Question

What is the language policy of the Government of India?

Answer 1

Hint: India being a land of diverse ethnicity and cultures possess a vast array of languages that are spoken in different parts of the Indian subcontinent. With over 780 languages, India occupies the second position after Papua New Guinea in the list of countries with most languages spoken.

Complete answer:
The language policy of India is based on the Official Language Act of 1963. To unify the diverse cultures and dialects of India, the Kothari Commission devised the language policies which at that time used to be Hindi. But due to the failure of the three-language formula, it has undergone a transformation of objectives which eventually led to the making of Hindi and English as quasi-official languages.
According to the language policy of India, a candidate can opt any of the mentioned languages to undertake the examinations and even the newly appointed members of state assemblies can take oath in any of the mentioned languages. Each state has its own set of official languages that has been predetermined and the state governments make sure the languages of that particular state get recognition by using it in their official paper works. Moreover, the Constitution of India does not give the status of national language to any language.

Additional Information: Though it was planned to put an end to the use of the English language for official purposes in 1965 by the Constitution of India, many non-Hindi speaking states started a movement following which a militant form of the movement took place in Tamil Nadu to continue the usage of English language and later the government of India agreed to this request.

Note: Apart from this, 22 languages are classified under the scheduled languages sections which are given official acknowledgment and support to safeguard and preserve them. Also, 6 ancient classical languages which are more than 5,000 years old are given recognition.