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At the time the constitution entered into force, English was used for most official purposes both at the Federal level and in the various states. The constitution envisaged the gradual phasing in of local languages, principally Hindi , to replace English over a fifteen-year period, but gave Parliament the power to, by law, provide for the continued use of English even thereafter. Accordingly, English continues to be used today, in combination with Hindi (at the central level and in some states) and other languages (at the state level). The legal framework governing the use of languages for official purpose currently includes the Constitution , the Official Languages Act, 1963, Official Languages (Use for Official Purpose of the Union) Rules, 1976, and various state Law s, as well as Rules And Regulations made by the central government and the states. OFFICIAL LANGUAGES AT THE CENTRAL LEVEL Hindi and English The enacted the Official Languages Act, 1963 , which provided for the continued use of English for official purposes along with Hindi, even after 1965. An attempt was made in late 1964 to expressly provide for an end to the use of English, but it was met with protests from across the country. Some of these protests also turned violent. Widespread protests occurred in states such as Tamil Nadu , Kerala , West Bengal , Karnataka , Pondicherry and Andhra Pradesh . As a result of these protests, the proposal was dropped,1. and the Act itself was amended in 1967 to provide that the use of English would not be ended until a Resolution to that effect was passed by the legislature of every state that had not adopted Hindi as its official language, and by each house of the Indian Parliament.Official Languages Act, 1963, S. 3(5) . The current position is thus that the s made by the Department of Official Language under these laws. The language of Parliamentary proceedings and laws The Indian constitution draws a distinction between the language to be used in of the relevant House, address the House in his Mother Tongue .Article 120(1) first proviso . In contrast, the constitution requires the authoritative text of all laws, including Parliamentary s brought before it, also be translated into Hindi, though the English text remains authoritative.Official Languages Act, 1963, Ss. 5(1) and (2) . The language of the judiciary The constitution provides that all proceedings in the Supreme Court Of India , the country's highest Court , shall be in English.Article 348(1)(a) . Parliament has the power to alter this by law, but has not done so.Article 348(1), leading text . The language of administration The Union government is required by law to progressively increase the use of Hindi in its official work,Official Languages Resolution, 1968, para. 1 . which it has sought to do through "persuasion, incentive and goodwill."" Official language policy of the Union ." The Official Languages Act provides that the Union government shall use both Hindi and English in most s and Memos in files may be in either Hindi or English, with the Government having a duty to provide a translation into the other language if required.Official Languages (Use for Official Purpose of the Union) Rules, 1976, paragraph 8 In addition, every person submitting a Petition for the redress of a grievance to a government officer or authority has a Constitutional Right to submit it in any language used in India.Constitution of India, Article 350 . The languages of the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution The Eighth Schedule to the conducted for public service at a higher level is entitled to use any of these languages as the medium in which he answers the paper.Official Languages Resolution, 1968, para. 4 . The following table lists the languages set out in the eighth schedule as of May 2007, together with the regions where they are used: OFFICIAL LANGUAGES AT THE STATE LEVEL The Indian constitution does not specify the official languages to be used by the states for the conduct of their official functions, and leaves each state free to, through its legislature, adopt Hindi or any language used in its territory as its official language or languages.Constitution of India, Article 345 The language need not be one of those listed in the Eighth Schedule, and several states have adopted official languages which are not so listed. Examples include Kokborok in Tripura , Mizo in Mizoram , Khasi , Garo , and Jaintia in Meghalaya , and French in Puducherry . The language of the legislature and administration The constitutional provisions in relation to use of the official language in legislation at the State Level largely mirror those relating to the official language at the central level, with minor variations. State legislatures may conduct their business in their Official Language , Hindi or (for a transitional period, which the legislature can extend if it so chooses) English, and members who cannot use any of these have the same rights to their Mother Tongue with the Speaker's permission.Constitution of India, Article 210 . The authoritative text of all laws must be in English, unless Parliament passes a law permitting a state to use another language, and if the original text of a law is in a different language, an authoritative English translation of all laws must be prepared.Articles 348(1) and (3) . The state has the right to regulate the use of its official language in Public Administration , and in general, neither the constitution nor any central enactment imposes any restriction on this right. However, every person submitting a Petition for the redress of a grievance to an officer or authority of the state government has a constitutional right to submit it in any language used in that state, regardless of its official status.Constitution of India, Article 350 . In addition, the constitution grants the central government, acting through the in the mother tongue for all Linguistic Minorities , regardless of whether or not their language is official in that State, and the President has the power to issue directions he deems necessary to ensure that they are provided these facilities.Constitution of India, Article 350A . The language of the judiciary States have significantly less freedom in relation to determine the language in which judicial proceedings in their respective . The Official Languages Act gives the Governor a similar power, subject to similar conditions, in relation to the language in which the High Court's judgments will be delivered. S. 7 Four states - Bihar , Uttar Pradesh , Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan - have been granted the right to conduct proceedings in their High Courts in their official language, which, for all of them, was Hindi. However, the only non-Hindi state to seek a similar power - Tamil Nadu , which sought the right to conduct proceedings in Tamil in its High Court - had its application rejected by the central government, which said it was advised to do so by the Supreme Court.. Languages currently used by Indian states and union territories States
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