a) Write a brief note on the language police adopted by India?
b) Explain five changes towards decentralization brought in the constitution after amendments in 1992?
Answers
a) The 'Language policy' was the second test for Indian federation. No language was given the status of national language by our Constitution. Hindi was identified as the official language. But only about 40 per cent of Indians have Hindi as their mother tongue.
b) (i) Decentralisation: When power is taken from central and state governments and is given to local government, it is called decentralisation. The Constitution was amended in 1992 to make the third tier of democracy more powerful and effective.
(ii) Provisions of the Constitutional Amendment of 1992 are:
(a) Now it is mandatory to hold regular elections to local government bodies.
(b) Seats are reserved in the elected bodies and the executive heads of these institutions for SCs, STs and OBCs.
(c) At least one-third of all positions are reserved for women.
(d) An independent institution called State Election Commission has been created in each state to conduct panchayat and municipal elections.
(e) The state governments are required to share some powers and revenue with local government bodies.
Answer:
a) The 'Language Policy' was the second test for Indian federation. No language was given the status of national language by our Constitution.
Hindi was identified as the official language. But only about 40 per cent of Indians has Hindi as their mother tongue.
Therefore, 21 other languages besides Hindi, are recognised as Scheduled Languages by the Constitution.
A candidate in an examination conducted for the Central Government positions may opt to take the examination in any of these languages.
States to have their own official languages. Much of the government work takes place in the official language of the concerned State.
The flexibility shown by Indian political leaders helped our country avoid any conflict based on languages.
b)
Decentralisation: When power is taken from central and state governments and is given to local government, it is called decentralisation. The Constitution was amended in 1992 to make the third tier of democracy more powerful and effective.
(ii) Provisions of the Constitutional Amendment of 1992 are:
(a) Now it is mandatory to hold regular elections to local government bodies.
(b) Seats are reserved in the elected bodies and the executive heads of these institutions for SCs, STs and OBCs.
(c) At least one-third of all positions are reserved for women.
(d) An independent institution called State Election Commission has been created in each state to conduct panchayat and municipal elections.
(e) The state governments are required to share some powers and revenue with local government bodies.