Eighth Schedule of Indian Constitution- UPSC Notes

8th Schedule of Indian Constitution

Articles 344(1) and 351

Languages

1.	Assamese
2.	Bengali
3.	Bodo
4.	Dogri
5.	Gujarati
6.	Hindi
7.	Kannada
8.	Kashmiri
9.	Konkani
10.	Maithili
11.	Malayalam
12.	Manipur
13.	Marathi
14.	Nepali
15.	Odia
16.	Punjabi
17.	Sanskrit
18.	santhali
19.	Sindhi
20.	Tamil
21.	Telugu
22.	Urdu

Commentary on Eighth Schedule of Indian Constitution:

Article 344 of the Constitution of India has provided for the creation of a commission for the progressive adoption of Hindi for official purposes. However, as we know, according to the 2011 Census, only 43.63% of the Indian population can speak Hindi. During the formation of the Indian Constitution, the situation was similar.

In this context, an eighth schedule was created with a list of languages that would be provided certain protection despite the adoption of Hindi:

1. The members representing the speakers of different languages of the eighth schedule would be a part of the committee, which is to be constituted under the provisions of Article 344.
2. It will protect the interests of non-Hindi speaking groups, as well as have due regard to the industrial, cultural and scientific advancement of India.
3. Further, article 351 states that in order to promote the adoption of Hindi, its vocabulary must be enhanced using Sanskrit and other languages, and enrichment could be done by the adoption of forms, genera and styles of the eighth schedule language as well as Hindustani.

A few other provisions have also been made in Part XVII of the Indian constitution to protect the interests of the speakers of different languages:

1. Any person can use any language to address any public officer of the Union or the State to redress any grievance under Article 350.
2. Article 350A makes it obligatory for the State to create facilities for instruction in the mother tongue at the primary stage of education.
3. Until the adoption of Hindi is possible, English will be used for all official purposes, such as in the proceedings of the higher judiciary, for the formulation of all bills, acts, orders, rules, regulations and bylaws.
4. Authorised Translation (Central Laws) Act, 1973 provides that when a central law is translated to a regional language and published in the official gazette, the regional language translation will be deemed to be the authorised translation.

Note 1: The Languages mentioned in the Eighth Schedule are neither Official languages, national languages, nor state languages. These are just a list of languages that are given certain special protection, as discussed above.

Note 2: Even though English is used for official purposes, it is not India’s official language. According to article 343, Hindi, written in Devanagari script (and the Roman form of Indian numeral), is the official language of the Indian Union. Officially, the Indian constitution was translated to Hindi in 1950. It was made into an authoritative text through the insertion of Article 394A in 1987 via the 58^th Constitutional Amendment Act.

Note 3: States can have their own official language Official language (including Hindi or English). However, until the state assembly passes such a law, English shall continue to be used as the official language.

Note 4: For inter-state and centre-state communication, English would be used unless two or more States agree to use Hindi or some other language for communication.

List of Amendments in 8th Schedule of Indian Constitution

Languages	Description
Assamese	Present in the Original Constitution.
Bengali	Present in the Original Constitution.
Bodo	Added by 92nd Amendment Act, 2003.
Dogri	Added by 92nd Amendment Act, 2003.
Gujarati	Present in the Original Constitution.
Hindi	Present in the Original Constitution.
Kannada	Present in the Original Constitution.
Kashmiri	Present in the Original Constitution.
Konkani	Added by 71st Amendment Act, 1992
Maithili	Added by 92nd Amendment Act, 2003.
Malayalam	Present in the Original Constitution.
Manipur	Added by 71st Amendment Act, 1992
Marathi	Present in the Original Constitution.
Nepali	Added by 71st Amendment Act, 1992
Odia	Changed from oriya to odia by 96th Amendment act, 2011.
Punjabi	Present in the Original Constitution.
Sanskrit	Present in the Original Constitution.
santhali	Added by 92nd Amendment Act, 2003
Sindhi	Added by (Twenty-first Amendment) Act, 1967.
Tamil	Present in the Original Constitution.
Telugu	Present in the Original Constitution.
Urdu	Present in the Original Constitution.

For Further Reference:

Read the Constitution of India.

Also, read the special officer for linguistic minorities article.

Other Related Links:

Indian Constitution: All Articles	1st Schedule of Indian Constitution
2nd Schedule of Indian Constitution	3rd Schedule of Indian Constitution
4th Schedule of Indian Constitution	5th Schedule of Indian Constitution
6th Schedule of Indian Constitution	7th Schedule of Indian Constitution
9th of Indian Constitution	10th Schedule of Indian Constitution
11th Schedule of Indian Constitution	12th Schedule of Indian Constitution
Fundamental Rights	DPSP
Fundamental Duties	Amendments of the Indian Constitution