not try to be all roots and only roots. We must try
to become branches with ever fresh foliage, fruits and flowers. Therefore
we must also take into consideration tile modern conditions.
Shri Ramnath Goenks (Madras: General): Sir, I have already moved for
closure, and I can move for closure in respect of the speech of the honourable
Member also.
Mr. President: I will allow the honourable Member to finish it.
Mr. Mohamed Ismail: Sir, I quite realise that if closure is moved and
accepted I cannot say anything here. But as it is not done and as the debate
is on. I think I am within my rights.
Shri Ramnath Goenka: He is repeating the arguments.
Mr. President: The honourable Member may finish his speech.
Mr. Mohamed Ismail: Sir, with regard to numerals I would like to say
a few words. I am insisting upon the international form of numerals because
many languages of the country have adopted these numerals. It was asked
whether this question of numerals was before the country as long as the
question of the official language was. I ask the question whether people
do not know that this question of numerals is thoroughly different from
the question of official
language. Now English is the official language of the Union. This has
not permeated the masses. But the case is different with the numerals.
The masses are making use of these so-called "English" numerals, which
are really Indian numerals, in their everyday life. I have seen cart-main,
manual labourers making use of thesenumerals. Now millions upon millions
of the masses are already making use of these numerals. Therefore when
my friends insisted that these numerals must be made a permanent feature
of the official language of the Union, they were only echoing the sentiments
of the people. They were only representing what is already there in existence
in the country.
If we make any change in the form of the numerals, it will create a
lot of confusion in addition to expense and waste of energy. As has been
frequently pointed out, these are after all our own numerals. So I still
appeal to the House that these numerals must be made a permanent feature
of the official language and that it should not be changed into anything
else after any number of years.
In brief, my proposal is that Hindustani with Urdu and Devanagari scripts
must be accepted as the official language of the Union and the international
form of Indian numerals must be made a permanent feature of that official
language.
The Honourable Shri Satyanarayan Sinha (Bihar: General): Sir, the question
be now put.
Maulana Hasrat Mohani: Sir, I request you to give me a chance.
Mr. President: Closure has been moved. Shri Brajeshwar Prasad:Sir, I
submit I have some serious thing to point out in amendment No. 4.
Maulana Hasrat Mohani: Sir, I request you........
Mr. President: Closure has been moved and I cannot allow you to speak.
I think you had promised not to speak at a previous stage.
Shri Brajeshwar Prasad:Sir, acceptance of the closure is entirely in
the hands of the President. I want to submit a few words regarding amendment
No. 4.
Mr. President: You want to oppose the amendment ?
Shri Brajeshwar Prasad:Yes, Sir. Acceptance of the closure depends on
this, that the President is satisfied that there has been sufficient debate,
Honourable Members Closure, closure.
Mr. President: I have to put the closure to vote. I think the House
is not in a mood to have further discussion.
Shri Brajeshwar Prasad:Is it your ruling that closure should be accepted?
Mr. President: I have to put it to the House.
Shri Brajeshwar Prasad:No, Sir, it is not necessary. I submit you are
not bound to put it to the House.
Mr. President: I do not say I am bound to, but I propose to put it
to the House.
Shri Brajeshwar Prasad:I wanted to say a few words. There are serious
flaws in this amendment.
Honourable Members : No, no. Order, order.
Mr. President: The question is:
"That the question be put".
The motion was adopted.
Mr. President: Mr. Ayyangar, do you wish to say anything in reply to
the whole debate ?
The Honourable Shri N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar: Sir, we are in a happy
mood just at this moment and I do not want to mar this happy mood by anything
like a long speech from me. I have formally, as mover of the major amendment,
to accept the amendments to that amendment which have been moved by my
honourable Friend Mr. Munshi. I accept them in toto.
I wish to add only one thing which I believe I committed myself to certain
friends who moved certain amendments yesterday, particularly the amendment
which was supported by a most well-reasoned speech from Mr. S. V. Krishnamoorthy
Rao. He suggested that on account of the fluid condition of the Hindi language,
particularly in respect of political, constitutional, scientific, technology
cal and other terms, it is desirable that an academy or a commission should
be established as soon as the new Constitution comes into force so that
it may make a review of the use of this language in different parts of
the country and standardise words and expressions. I think, Sir, it is
a most helpful suggestion in the present conditions of the country. He
moved an amendment to that effect, but I do not
think that it is necessary to add to the draft I have placed before
you for carrying out his ideas. We have an article in that particular Part
which directs the State to take steps for promoting the development of
the Hindi language, to take all steps that may be necessary for enriching
it, for enabling it to draw upon Hindustani and other languages in the
country for styles, forms of expression and so on and for enriching its
vocabulary by borrowing in the first instance from Sanskrit and secondarily
from all other languages in the world. That is a comprehensive directive
which we have put into this Part XIV-A and I am sure that whatever Government
may be in power after this Constitution comes into force, will take steps
necessary for promoting this particular object and in doing so the suggestion
of Mr. Krishnamoorthy Rao will, I have no doubt, be implemented.
Mr. President: I have now to put the amendments to vote. We have got
such a large number of amendments. I will go on calling the No. of the
amendment and Members who desire to withdraw will say so and I will take
it that the House gives them leave to withdraw them.
The Honourable Shri Ghanshyam Singh Gupta : Sir, may I suggest something
? If any Member particularly wants that his amendment be Put to vote lie
may point it out. Otherwise, if you go on taking every amendment that will
take a lot of time. I suppose we have made up our mind that only certain
amendments should be accepted, so we can save a lot of time if you are
pleased to ask only those honourable Members Who want that their amendment
should be voted upon.
Mr. President: Is that the wish of the House ?
Honourable Members: Yes.
Mr. President: Then I would ask the, Members to indicate to me the amendments
they wish to be put to vote.
Shri Brajeshwar Prasad:Sir, I would like my amendment to be put.
Mr. President: What is the number of it ?
Shri Brajeshwar Prasad:No. 277.
Mr. Z. H. Lari (United Provinces: Muslim) what is the procedure?
Mr. President: It has been suggested to me that instead of my formally putting
each amendment to vote, the Member who moved it having to withdraw it and
asking the House leave to withdraw it, I should put only those amendments
which Members who have sponsored them wish to put to vote.
Mr. Z. H. Lari : There would be confusion. The proper course is that
those Members who want to withdraw their amendments can withdraw them first.
Mahboob Ali Baig Sahib Bahadur (Madras: Muslim): When an amendment has
been moved, the Member who has moved it should stand up and say that he
withdraws it and the House must accept that withdrawal. That is the procedure
laid down in our rules.
Shri Alladi Krishnaswami Ayyar (Madras : General): There is no necessity
for every Member to get up and say that the withdraws the amendment. Those
amendments which the movers do not want to press may be automatically taken
as withdrawn. There is nothing in the rules to prevent such a procedure.
The Honourable Shri Purushottam Das Tandon: I just want to know what
your decision in regard to this matter is.
The Honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar: Those Members who have moved amendments
and do not want them to be put to vote may be taken to have given you the
authority that they do not want to press them.
Mr. President: About this matter I have a suggestion to make. I have
got a list of names of all the Members who have got amendments to their
credit. I will call out the name of each Member and if he wishes any particular
amendments to be put to vote I will put them. I think that will solve the
problem. With regard to the rest I shall take it that Members withdraw
their amendments and the House gives them the leave to withdraw the amendments.
The following Members asked for leave to withdraw the amendments against
their names :-
Seth Govind Das
The Honourable Pandit Ravi Shankar Shukla
Shri Algu Rai Shastri
Shri Lakshmi Kanta Maitra
Shri H. V. Kamath
Maulana Hasrat Mohani
Shri L. Krishnaswami Bharathi
Shri H. R. Guruv Reddy
Shri Arun Chandra
Guha
Mr. Mahboob Ali Baig
Dr. P. Subbarayan
Shri S. Nagappa.
The Amendments were, by leave of the Assembly, withdrawn.
Mr. President: The question is
"That in amendment No. 65 above, for the proposed new Part XIV-A, the
following be substituted:-
"PART XIV-A
CHAPTER I-LANGUAGE OF THE UNION
301A. (1) The State language of the Union shall he Hindi in Devanagari
script. (2)Notwithstanding anything contained in clause (1) of this article,the
English language may Continue Lo be used for official purposes of the Union
during the period of transition which shall no( exceed 5 years, provided
that the State language will be progressively utilised until it replaces
English completely it the end of the transitional period of five years.
301-B. (1) Within three months of the commencement of this Constitution,
there shall be constituted a committee consisting of thirty members, of
whom twenty shall be members of the Council of States chosen respectively
by the members of the House of the People and the members of the Council
of States in accordance with the system of proportional representation
by means of the single transferable vote.
(2)It shall be the duty of the Committee to make recommendations to
the President as to the ways and means which should be adopted as to the
progressive use of the Hindi language for all the official purposes of
the Union and the replacement of the English language by the Hindi language
at the end of the transitional period of five Years.
(3)The Committee shall submit its report within a period of six months
from the date of its appointment.
(4)Within a period of three months from the date of submission of its
report by the Committee, the President shall cause every recommendation
made by the Committee together with an explanatory memorandum as to the
action taken or to be taken thereon to be laid before each House of Parliament.
(5)(a) When any member of the House of the People or the Council of
States cannot adequately express himself in the language in use for the
time being in the House of the People or in the Council of States, the
Speaker of the House of the People or the Chairman of the Council of States
may permit him to address the House in his mother tongue.
(b)The Chairman of the Council of States or the Speaker of the House
of the People may, whenever he thinks fit, make arrangements for making
available in the Council of States or the House of the People as the case
may be a summary in Hindi and in the language in use in the House for the
time being of the speech delivered by a member in any other language and
such summary shall be included in the record of the proceedings of the
House in which the speech has been delivered.
CHAPTER II-REGIONAL LANGUAGES
301-C.
(1) A State may by law adopt Hindi or the language or languages
in sue in the State as the language or languages to be used for all or
any of the official purposes of that State.
(2)(a) When any member of a State Legislature cannot adequately express
himself in the language in use for the time being in either House of the
State Legislature, the Chairman of the Legislative Council or the Speaker
of the Legislative Assembly may permit him to address the House in his
mother tongue.
(b)The Chairman of the Legislative Council or the Speaker of the Legislative
Assembly may, whenever he thinks fit, make arrangements for making available,
in the Legislative Council or the Legislative Assembly as the case may
be, a summary in Hindi or in the language in rise in either House for the
time being of the speech delivered by a member in any other language, and
such summary shall be included in the record of the proceedings of the
House in which the speech has been delivered.
301-D. (1) (a) The language for the time being authorised for use in
the Union for official purposes shall be the official language for communication
between a State and the Union;
(b)If the language authorised for use in the Union is also the official
language of any state the official language of the Union shall be the
official language for communication between that State and another State:
Provided that if two or more States agree that the Hindi language shall
be the official language for communication between such States, that language
may be used for such communication. (2) The authoritative texts-
(i) of all Bills to be introduced or amendments thereto to be moved
in the House or either House of the Legislature of a State,
(ii) of all Acts passed by the Legislature of a State and of all Ordinances
promulgated by a Governor or a Ruller, as the case may be,
(iii) of all
orders, rules, regulations and by laws issued under this Constitution or
under any low made by tire Legislature of a State,
shall be in the official language of the State :
Provided that if the State official language is not Hindi, they shall
be accompanied by an authoritative text in Hindi
Provided also that during the transition period of five years from the
commencement of the Constitution, if the State official language is not
English, they shall also be accompanied by an authoritative text in English.
301-E. Where on a demand being made in that behalf the President is
satisfied that a substantial proportion of the population of a State, but
not less than 20 per cent. desires the use of any language spoken by them
to be recognised by that State, he may direct that such language shall
be recognised throughout that State or any part thereof for such purpose
as he may specify.
CHAPTER III.-DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLE
301-G. Every person shall be entitled to submit a representation for
the redress of any grievance to any officer or authority of the Union or
a State in any of the languages used in the Union or in the State, as the
case may be.
301-H. It shall be the duty of the Union to promote the spread of Hindi
and to develop the language so as to serve as a medium of expression for
all the elements of the composite culture of India and to secure its enrichment
by assimilating the forms, style and expressions used in the other languages
of India, and drawing wherever necessary or desirable for its vocabulary
primarily on Sanskrit.
301-I. It shall be duty of the Union to promise the use of the Devanagari
script throughout the territory of India.
301-J. It shall also be the duty of the Union to promote the study of
Sanskrit throughout the territory of India as it is the source of most
of the other languages in India'."
The amendments were negatived.
Mr. President: The question is
"That in amendment No. 65 above, in clause ( 1) of the proposed new
article 301A, for the word 'Hindi' the word 'Hindustani' be substituted,"
The Assembly divided (by show of hands). Ayes: 14
Noes: The rest, a large majority.
The amendment was negatived.
Mr. Mohammad Tahir (Bihar: Muslim) : I beg leave to withdraw my amendment
No. 81.
The amendment was, by leave of the Assembly, withdrawn.
Mr. President: The question is :
"That in amendment No. 65 above, in clause (1) of the proposed new article
301A, after the word 'Devanagari' the words 'and Urdu' be inserted."
The Assembly divided (by show of hands). Ayes: 12
Noes: The rest, a large majority.
The amendments were negatived.
Mr. President: Mr. Yudhisthir Misra is not in his place. Shri Phool
Singh withdraws his amendment. Messrs. V. I. Muniswami Pillai, Shankarrao
Deo and Shri R. V. Dhulekar withdraw their amendments.Shri Ramalingam Chettiyar's
amendment is the next one on Paper.
Shri T. A. Ramalingam Chettiyar (Madras: (General): My amendment No.
105 may be put to vote.
Mr. President: The question is:
"That in amendment No. 65 above for the proposed new article 301B, the
following be substituted : -
'301B. The President shall, after the expiration of 15 years from the
commencement of this Constitution, lay down the method by which the substitution
of English by Hindi should be carried out."'
The amendment was negatived.
Shri T. A. Ramalingam Chettiyar : Votes may be taken, Sir.
The Assembly divided (by *bow of hands).
Ayes: 6
Noes: The rest,
a large majority. The amendment was negatived. The alternative amendment
was, by leave of the Assembly, withdrawn.
Shri Satis Chandra Samanta (West Bengal: General) : I beg leave to withdraw
my amendment.
The amendment was, by leave of the Assembly, withdrawn.
Mahboob Ali Baig: What about my amendment No. 98 ?
Mr. President: I called the name of the honourable Member and at that
time be did not ask me to, put his amendment to vote. If be now wishes
me to put it to vote I will do so. question is :
"'That in amendment No. 65 above, the proviso to clause (2) of proposed
new article 301A be deleted,"
The amendment was negatived.
The following Members asked for leave to withdraw the amendments standing
against their names:-
Shri Ram Sahay,
Shri Mahavir Tyagi
Shri S. V. Krishnamoorthy Rao,
Shrimati Purnima Banerji,
Shri Krishna Chandra Sharma,
Shri Yudhisthir Misra.
The amendments were, by leave of the Assembly, withdrawn.
Dr. P. S. Deshmukh: I withdraw my amendments. But I hope that the Drafting
Committee will look into them. My drafts are better than theirs.
Mr. President: You may hand them over to the Drafting Committee.
The amendments of Dr. P. S. Deshmukh and Shri Jaspat Roy Kapoor were,
by leave of the Assembly, withdrawn.
Mr. Z. B. Lari: I press my amendments Nos. 258 and 310.
Mr. President: The question is:
"That in amendment No. 65 of Fourth List, after the existing proviso
to the proposed new article 301-D, the following be added :-
'Provided further that if any Indian language specified in the Schedule
was used as official language in any State on 15th August 1947-the day
of India's Independence-such language shall also be recognised as official
language of the State for 15 years from the date of the commencement of
the Constitution and thereafter if so directed by the President'."
The amendment was negatived.
Mr. President: I shall now put the next
of amendment of Mr. Lari to vote.
The question is :
"That in amendment No. 65 of Fourth List, at the end of the proposed
new article 301H, the following clause be added :-
'Notwithstanding anything contained in the foregoing provisions of this
Part, primary education shall be imparted through the mother tongue of
a child where thirty students in a school or eight students in a class
make such a demand."'
The amendment was negatived.
Shri Basanta Kumar Das and Shri B. Siddaveerappa asked for leave to
withdraw their amendments.
The amendments were, by leave of the Assembly, withdrawn.
Mr. President: Mr. Jaipal Singh. I think the Member is not in the House.
Shri Mahavir Tyagi: Sir, his amendment may be put to vote.
Mr. President: Mr. Lakra, what do you say ?
Mr. Boniface Lakra (Bihar: General): I withdraw.
The amendment was, by leave of the Assembly, withdrawn.
Mr. President: Mr. Naziruddin Ahmad.
Mr. Naziruddin Ahmad: I withdraw all my amendments except two, 277 and
282.
All the amendments of Mr. Naziruddin Ahmad except 277 and 282 were,
by leave of the Assembly, withdrawn.
Mr. President: The question is:
"That in amendment No. 65 of Fourth List, for the proposed new Part
XIV-A, 'the following be substituted:-
"PART XIV-A
CHAPTER I.
LANGUAGE OF THE UNION
301 'A. The English language shall continue to be used for all the purposes
of the Union for which it was being used at the commencement of the Constitution
for fifteen Years in the first instance and then for such further period,
if any, till an All-India language is evolved which is of sufficient vigour,
richness and flexibility to serve the multifarious purposes and functions
of the Union and ascertained and adopted in the manner hereinafter laid
down in this part.
301-B. As a first step to facilitate the evolution and ultimate adoption
of a Union Language referred to in the last preceding article, and to provide
for and safeguard the continuance and growth of the regional languages
referred to in article of this Constitution, parliament may, within ten
years from the commencement of this
Constitution, by law-
(a) under article 3 of this Constitution regroup and reconstitute, as
far as practicable, all the States described in the First Schedule on linguistic
bases according to the principal languages described in Schedule VII-A,
and
(b) introduce a system of mass literacy among the citizens of India.
301C. If within the period of ten years from the commencement of this
Constitution. or as soon as practicable thereafter, the President is satisfied
that the States have been reconstituted it, the manner laid down in clause
(a) of the last preceding article and a minimum of sixty per cent of the
adult and adolescent citizens of India have received primary education
as laid down in clause (b) thereof, he shall require the Parliament and
the Legislatures of the States to express their views on the question of
the selection of the Union language or languages and the respective regional
languages.
301-D. The President shall consider the views of the Parliament and
the Legislatures of the States and may as soon as practicable, appoint
a Language Commission representing the various languages enumerated in
Schedule VII-A and also other languages and experts to investigate and
report on the suitability of any one or more language or languages to be
adopted as the Union language and one or more language or languages for
the various States, regard being had to political, literary, official,
legal, commercial, medical, technical, scientific, military international
and other needs of India as a whole and of the States.
301-E. The President shall consider the report of the Commission and
if he is satisfied that it is thorough and adequate, he shall direct the
report to be placed before the Houses of Parliament and the Houses of the
Legislatures of the States for expression of their opinions on the suitability
or otherwise or any one or more of the Indian languages to be the official
language of India as also the regional language or languages of the various
States.
301-F. The President on a consideration of the opinions of the Legislatures
and other documents and materials available, shall appoint a Committee
consisting of thirty members of the House of the People and ten members
elected by the Council of States on the principle of proportional representation
by means of the single transferable vote to report as to the suitability
of any one or more language or languages of the Union and of the various
States.
301-G. The President shall consider the report of the Committee and
may by notification in the official Gazette direct that one or more languages
shall be official language of the Union with effect from such date as may
be specially appointed in this behalf in the notification.
301-H. Notwithstanding anything contained in the foregoing provisions
of this Part, Parliament may by law provide for the use of the English
language after the date mentioned in the last preceding article for such
purposes as may be specified in such law,
CHAPTER II.-REGIONAL LANGUAGE
301-I.Subject to the provisions of the next succeeding article, a State
may, after consideration of the report of the Language Commission referred
to in article 301-D of this Constitution and of the report of the Committee
referred to in article 301-F of this Constitution, by law adopt any one
or more of the languages in use in the State as the language or languages
to be used for all or any of the official purposes of that State : Provided
that until the Legislature of the State otherwise provides by law, the
English language shall continue to be used for those official purposes
within the State for which it was being used at the commencement of this
Constitution.
301-J. Where on a demand being made in that behalf, the President is
satisfied that a substantial proportion of the population of a State or
any substantial part thereof desires the use of any language spoken by
them to be recognised by that State, he may direct that such language shall
also be officially recognised throughout that State or any Part thereof
for such
purpose or purposes as he may specify.
CHAPTER III.-LANGUAGE OF THE SUPREME COURT AND THE HIGH COURTS, ETC.
301-K. Notwithstanding anything contained in the foregoing provisions
of this Part, until Parliament by law otherwise provides-
(a) all proceedings
in the Supreme Court and in every High Court,
(b) the authoritative texts-
(i) of all Bills to be introduced or amendments thereto to be moved
in either House of Parliament or in the House or either House of the Legislature
of a State.
(ii) of all Acts passed by Parliament or the Legislature of a State
and of all Ordinance promulgated by the President or the Governor or Ruler,
as the case may be,
(iii) of all orders, rules, regulations and bye-laws issued under this
Constitution or under any law made by Parliament or the Legislature of
a State,shall be in the English language.
301-L. Notwithstanding anything contained in the foregoing provisions
of this Part, until Parliament by law otherwise provides, the proceedings
in all courts subordinate. to the High Courts shall, subject to the directions
of the Supreme Court, be in English or such other language or languages
as may be prescribed by the High Court to which such court is subordinate.
301-M. Until the date mentioned in the notification referred to in article
301-G of this Constitution, no Bill or amendment making provision for the
language to be used for any of the purposes mentioned in article 301-K
of this Constitution shall be introduced or moved in either House of Parliament
without the previous sanction of the President, and the President shall
not, give his sanction to the introduction of any such Bill or the moving
of any such amendment except after he has taken into consideration the
recommendation of the Commission constituted under article 301-D of this
Constitution and the report of the Committee referred to in article 301-F
of this Constitution.
301-N. It shall be the duty of the Union to promote the spread of the
official language or languages of tile Union and to develop the language
or languages so as to serve as a medium or media of expression for all
elements of the composite culture of India and to secure its or their enrichment
by assimilating the forms, style and expressions used in the other languages
of India, and drawing wherever necessary or desirable for its vocabulary
on Sanskrit and other languages."
#"SCHEDULE VII-A
1. Assamese
2. Bengali
3. Canarese
4. Gujrati
5. Hindi
6. Hindustani
7. Kashmiri
B. Malayalam
9. Marathi
10. Oriya
11. Punjabi
12. Rajasthani
13. Telugu
14. Urdu."
The amendment was negatived.
Mr. President: The question is "That in amendment No. 65 of Fourth List.
in clause (1) of the 'Proposed new article 301A, for the words 'Hindi in
Devanagari script' the word 'Bengali' be substituted."
The amendment was negatived. The following Members requested leave of
the House to withdraw the amendments standing in their names:--
Shri Har Govind Pant
Shri Prabhu Dayal Himatsingka
Shri B. M. Gupte
Acharya Jugal Kishore Shri Sures Chandra Majumdar
Dr. Raghu Vira
Shri Gokulbhai Daulatram Bhatt
Master Nand Lal
Shri B. P. Jhunjhunwala: The amendments were, by leave, of the Assembly, withdrawn.Mr. President: Shri Brajeshwar Prasad-
Shri Brajeshwar Prasad: I press 322, Sir. I want that the last proviso
to clause.' (2) be deleted. The words are redundant.
Mr. President: I can only put the whole amendment to the, vote.
The question, is:
"That in amendment No. 65 of Fourth List, for the proposed new article
301A, the following be substituted:-
'301A. (1) The official language of the Union shall be Hindi In Devanagari
script and the form of numerals to be used for the official purposes of
the Union shall be the Devanagari form of numerals.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in clause (1) of this article,
for a period of five years from the commencement of this Constitution,
the English language and the international form of Indian numerals shall
continue to be used for
all the official purposes of the Union, for which they were being used
at such commencement:
Provided that the President may, during the said period, by order authorise
for any of the official purposes of the Union the use of the Hindi language
and the Devanagari form of numerals in addition to the English language
and the inter-. national form of Indian numerals in addition to the Devanagari
form of numerals.
(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in this article, the President
may by order authorise the use of the English language and the international
form of Indian numerals after the said period of five years for such purposes
as may be specified in such order." The amendment was negatived.
Mr. President: Sardar Hukam Singh.
Sardar Hukam Singh: I want amendment No. 330 put to the vote.
Mr. President: The question is :
"That in amendment No. 65 of Fourth List, for the proposed new article
301C, the following be substituted :-
'301C. Subject to the provisions of articles 301D and 301E, a State
shall by law adopt the language spoken, according to the last census figures
available for the purpose by majority of the population, is the language
to be used for all official purpose; of that State :
Provided that until the Legislature of the State otherwise provides
by law the English language, shall continue to be used for those official
purposes within that State for which it was being used at the commencement
of this Constitution.'
The amendment was negatived.
The amendments of Dr. Monomohan Das were, by leave of the Assembly,
withdrawn.
Mr. President: Shri Purushottam Das Tandon.
The Honourable Shri Purushottam Das Tandon: Which amendment are you
referring to, Sir ?
Mr. President: No. 333.
The Honourable Shri Purushottam Das Tandon: I want it to be voted upon
I am not withdrawing it.
Mr. President: The question is:
"That in amendment No. 65 of Fourth List, for the proposed new article
301A, the following be substituted:-
'301A. Official language of the Union. (1) (a) The official language
of the Union shall be Hindi in Devanagari script.
(b) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub- clause (a) of this clause
both Devanagari and international forms of Indian numerals shall be recognised
for Devanagari script. (c) The President may authorise the use of Devanagari
form of numerals or the international form of numerals or both the forms
for any one or more purposes of the Union. (d) Notwithstanding anything
contained in the foregoing provisions of this clause, Parliament shall
after the expiration of a period of 15 years from the commencement of this
Constitution by law prescribe the use of Devanagari numerals or the international
form of numerals or both for any one or more specified purposes of the
Union.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in clause (1) of this article,
for a period of fifteen years from the commencement of this Constitution,
the English language shall continue to be used for all the official purposes
of the Union, for which it was being used at such commencement:
Provided that the President may, during the said period by order authorise
for any of the official purposes of the Union other than accounting, auditing
and banking the use of the Hindi language in addition to the English language.
(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in this article, Parliament may
by law provide for the use of the English language after the said period
of fifteen years for such purposes as may be specified in such law."
The
amendment was negatived.
Mr. President: Then amendment No. 345.
The Honourable Shri Purushottam Das Tandon: That also may be voted upon.
I do not withdraw it.
Mr. President: The question is
"That in amendment No. 65 of Fourth List, in the proposed new article
301B,-
(i) in clause (1), for the word "at", in the two places where it occurs,
the word "before" be substituted;
(ii) in clause (2), sub-clause (d) be deleted;
(iii) in clause (5), after the word "thereon" the words "making such
recommendations as they think
fit" be added; and
(iv) in clause (6). after the word "report", where it occurs for the
second time, the words "which shall come into effect after the expiry of
five Years from the commencement of the Constitution" be added."
The amendment was negatived.
Mr. President: Amendment No. 346.
The Honourable Shri Purushottam Das Tandon: That I withdraw, Sir.
Mr. President: Amendment No. 348.
Honourable Shri Purushottam Das Tandon: That also I withdraw.
The amendment were, by leave of the Assembly, withdrawn.
Mr. President: Amendment No. 349.
The Honourable Shri Purushottam Das Tandon: That may be voted upon.
Mr. President: The question is :
"That in amendment No. 65 of Fourth List, for the proposed new article
301F, the following be substituted :-
'301F. Notwithstanding anything contained in the foregoing provisions
of this Part, until Parliament by law otherwise provides- "
The Honourable Shri Purushottam Das Tandon: May I interrupt: I am very
sorry; I withdraw this.
The amendment was, by leave of the Assembly, withdrawn.
Mr. President: Mr. Frank Anthony.
Mr. Frank Anthony (C.P. & Berar : General): I beg leave of the House
to withdraw my amendment.
The amendment was, by leave of the Assembly, withdrawn.
Mr. President: I think I have covered all the amendments. If there is
any Member whose amendment I have left out, he may tell me now.
Shri Mahavir Tyagi: Mr. Munshi's amendments.
Mr. President: That I am coming to. I am thinking of the other amendments.
Mr. Mohd. Tahir: Amendment No. 175, Sir.
Mr. President: 'The question is :
"That in amendment No. 65 above, in the proposed new article 301H, for
the words ,.used in the Union or in the State, as the case may be' the
following be substituted
'specified in Schedule VII-A'."
The amendment was negatived. Mr. Mohamed Ismail Sahib: My amendments
Nos. 336, 341, 342 and 344.
Shri T. T. Krishnamachari (Madras: General): They have been covered
by the other amendments.
Mr. President: I think amendment 336 is covered by an amendment which
has been lost. The next amendment 341.
Mr. Mohamed Ismail Sahib: I withdraw it, Sir.
Mr. President: Amendment No. 342.
Shri T. T. Krishnamachari: That is covered, Sir.
Mr. President: That is covered. Amendment No. 344.
Mr. Mohamed Ismail Sahib: I withdraw it also, Sir.
The amendments were, by leave of the Assembly, withdrawn.
Mr. President: I think these are all the amendments. If I have left
out any, the Member who has given notice of the amendments may point out
otherwise they may be taken as withdrawn by leave of the Assembly.
I shall now put the amendments moved by Mr. Munshi. But, there is an
amendment by Mr. Tyagi to number the paragraphs.
The Honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar: That is a matter we will took to
later on.
Shri Mahavir Tyagi: it has been accepted, Sir.
Mr. President: It does not mean that it has been accepted. They will
consider it.
Shri K. M. Munshi : I am not accepting it.
Mr. President: Are You Pressing it ?
Shri Mahavir Tyagi: If you are sending it to the Drafting Committee,
I do not press it. I leave it to the good sense of the Drafting Committee.
Mr. President: The question is
"That for clause (1) of article 301A,
the following be substituted:-
'(1) The official language of the Union shall be Hindi in Devanagari
script.
The form of numerals to be used for the official purpose-.,
of the Union
shall be the international form of Indian numerals.' "
The amendment was adopted.
Mr. President: The question is : "That for clause (3) of article 301A.
the following be substituted:--
'(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in this article. Parliament
may after the said period of fifteen years by law provide for the use of-
(a) the English language, or
(b) the Devanagari form of numerals,
for such purposes as may be specified in such law.'
The amendment was adopted.
Shri T. T. Krishnamachari: The other two amendments may be put together.
Mr. President: The question is
"That article 301F
be renumbered as clause (1) of article 301 F, and to the said clause
as so remembered the following clause be added:-
'(2) Nothing in sub-clause (a) of clause (1) of this article shall prevent
a State from prescribing, with the consent of the President, the use of
Hindi language or any other language recognised for official purposes in
the State for Proceedings in the High Court of the State other than judgments,
decrees and orders.' "
"That after clause (2) of the proposed article 301F, the following be
added:
'(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub- clause (b)) of clause
( 1) of this article, when the Legislature of a State his prescribed tile
use of any language other than English for Bills, Acts. Ordinances, and
Orders having the force of law, and rules referred to in the said sub-clause
a translation of the same in English certified by the Governor or Ruller
of the State shall be published and the same shall be deemed to be the
authoritative text in English under this article.' "
The amendment was adopted. Mr. President: The question is :
'That in the Schedule, for "Canarese" the word "Kannada" be substituted;
and after Punjab;' the word 'Sanskrit' be inserted."
The amendment was adopted. Mr. President: I shall put amendment No.
65 to which all these are amendments, to vote.The question is:
"That amendment No. 65 (proposed art. 301A to 301H) as amended by the
amendments of Mr. Munshi which have just been adopted, stand part of the
constitution.
PART XIV-A CHAPTER I-LANGUAGE OF THE UNION
301A. Official language of the Union.
(1) The official language of the
Union shall be Hindi in Devanagari script.
The form of numerals to be used for the official purposes of the Union
shall be the international form of Indian numerals.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in clause (1) of this article,
for a period of fifteen years from the commencement of this Constitution.
the English language shall continue to be used for all the official purposes
of the Union, for which it was being used at such commencement :
Provided that the President may, during the said period, by order authorise
for any of the official purposes of the Union the use of the Hindi language
in addition to the English language and of the Devanagari form of numerals
in addition to the international form of Indian numerals.
(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in this article, Parliament may
after the said period of fifteen years by law provide for the use of-
(a) the English language, or
(b) the Devanagari form of numerals,
for such purposes as may be specified in such law.
301B. Commission and committee of Parliament on Official language.
(1)
The President shall, at the expiration of five years from the commencement
of this Constitution and thereafter at the expiration of ten years from
such commencement, by order constitute a Commission which shall consist
of a Chairman and such other members representing the different languages
specified in Schedule VIIA as the President may appoint, and the order
shall define the procedure to be followed by the Commission.
(2) It shall be the duty of the Commission to make recommendations to
the President as to-
(a) the progressive use of the Hindi language for the official purposes
of the Union;
(b) restrictions on the use of the English language for all or any of
the official purposes of the Union;
(c) the language to be used for all or any of the purposes mentioned
in article 301E of this Constitution;
(d) form of numerals to be used for any one or more specified purposes
of the Union:
(e) any other matter referred to the Commission by the President as
regards the official language of the Union and the language of inter-State
communication and their use.
(3) In making their recommendations under clause (2) of this article,
the Commission shall have due regard to the industrial, cultural and scientific
advancement of India, and the just claims and the interests of the non-Hindi
speaking areas in regard to the public services.
(4) There
shall be constituted a Committee consisting of thirty members of whom
twenty shall be members of the House of the People and ten shall be members
of the Council of States chosen respectively by the members of the House
of the People and the members of the Council of States in accordance with
the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable
vote.
(5) It shall be the duty of the Committee lo examine the recommendations
of the Commission constituted under this article and to report to the President
their opinion thereon.
(6) Notwithstanding anything contained in article 301A of this Constitution.
the President may after consideration of the report referred to in clause
(5) of this article issue directions in accordance with the whole or any
part of the report.
CHAPTER II-REGIONAL LANGUAGES.
301C. Official language or language of a State. Subject to the provisions
of articles 301D and 301E, a State may by law adopt any of the languages
in use in the State or Hindi as the language or languages to be used for
all or any of the official purposes of that State :
Provided that until the Legislature of the State otherwise provides
by law, the English language shall continue to be used for those official
purposes within the State for which it was being used at the commencement
of this Constitution.
301D. Official language for communication between one state and another
of between a State and the Union. The language for the time being authorised
for use in the Union for official purposes shall be the official language
for communication between one State, and another State and between a State
and the Union:
Provided that if two or more States agree that the Hindi language should
be the official language for communication between such States, that language
may be used for such communication.
301E. Special provision relating to language spoken by a section of
the population of a State. Where on a demand being made in that behalf
the President is satisfied that a substantial proportion of the population
of a State desires the use of any language spoken by them to be recognised
by that State, he may direct that such language shall also be officially
recognised throughout that State or any part thereof for such purpose as
he may specify.
CHAPTER III-LANGUAGE OF SUPREME COURT AND HIGH COURTS, ETC.
301F. Language to be used in the Supreme Court and in the High Courts
and for Acts, Bills etc.
(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in the
foregoing provisions of this Part, until Parliament by law otherwise provides-
(a) all proceedings in the Supreme Court and in every High Court,
(b) the authoritative texts-
(i) of all Bills to be introduced or amendments thereto to be moved
in either House of Parliament or in the House or either House of the Legislature
of a State,
(ii) of all Acts passed by Parliament or the Legislature of a State
and of all Ordinances promulgated by the President or a Governor or a Ruler,
as the case may be,
(iii) of all orders, rules, regulations and bye-laws issued under this
Constitution or under any law made by Parliament or the Legislature of
a State,
shall be in the English language.
(2) Nothing in sub-clause (a) of clause (1) of this article shall prevent
a State from prescribing, with the consent of the President, the use of
the Hindi language or any other language recognised for official purposes
in the State for proceedings in the High Court of the State other than
judgments, decrees and orders.
(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-clause (b) of clause (1)
of this article, when the Legislature of a State has prescribed the use
of any language other than English for Bills, Acts, Ordinances, and Orders
having the force of law, and rules referred to in the said sub-clause,
a translation of the same in English certified by the Governor or Ruler
of the State shall be published and the same shall be deemed to be the
authoritative text in English under this article.
301G. Special procedure for enactment of certain laws relating
to language. During the period of fifteen years from the commencement
of this Constitution no Bill or amendment making provision for the language
to be used for any of the purposes mentioned in clause (1) of article 301F
of this Constitution shall be introduced or moved in either House of Parliament
without the previous sanction of the President, and the President shall
not give hissanction to the introduction of any such Bill or the moving
of any such amendment except after he has taken into consideration the
recommendations of the Commission constituted under article 301B of this
Constitution and the report of the Committee referred to in that article.
CHAPTER IV-SPECIAL DIRECTIVES 301-H.
Language to be used for representation
for redress of grievances. Every person shall be entitled to submit a representation
for the redress of any grievance to any officer or authority of the Union
or a State in any of the languages used in the Union or in the State, as
the case may be.
301-I. Directive for development of Hindi. It shall be the duty of the
Union to promote the spread of Hindi and to develop the language so as
to serve as a medium of expression for all, the elements of the composite
culture of India and to secure its enrichment by assimilating without interfering
with its genius, the forms, style and expressions used in Hindustani and
in the other languages of India, and drawing, wherever necessary or desirable,
for its vocabulary, primarily on Sanskrit and secondarily on other languages.
SCHEDULE VII-A
1. Assamese
2. Bengali
3. Kannada
4. Gujrati
5. Hindi
6. Kashmiri
7. Malayalam
8. Marathi
9. Oriya
10. Punjabi
10A. Sanskrit
11. Tamil
12. Telugu
13. Urdu.
The motion was adopted.
Maulana Hasrat Mohani: I want to have my adverse vote recorded with
the remark..........
Mr. President: There is no procedure for recording the vote of any
particular individual specially with his remarks.'
The question is:
"That Part XIV-A as passed stand part of the Constitution."
The motion was adopted. PART XIV-A was added to the Constitution.
Shri T. T. Krishnamachari: May I suggest, Sir, before adjourning the
House, that you may put to vote articles 99 and 184 which this Chapter
supersedes ?
The Honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar: No; no. It is not in today's Order
Paper.
Mr. President: This brings the proceedings of this evening to a close
but before adjourning the House I desire just to say a few words of congratulation.
I think we have adopted a Chapter for our Constitution which will have
very far reaching consequences in building up the country as a whole. Never
before in our history did we have one language recognised as the language
of rule and administration in the country as a whole. Sanskrit was the
language in which all our religious literature and lore was enshrined and
in which other literature was enshrined. That was studied no doubt in all
parts of the country but it was never the language which was used for administrative
purposes throughout the country as a whole. Today it is for the first time
that we have got a Constitution,we are going to provide in our Constitution
a language which will be the language of administration for the Union and
that language will have to develop itself to suit the exigencies of time.
I do not claim to be a scholar of Hindi or any other language. I do
not claim to have made any contribution to literature but this much I can
say as a layman that it is not possible today to foresee what form this
language, which we have adopted as the language of administration of the
Union, is going to take in the future. As it is, Hindi has undergone change
in the past an many many occasions and we have several styles of it, we
have had literature written in Braj Bhasha. Khari Boli is now the prevalent
style in Hindi. I think its contact with all the other languages In the
country will give it opportunities for further development. I have no doubt
that Hindi will benefit rather than lose by absorbing as much as it can
of the best
that is to be found in the other languages of the country.
We have now accomplished political unification of the country, such
as it is. We are now going to fore another link which will bind us all
together from one end to the other. I hope all Members will go home with
a feeling of satisfaction and even those who have lost in voting will take
it in a sportsman like spirit and will help in the work which the Constitution
will now impose upon the Union in regard to language.
I want to say one word about South India. It was in 1917 when Mahatma
Gandhi wits in Champaran and I had the privilege of working with him that
he thought of starting Hindi Prachar in the South and he decided to request
Swami Satyadev and his dear son Devdas Gandhi to go and start the work
which they did. Subsequently, in 1918 at the Indore Session of the Hindi
Sahitya Sammelan, this Prachar work was accepted as one of its primary
functions by the Sammelan and the work progressed. It has been my privilege
to be associated although I cannot claim to be associated very intimately-with
the work throughout this period of nearly 32 years no. I have gone to the
South from one corner to the other and it has pleased my heart to see how
the people of the South responded to the call of Mahatma Gandhi in respect
of this language. I know the difficulties that they had to face, but the
enthusiasm which they brought to bear upon this was simply marvellous.
I have been associated with prize distributions on several occasions and
it may amuse Members to hear that I have distributed the prizes to two
generations at the same time if not three on some occasions; that is to
say, the grand-parent, the Parent, and the grand-child-for having studied
the language, having passed the prescribed examination and having come
for the prizes and for their diplomas. The work has progressed and it has
been adopted by the people of the South as their work. Today I do not know
how many lakhs (hey are spending over this Hindi Prachar work and I do
not recollect the figures, how many examinees are sitting at the examinations
from year to year. This means that the language has been recognised by
a large section of the people in the South as the language for All-India
purposes and the enthusiasm which they have exhibited in this deserves
congratulation, deserves recognition, deserves gratitude from the people
of the North.
If today they have insisted upon some particular thing, let us remember
that after all if Hindi has to be accepted by them, they must accept it,
not we for them; and after all what is it which has evoked so much controversy
? I was wondering why we should take so much time, so much discussion over
a small matter. What are after all the numerals ? They are ten figures.
Out of these ten, as far as I can say from memory, there are three which
are identical in the English numerals and the Hindi numerals-2, 3 and 0.
There are four others I believe which are identical in shape but convey
different meaning. For example,.4 of Hindi is very like 8 of English, although
one represents 4 and the other represents 8. 6 of English is very like
7 of Hindi, although they represent two, different meanings. 9 of Hindi
in the form in which it is now being used, taken largely from Maharashtra,
is very much like 9 of English. Well there are only two or three figures
left which have a different shape and different meaning in each of the
numerals. It is therefore not a question of convenience or inconvenience
of the Press as some Members suggested. I think the English numerals are
more or less the same, so far as printing press is concerned, as Hindi
numerals.
But we have to respect the sentiments of our friends who wanted it,
and I would ask all Our Hindi friends to accept this in that script, to
accept it because we want them to accept the Hindi language and the Devanagari
script, so far as the rest of it is concerned. And I am glad that this
House has accepted the suggestion by a very overwhelming majority. It seemed
to me that after all, it was not a question of making much of a
concession. We wanted them to accept Hindi and they accepted it and
we wanted them to accept the Devanagari script and they accepted it. They
want us to accept a different form of numerals; and why should there be
any difficulty in accepting it? It looks like this, if I may give a small
metaphor which may amuse. We want some friends to invite us. They invite
us. They say, "You can come and stay in our house. We welcome you for that
purpose. But when you come to our house, please wear the English type of
shoes and not the Indian chappal which you wear in your own house." I should
be not very wise to reject the invitation, simply because I do not want
to give up my chappals. I would accept the English type of shoes and accept
the invitation, and it is in this spirit of give and take that national
problems can be solved.
Our Constitution so far has evoked many controversies, and raised many
questions which had very deep differences; but we have, somehow or other,
managed to get over them all. This was one of the biggest gulfs which might
have separated us. Let us imagine what would have happened if the South
had not accepted the Hindi language and the Devanagari script. In a small
tiny country like Switzerland, they have got three languages which are
recognized by the Constitution and everything has to be done in those three
languages. Do we think, can we imagine, that we shall be able to keep together
all the provinces, bind them together, if we thought of having as many
languages as there are in existence, for central administrative purposes
? One page of printing will have to be extended-I do not know-perhaps to
fifteen or twenty pages.
And it is not only a question of expense. It is also a question of psychology
which will affect our whole life. This language which we shall use in the
Centre will tend to bring us together, nearer and nearer. After all, the
English language has brought us nearer and nearer because it was one language.
If in place of English we have adopted an Indian language, it is bound
to bring us closer together, particularly because our traditions are the
same, our culture is the same, and everything that goes to make our civilisation
is the same. Therefore, if we did not accept this formula, the result would
have been either a large number of languages to be used, for the country
as a whole, or separation of provinces which did not like to submit or
accept any particular language under pressure. We have done the wisest
thing possible and I am glad, I am happy, and I hope posterity will bless
us for this.
The House stands adjourned now till 9 o'clock tomorrow morning.
The Assembly then adjourned till Nine of the Clock on Thursday the 15th
September, 1949.
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