ication between a State and the Union or between one State and another is concerned, the official language of the union will be the authorized language.
In order to protect the linguistic interests of minorities in certain States, the Constitution has incorporated a special provision. This is in addition to the cultural rights that are guaranteed as Fundamental Rights under Article 29 of the Constitution. According to this, the President is empowered under Article 347 to direct a State Government to recognize a particular language for official purposes for either the whole or part of the State, if he is stratified, on a representation made to him in this regard, that a substantial proportion of the population of the State desires such recognition. This power in the hands of the Centre will help to curb any tendency towards linguistic fanaticism and the domination of the majority over linguistic minorities in different States.
Language in Courts
Under Article 348, the Constitution makes a special provision for the retention of the English language if Parliament so decides even after the fifteen-year- period for the following purposes:
- All proceedings in the Supreme Court and the High Courts.
- Authoritative texts of bills, Acts, Ordinances, orders, rules, regulations and by-laws issued under the Constitution or under any law.
However, Parliament is empowered to stop the use of English even in the courts whenever it lies, once the fifteen-year period is over. It is also provided that Hindi or any regional language may be used even earlier for conducting the proceedings in a High court if the President gives his consent for the measure.
The Constitutions also embodies a directive for the development and enrichment of the Hindi language with a view to making it serve as a real medium of expression for all the elements of the composite culture of India. Such enrichment may be secured by drawing primarily on Sanskrit and secondarily on other languages.
After the Constitution (Ninety-second Amendment) Act, 2003 which provided for the inclusion of four languages viz. Bodo, Dogri, Maithili and Santhali, the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution specifies the following 22 languages :
The Constitution of India has provided a separate chapter on election. Iin this respect, it has made a departure from the usual practice of constitutions to leave elections as a comparatively unimportant subject to be dealt with by the legislature. The fact that detailed provisions in this regard have been made in the Constitution shows how anxious the Constitution-makers had been to safeguard this political right as an integral part of the Constitution itself.
The Legal Framework
Under the Constitution, provision is made for an Election Commission which in entrusted to deal with the following matters:
- Election of the President of India;
- Election of the Vice-President of India;
- The Union Parliament and the composition of its two chambers;
- Qualifications of members of Parliament;
- Composition of State “Legislatures;
- Qualifications of members of State Legislatures;
- Duration of Parliament and State Legislatures;
- Election to Parliament and State Legislatures;
- Reservation of seats in the House of the People and the State Assemblies for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes; and
- Determination of population for purposes of election.
Under Article 327, Parliament is vested with the supreme power to legislate on all matters relating to elections, including election to State Legislatures. Under Article 328, the States have also been vested with certain limited power of legislation with respect to elections. But such legislation should not be in conflict with any parliamentary legislation in this matter.
Universal Adult Suffrage
One of the outstanding features of the Constitution is adult suffrage. It means that every person man or woman who isn’t less than eighteen years of age has the right to vote in the election to the House of the People and the State Legislative Assembly. The only grounds for disqualification are (i) non-residence, (