Question

Read the extract and answer the questions that follow: A second test for Indian federation is the language policy. Our Constitution did not give the status of national language to any one language. Hindi was identified as the official language. But Hindi is the mother tongue of only about 40 per cent of Indians. Therefore, there were many safeguards to protect other languages. Besides Hindi, there are 21 other languages recognized 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 too have their own official languages. Much of the government work takes place in the official language of the concerned State. Unlike Sri Lanka, the leaders of our country adopted a very cautious attitude in spreading the use of Hindi. According to the Constitution, the use of English for official purposes was to stop in 1965. However, many non-Hindi speaking States demanded that the use of English continue. In Tamil Nadu, this movement took a violent form. The Central Government responded by agreeing to continue the use of English along with Hindi for official purposes. Many critics think that this solution favored the English-speaking elite. Promotion of Hindi continues to be the official policy of the Government of India. Promotion does not mean that the Central Government can impose Hindi on States where people speak a different language. The flexibility shown by Indian political leaders helped our country avoid the kind of situation that Sri Lanka finds itself in. (i) How many official languages recognized as scheduled Languages by the Constitution? (ii) How does Constitution of India safeguard the other languages?

Answer 1

Answer:

ur Constitution did not give the status of national language to any one ... But Hindi is the mother tongue of only about 40 per cent of Indians.

Answer 2

Explanation:

The Constitution does not specify the official language of different states. At present (2018), the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution specifies 22 languages (originally 14 languages). It is the official language of Goa but spoken in Southern Maharashtra, North Karnataka, Kerala also.