The Constitution of India initially permitted the use of English language for all official purposes for a period of -
- (a)5 years
- (b)10 years
- (c)15 years
- (d)20 years
Correct — C, 15 years. Article 343(1) makes Hindi in the Devanagari script the official language of the Union, but Article 343(2) provided that English would continue to be used for all official purposes of the Union for which it was being used immediately before the Constitution came into force — for a period of fifteen years from the commencement (26 January 1950), i.e. up to 1965. The Official Languages Act, 1963 later allowed English to continue as an associate official language beyond that period.
- (a)5 years — Not the constitutional figure. Five years is the timeline in Article 344 for constituting the first Official Language Commission — not the period for which English was permitted.
- (b)10 years — Wrong. Ten years relates to the second Official Language Commission under Article 344, not to the English-use period, which was 15 years.
- (d)20 years — Wrong. The transitional period fixed by Article 343(2) was fifteen years, not twenty.
The Constitution's language provisions are in Part XVII (Articles 343-351). Article 343 makes Hindi (Devanagari script) the official language of the Union while allowing English to continue for 15 years for all official Union purposes. This was a compromise reached in the Constituent Assembly (the Munshi-Ayyangar formula) to avoid an abrupt switch that non-Hindi regions opposed.
The 5- and 10-year options are placed as traps because those figures do appear in the language chapter — but they refer to when the Official Language Commission is set up (Article 344), not to the English-use window. The English period is 15 years.
- Article 343(1): Hindi in Devanagari script = official language of the Union.
- Article 343(2): English to continue for all official Union purposes for 15 years from 26 January 1950 (i.e. till 1965).
- The Official Languages Act, 1963 allowed English to continue indefinitely beyond 1965.
- India has no 'national language'; Hindi and English are the Union's official languages.
The Constitution allowed English for 15 years (till 1965); the 1963 Act extended it.
- Confusing the 15-year English period (Art. 343) with the 5/10-year Language Commission timeline (Art. 344).
- Assuming India has a 'national language' — it does not; Hindi/English are 'official' languages.
Direct recall — 'for how many years was English permitted for official purposes' or 'which Article makes Hindi the official language of the Union'.
No directly related past PYQ was found.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which Article of the Constitution declares Hindi in the Devanagari script as the official language of the Union?
- (a)Article 343
- (b)Article 348
- (c)Article 351
- (d)Article 344
Answer(a) Article 343 — it also let English continue for 15 years.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The Official Languages Act that allowed English to continue for official purposes beyond 1965 was enacted in:
- (a)1950
- (b)1963
- (c)1967
- (d)1976
Answer(b) 1963 — it made English an associate official language.