National Language of India

The people of India are governed by a democracy that is comprised of many ethnic cultures, customs, and languages. There are a wide variety of languages spoken in India among various ethnic groups. There is a well-known adage regarding the linguistic traditions of India: "The Indian language changes by the roadside much like the river." I suppose this is because this is accurate in every respect. Each kilometre is a different language in India, since it is made up of 28 states and 8 Union Territories. Throughout the history of the Constitution, there have been many disputes on the topic of what language should be used as the national language. The point, though, is that India does not have a national language. A country may have many official languages, but only one national language. 

Our Constitution does not provide any language with the status of a national language. There can be no doubt that Hindi was designated the country's national language. Yet, the Indian community only speaks Hindi to 40% of the population. So, for the bulk of the people, this would be a dilemma since they would be forced to learn Hindi, which is just not feasible. Under the Constitution of India, the national government has mandated the use of Hindi and English in national communications. as well as a list of 22 recognized languages (including Hindi and English). Because of the important role these languages play in our daily lives, they deserve to be on the Official Language Commission. National candidates who take the examination for national government employees have the option of taking the test in any of these languages.

India's national language

Two languages are utilized by the central government to carry out its official functions:

·        According to Article 343 of the Indian Constitution, Hindi is the language of communication used by the central government when speaking to the states in the Hindi Belt.

·        English is the Associate official language and the language to be used while communicating with the states.

Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India

In the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India, the official languages of the Republic of India are listed. Language on the list in 1791 may be presented to the Office of the Official Languages Commission in Ottawa, which, in turn, could count on it as one of the grounds to enhance Hindi and English, the two official languages of the federal government. However, the list has gained much more importance since that time. As a result, the Indian government is now required to adopt policies that foster these languages' growth, so that they "quickly increase in sophistication and help communicate contemporary knowledge." Additionally, anybody who takes the public service test is permitted to utilise any of these languages to answer the exam question.

The eighth schedule contains the following 22 language recognition: Articles 344(1) and 351 of the Indian Constitution.

List of the official scheduled languages of India

S.No	Language	State
1.	Assamese	Assam, Arunachal Pradesh
2.	Bengali	West Bengal, Tripura
3.	Bodo	Assam
4.	Dogri	Jammu and Kashmir
5.	Gujarati	Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Gujarat
6.	Hindi	Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Bihar, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Mizoram, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal
7.	Kannada	Karnataka
8.	Kashmiri	Jammu and Kashmir
9.	Konkani	Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and Kerala (The Konkan Coast)
10.	Maithili	Bihar, Jharkhand
11.	Malayalam	Kerala, Lakshadweep, Puducherry
12.	Manipuri	Manipur
13.	Marathi	Maharashtra, Goa, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu
14.	Nepali	Sikkim and West Bengal
15.	Odia	Orissa
16.	Punjabi	Punjab and Chandigarh, 2nd official language of Delhi and Haryana
17.	Sanskrit	Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand
18.	Santali	Spoken by Santhal people mainly in the state of Jharkhand as well as in the states of Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram, Odisha, Tripura, West Bengal
19.	Sindhi	Gujarat and Maharashtra, especially Ulhasnagar
20.	Tamil	Tamil Nadu, Puducherry
21.	Telugu	Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Puducherry
22.	Urdu	Jammu and Kashmir, Telangana, Jharkhand, Delhi, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal

 India's Eighth Schedule of the Constitution establishes 22 languages as the national language. The state's official languages are Hindi and English

Out of these languages, 14 were drafted into the Constitution to begin with. Sindhi was included in the 21st Amendment in 1967, and so was Konkani, Manipuri (Meitei) and Nepali, all three of which were added to the Constitution via the addition of the 71st Amendment in 1992. Bodo, Dogri, Maithili, and Santali were all included in the 92nd Amendment. Oriya was replaced with Odia in the year 2011 via the 96th Constitutional Amendment Act.

Minority language of India

The number of speakers for these languages are less than one million.

Minicoy, an island in Lakshadweep, India's language is called Mahl.

 - Nivethi Natarajan

Special Majority

 

There are four kinds of special majorities, all of which include distinct provisions.

Type 1—a special majority (under Article 249) is required to do anything.

Type 2: The required special majority is specified in Article 368.

Type 3—Special Majority as provided for in Article 368 Plus a simple majority of the 50% state ratification.

Type 4 – Special Majority (Special Majority under A61)

Special Majority as Per Article 249

To reach a special majority following article 249, it is necessary to have a majority of 2/3 members in attendance and voting. To illustrate, if only 150 members of the Rajya Sabha are present and voting, then the additional special majority that is needed according to article 249 is 101.

The application of special majority as per article 249 occurs in the following scenarios: 

To ensure that the parliament is empowered to enact legislation in the state list, the Rajya Sabha passed a resolution. Valid for up to one year from the original date of issue, but maybe extended any number of times. The role of special majority specified in Article 368

The special majority, as outlined in Article 368, need a 2/3rd majority of the entire strength of the house backed by over 50% of the members present and voting. In the vast majority of constitutional amendment proposals, a supermajority is utilized. Additionally, to approve a measure that changes the constitution in the Rajya Sabha, it must get the support of at least 123 members, and this support must be secured by 2/3rd of the members present and voting.

Cases where special majority as per article 368 is used:

·       To enact a law that does not undermine federalism, and do it without help from the government.

·       The removal of SC/HC judges

·       CEC/CAG is completely removed.

Approval of a national emergency needs a two-thirds majority in both chambers as stated in Article 368.

The State Legislature passed a resolution calling for the establishment or abolishment of the Legislative Council (Article 169).

A special majority of constitutional significance according to Article 368 in addition to state ratification

When a constitutional amendment bill attempts to alter the federal structure, a special majority is needed. A two-thirds majority plus state ratification is required to establish a special majority, and this majority must include a majority of two-thirds plus a simple majority of state legislatures that represent at least 50 percent of the state population. For instance, the law that established the National Judicial Appointments Commission was an excellent example (NJAC). It required the backing of at least 15 out of the 29 state legislatures.

If necessary, cases where a special majority under Article 368, in addition to state ratification, is used are utilized. Passing a constitutional amendment that is an important federalism-related decision like that of the Supreme Court is difficult.

According to Article 61, the Special Majority applies

·       a majority of two-thirds members of the entire strength of the house is required to adopt a special majority. In Lok Sabha, a special majority is achieved according to article 61 by garnering 364 votes. In Rajya Sabha, a special majority is achieved according to article 61 by receiving 164 votes.

The cases when a special majority of two-thirds under article 61 is employed: to impeach the President of India.

 - Nivethi Natarajan