THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGE RESOLUTION, 1968

The following Government Resolution, as adopted by both Houses of Parliament, is hereby published for general information:-

RESOLUTION

“WHEREAS  under article 343 of the Constitution, Hindi shall be the official language of the Union, and under article 351 thereof it is the duty of the Union to promote the spread of the Hindi Language and to develop it so that it may serve as a medium of expression for all the elements of the composite culture of India;

This House resolves that a more intensive and comprehensive programme shall be prepared and implemented by the Government of India for accelerating the spread and development of Hindi and its progressive use for the various official purposes of the Union and an annual assessment report giving details of the measures taken and the progress achieved shall be laid on the Table of both Houses of Parliament and sent to all State Governments;

2. WHEREAS  the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution  specifies 14 major languages of India besides Hindi, and  it is necessary in the  interest of the educational and cultural advancement of the country that concerted measures should be taken for the full development of these languages;

The House resolves that a programme shall be prepared and implemented by the Government of India, in collaboration with the State Governments for the coordinated development of all these languages, alongside Hindi so that they grow rapidly in richness and become effective means of communicating modern knowledge;

3.  WHEREAS it is necessary for promoting the sense of unity and facilitating communication between people  in different parts of the country that effective steps should be taken for implementing fully in all States  the three-language formula evolved by the Government of India in consultation with the State Government;

This House resolves that arrangements should be made in accordance with that formula for the study of a modern Indian language, preferably one of the Southern languages, apart from Hindi and English in the Hindi speaking areas and of Hindi along with the regional languages and English in the non-Hindi speaking areas;

4.                  AND WHEREAS it is necessary to ensure that the just claims and interest of people belonging to different parts of the country in regard to the public services of the Union are fully safeguarded:

This House resolves –

(a)                that compulsory knowledge of either Hindi or English shall be required at the stage of selection of candidates for recruitment to the Union services or posts except in respect of any special services or posts for which a high standard of knowledge of English alone or Hindi alone, or both, as the case may be, is considered essential for the satisfactory performance of the duties of any such service or post; and

(b)               that all the languages included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution and English shall be permitted as alternative media for the All India and higher Central Services examinations after ascertaining the views of the Union Public Service Commission on the future scheme of the examinations, the procedural aspects and the timing.