According to the Constitution, English was to be replaced by Hindi in Devanagari script by 26th January, 1965. There was a strong opposition from South particularly from Tamil Nadu to the introduction of Hindi as the official language of the Union.
There were fears that it would be a discrimination against the non-Hindi speaking states, as they would lose their due share in the All India Services. They argued that Hindi being one of the fifteen languages mentioned in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution should not be given the status of an all-India language.
On 26th January, 1965, when Hindi became the primary language and a secondary status was given to English, there were violent student demonstrations in Chennai.
They burnt government property and resorted to violence. It was later decided to go slow with the policy of introduction of Hindi. All the regional languages have now been introduced in the U.P.S.C. for conducting the IAS and Allied Services examinations. Regional languages have also been introduced for the admission tests of all the ITTs.
Three-Language Formula:
This formula was proposed by the Chief Ministers’ Conference and it was approved by the National Integration Committee headed by the late Dr. Sampurnanand. It stated that:
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1. The child must be educated in the regional language or the mother tongue, when the latter is different from the regional language, up to the primary stage.
2. Hindi or any of the 18 languages mentioned in the Schedule must be taught beyond the primary stage.
3. English or any other modern European language must be learnt by every child beyond the primary stage. All the students beyond the primary stage must learn both English and Hindi.
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It was further laid down that in the case of Hindi-speaking region, the other languages to be learnt should be any spoken Indian language, not a classical language such as Sanskrit.
Official Languages (Amendment) Act, 1964:
It laid down 1. English would continue to be used for all official purposes up to 26th January, 1971. 2. After that date, the President was authorised to appoint a Reviewing Parliamentary Committee consisting of 20 members of the Lok Sabha and 10 of the Rajya Sabha.
Also, he would ascertain the wishes of the State Governments before replacing English by Hindi after 1975. The Act did not apply to Jammu and Kashmir.
Official Languages (Amendment) Act, 1967:
It was passed to give statutory guarantee to the non- Hindi states that the use of English would continue indefinitely. No time limit was fixed for the switchover to Hindi by the non-Hindi states. Again it was provided that the knowledge of either English or Hindi was compulsory for recruitment to All India Services.
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Hindi and English translation was to be provided in inter- ministry communications. English translation was to be attached in case of communication between a Hindi State and a non-Hindi State,
The knowledge of either English or Hindi will no doubt place the non-Hindi states at a disadvantage for they shall have to learn three languages, viz., regional language, Hindi and English, whereas the Hindi- speaking states shall have to study only two, English and Hindi. Efforts are being made to sort out the differences and to see that no state has to bear additional burden. Urdu has been introduced as the second language in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
In the context of the Globalization and the ever-increasing need for developing knowledge-based society, it is relevant to mention that English being the universal language has to be learnt and mastered to attain competitive edge in all spheres of economy.
To cite an example, the content development in software presupposes high level knowledge of English as the essential basis for LT. Industry.