• UGI USER
  • Jun 06, 2024
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SPECIAL OFFICER FOR LINGUISTIC MINORITIES

Introduction

  • The linguistic minorities are considered as a group or collectivities of individuals residing in the territory of India or any part thereof having a distinct language or script of their own. Although the word linguistic minorities have not been defined in the Constitution of India, but the language of the minority group need not be one of the twenty-two languages mentioned in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
  • In a nutshell, Linguistic Minorities at the State level means any group or groups of people whose mother tongues are different from the principal language of the State, and at the district and taluka /tehsil levels, different from the principal language of the district or taluka/tehsil concerned. Therefore, States Reorganisation Commission (SRC) 1956, recommended for creation of a mechanism to address the grievances of the Linguistic Minorities.
  • Based on the recommendations of the SRC, 7th Constitutional (Amendment) Act, 1957 was enacted, whereby Articles, 350 A & B were included in the Constitution.

Meaning and Significance

  • A linguistic minority refers to a community whose native language is distinct from that spoken by the majority within a particular state or region. The Indian Constitution provides robust mechanisms to protect the rights and interests of linguistic minority groups.
  • The Significance of Linguistic Minorities: As of the 2011 Census, approximately 36.3 million individuals out of India’s 1.2 billion population were found to speak “absolute minority languages.” An “absolute minority language” is one spoken by a minority in each of India’s 28 states, emphasizing the remarkable linguistic diversity across the nation.

Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities

  • Establishment of the Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities (CLM): Article 350-B provides for a Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities, who is known as the Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities in India (CLM) to investigate all the matters relating to the Safeguards provided for the linguistic minorities in India under the Constitution and reporting to the President upon those matters at such intervals as the President may direct and the President causes all such reports to be laid before each House of the Parliament and sent to the Government/Administrations of States/UTs concerned.
  • Organizational Structure of the CLM: Thus, the CLM Organization came into existence in July, 1957 at New Delhi. After a brief period, it was shifted to Allahabad and now it has been shifted to New Delhi with effect from 1 June 2015.
  • She/he has three regional offices at Belgaum (Karnataka), Chennai (Tamil Nadu) and Kolkata (West Bengal). Each is headed by an Assistant Commissioner. The Commissioner is assisted at headquarters by Deputy Commissioner and an Assistant Commissioner.
  • Reporting Hierarchy: She/he maintains liaison with the State Governments and Union Territories through nodal officers appointed by them. At the Central level, the Commissioner falls under the Ministry of Minority Affairs. Hence, he submits the annual reports or other reports to the President through the Union Minority Affairs Minister.

Constitutional Provisions

  • Presidential Appointment: Article 350-B, clause 1, mandates the appointment of a Special Officer for linguistic minorities by the President.
  • Responsibilities of the Commissioner
  • Protection of Linguistic Minorities: Article 350B (Clause 2) outlines the Commissioner’s primary duty to investigate and ensure the safeguards provided for linguistic minorities as per the Constitution.
  • Regular Reporting to the President: The Commissioner is obligated to report to the President at specified intervals, with subsequent submission of these reports to both Houses of Parliament and the concerned state governments.

Functions

Summarized functions of the Commissioner of Linguistic Minorities have been provided here under:

  • It is the duty of the Commissioner to investigate matters associated with safeguards available for linguistic minorities.
  • The Commissioner is supposed to submit to the President of India reports on the status of implementation of the protection measures that have been accepted on a constitutional and national basis for the linguistic minorities.
  • To look after the implementation of the protections available for the linguistic minorities by means of questionnaires, visits, conferences, seminars, meetings, review mechanisms, etc.

Objectives

The objectives of the Commissioner of Linguistic Minorities are listed below:

  1. The objective behind the functions of the Commissioner is to provide and ensure equal opportunities, and platforms to the linguistic minorities for their development and overall national integration.
  2. The Commissioner must spread awareness amongst the linguistic minorities about the safeguards that are available to them by means of the Indian Constitution.
  3. The Commissioner must make it certain that effective implementation of the safeguards provided for the linguistic minorities in the Indian Constitution will take place, as have been agreed by the states / Union Territories.
  4. The Commissioner is being responsible to handle the representations appointed for grievance redress in relation to safeguards of linguistic minorities.

Relevant Judgements related to Linguistic Minorities:

  • The definition of linguistic minority according to the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in DAV College v. State of Punjab & Ors is as under: A linguistic minority for the purpose of Article 30(1) is one which must at least have a separate spoken language. It is not necessary that that language should also have a distinct script for those who speak it to be a linguistic minority. There are in this country some languages which have no script of their own, but nonetheless those sections of the people who speak that language will be a linguistic minority entitled to the protection of Article 30(1).”
  • In TMA Pai Foundation v. State of Karnataka case the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India laid down the definition of minority as under: “Linguistic and religious minorities are covered by the expression ‘minority’ under Article 30 of the Constitution. Since reorganization of the states in India has been on the linguistic lines, therefore, for the purpose of determining the minority, the unit will be the state and not the whole of India. Thus, religious and linguistic minorities, who have been put at par in Article 30, have to be considered State-wise.”
  • According to Justice Rangnath Misra (Chairman of The National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities), with regard to the linguistic minorities, there can be no majority at the national level and the minority status is to be essentially decided at the state or the union territory level. While interpreting the definition, if the country is to be taken as units, anyone who speak other than Hindi language may be treated as linguistic minority and when the state is taken as a unit the minorities are those who speak the language other than the language spoken by the majority of that state.
    • For instance, in Punjab the majority of the people speak Punjabi language and if somebody is speaking Urdu, Kannad, Odia, Telugu or any other language shall be treated as linguistic minority.

The 52nd Report of the Ministry of Minority Affairs which was provided by the Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities presented a list of responsibilities undertaken by the constitutional organization, and the Indian government for the betterment of the linguistic minorities which are as follows.

  • The Commissioner of Linguistic Minorities has personally visited locations of such minorities along with educational institutions constructed specifically for such minority groups, for the purpose of on-the-spot assessment of the status of implementation of the scheme of Safeguards. In this connection, the Commissioner has also held discussions with dignitaries such as the Chief Ministers, Governors, and at the highest levels of administration at the States/Union Territories.
  • The report highlighted that the Union Government along with the Ministry of Human Resource Development has collaborated to address issues concerning the threat of extinction of several languages of India. The purpose behind the same is to highlight the importance of a language that is not just a collection of words but also a reflection of the culture of the society.
  • The “Mahal” language which is majorly spoken in Lakshadweep and the tribal areas of the North-Eastern States demands immediate attention be preserved from extinction. Taking into account the constitutional rights of the citizens under Article 29 of the Indian Constitution, the same should be administered in its true spirit.
  • The Commissioner has worked towards a successful grant of permissions by the Central Government, thereby recognizing the educational institutions for the linguistic minorities.

Conclusion

The Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities plays a crucial role in ensuring that the rights and interests of linguistic minorities are upheld, and their recommendations can influence government policies and actions in this regard. It’s important to note that the linguistic diversity in India is significant, with several hundred languages spoken across the country. The protection of linguistic minorities is a part of India’s commitment to preserving its rich cultural and linguistic heritage while promoting national unity and diversity.