Constitutional text

(1) The President shall, at the expiration of five years from the commencement of this Constitution and thereafter at the expiration of ten years from such commencement, by order constitute a Commission which shall consist of a Chairman and such other members representing the different official languages specified in the Eighth Schedule as the President may appoint, and the Commission shall make recommendations to the President as to — (a) the progressive use of the Hindi language for the official purposes of the Union; (b) restrictions on the use of the English language for all or any of the official purposes of the Union; (c) the language to be used for all or any of the purposes mentioned in article 348; (d) the form of numerals to be used for any one or more specified purposes of the Union; (e) any other matter referred to the Commission by the President as regards the official language of the Union and the language for communication between the Union and a State or between one State and another and their use.

Source: Constitution of India, as published by the Ministry of Law and Justice.

History and context

This article reflects the Constitution's careful management of the language transition. Knowing that switching from English to Hindi overnight would cause disruption, the framers built in a review mechanism: successive commissions would assess progress and recommend a pace of transition. The first commission (Rajagopalachari Commission, 1955) recommended continued use of English, which was formalised in the Official Languages Act 1963.

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Last reviewed: 3 July 2026