Language policy of India:
1. Our Constitution did not give the status of national language to any one language. Hindi was identified as the official language. But Hindi is the mother tongue of only about 40 per cent of the Indians. Therefore, there were many safeguards to protect other languages.
2. Besides Hindi, there are 21 other languages recognised as scheduled languages by the Constitution.
3. A candidate in an examination conducted for the national government positions may opt to take the examination in any of these languages. States too have their own official languages. Much of the government work takes place in the official language of the concerned state.
4. Unlike Sri Lanka, the leaders of our country adopted a very cautious attitude in spreading the use of Hindi. According to the Constitution, the use of English for official purposes was to stop in 1965.
