Official Language

Total Questions: 22

11. Which three languages have been added to the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution by 71- Amendment? [M.P.P.C.S. (Pre) 1993]

(a) Sindhi, Manipuri, Konkani
(b) Konkani, Kashmiri, Nepali
(c) Nepali, Konkani, Manipuri
(d) Nepali, Konkani, Assamese

Correct Answer: (c) Nepali, Konkani, Manipuri

Solution:Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution recognizes 22 regional languages as the official language of the Union. Originally, there were only fourteen languages in this Schedule, the fifteenth language, Sindhi, was added by the 21. Constitution Amendment in 1967, and three languages, Konkani, Manipuri, and Nepali, were added by the 71- Amendment in August 1992. *Four more languages Bodo, Dogri, Maithili and Santhali, were added by the 92- Amendment Act, 2003. *Thus, there are total 22 languages included in the eighth schedule: 1. Assamese 2. Bengali 3. Bodo 4. Dogri 5. Gujarati 6. Hindi 7. Kannada 8. Kashmiri 9. Malayalam 10. Maithili 11. Marathi 12. Oriya 13. Panjabi 14. Sanskrit 15. Sindhi 16. Tamil 17. Telugu 18. Santali 19. Urdu 20. Konkani 21. Manipuri and 22. Nepali.

12. Which of the language is not included in the VIII Schedule of the constitution? [Chhattisgarh P.C.S. (Pre) 2018]

(a) English
(b) Hindi
(c) Sanskrit
(d) Urdu

Correct Answer: (a) English

Solution:Languages recognised by the constitution are included in Eighth (VIII) Schedule. Initially, it had 14 languages, but presently there are 22 languages. Of this 22 language, English is not one of them, so option a is correct.

13. The number of official languages recognized under Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution is - [U.P.P.C.S. (GIC) 2010]

(a) 22
(b) 20
(c) 18
(d) 17

Correct Answer: (a) 22

Solution:Before 92- Constitution Amendment Act, 2003 there were total 18 languages in the Eight Schedule of the Constitution which increased to 22 after 92- Constitution Amendment Act.

14. Which of the following states has given the Sanskrit language the status of second official language? [U.P.P.C.S. (Pre) 2011]

(a) Bihar
(b) Chhattisgarh
(c) Uttar Pradesh
(d) Uttarakhand

Correct Answer: (d) Uttarakhand

Solution:The State of Uttarakhand on January 1, 2010 gave the Sanskrit language the status of the second official language. After some time, former Chief Minister, Ramesh Pokhariyal 'Nishank' declared 'Rishikesh' as Sanskrit city.

15. Which one of the following languages included in the VIII Schedule of the Constitution is spoken by the largest number of people? [U.P.P.C.S. (Pre) 1998]

(a) Bengali
(b) Gujarati
(c) Marathi
(d) Telugu

Correct Answer: (a) Bengali

Solution:According to the Census-2001 data and Census-1991 data, Bengali is the language spoken by the largest number of persons (in India) among the given options. Telugu is at the second rank. According to the census, 2011 data, Hindi is the Language spoken by the largest number of persons (in India). Bengali is at the second and Marathi is third.

16. Which of the following is the correct sequence in descending order of the Indian languages, being used as mother tongue? [U.P.P.C.S. (Pre) 2001]

1. Bengali

2. Marathi

3. Tamil

4. Telugu

Select correct answer using the code given below:

Code:

(a) 1, 4, 3, 2
(b) 1, 2, 4, 3
(c) 1, 4, 2, 3
(d) 4, 2, 1, 3

Correct Answer: (c) 1, 4, 2, 3

Solution:According to the Census data-2001 the descending order of the Indian languages are: Bengali (8.11%) > Telugu (7.19%)> Marathi (6.99%) > Tamil (5.91%). According to the Census data - 2011, the descending order of the Indian Languages are: Hindi (43.63%) > Bengali (8.03%) > Marathi (6.86%) > Telugu (6.70%) > Tamil (5.70%).

17. Which one of the following is a language of Baluchistan but from philological aspect it is a language of Dravidian family? [I.A.S. (Pre) 1994]

(a) Brahui
(b) Kui
(c) Pargi
(d) Pengo

Correct Answer: (a) Brahui

Solution:Brahui is the Language of Baluchistan, but from a philological aspect, it is a language of Dravidians family.

18. Consider the following languages: [I.A.S. (Pre) 2014]

1. Gujarati

2. Kannada

3. Telugu

Which of the language(s) given above has/have been declared as "Classical Language" by the Government?

(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 3 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

Correct Answer: (c) 2 and 3 only

Solution:Certain Indian Languages have been awarded the distinction of classical language for preservation advancement of old literary traditions. Till 2014, total 6 languages have been declared as classical languages by the Government of India. Tamil in 2004, Sanskrit in 2005, Telugu and Kannada in 2008 and, Malayalam in 2013 and Odiya was given status of classical language in 2014.

19. Parliament can amend the provision on official language of India under the Constitution by [U.P.P.C.S. (Pre) 2018, U.P.P.C.S. (Mains) 2005]

(a) a simple majority of its members
(b) 2/3rd majority
(c) 3/4th majority
(d) support of 1/3 of its members

Correct Answer: (a) a simple majority of its members

Solution:There is a fundamental difference between the Hindi and English versions of the above question. In the Hindi format, the question has asked about the official language in the context of Constitution of India, whereas in the English format, the question focuses on the Parliament's authority of amending the official language of India. Hence, the nuances so present, create a contradictory nature among the intellects to resort to a conclusion.

*Part XVII of the constitution deals with the official language in Article 343 to 351. Its provisions are divided into four heads-

a. Language of the Union

b. Regional Languages

c. Language of the Judiciary

d. Texts of Laws and special directives

Thus it is quite evident from above context that the term 'The Official Language of India' is nonewhere mentioned in the Indian constitution.

If we ignore the above mentioned 'mistake' or 'ambiguity' for the quiz, then it seems that the question relates to "the official language of the Union". As mentioned in the first paragraph of this interpretation, due to the difference between the Hindi and English forms of the question, the answer will also be different. According to Hindi form, option (b) is correct. Amendment to Article 343, 344, 346 and 348 (1) (b) is possible only by the Parliament according to the overwhelming process mentioned in Article 368 (2), otherwise not. The amendment in above mentioned Articles i.e. 343, 344, 346 & 348 (1) does not require ratification of the state legislatures. On the other hand, if the English form of the question is accepted, then option (a) will be the correct answer.

20. In 1993 which of the following language was not included in the Eighth Schedule? [U.P. R.O./A.R.O. (Pre) 2021]

(a) Maithili
(b) Santhali
(c) Bodo
(d) Dogri
(e) All of the above

Correct Answer: (e) All of the above

Solution:Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution recognizes 22 regional languages as the official language of the Union. Originally, there were only fourteen languages in this Schedule, the fifteenth language, Sindhi, was added by the 21- Constitution Amendment in 1967, and three languages, Konkani, Manipuri, and Nepali, were added by the 71 Amendment in August 1992. *Four more languages Bodo, Dogri, Maithili and Santhali, were added by the 92- Amendment Act, 2003. *Thus, there are total 22 languages included in the eighth schedule: 1. Assamese 2. Bengali 3. Bodo 4. Dogri 5. Gujarati 6. Hindi 7. Kannada 8. Kashmiri 9. Malayalam 10. Maithili 11. Marathi 12. Oriya 13. Panjabi 14. Sanskrit 15. Sindhi 16. Tamil 17. Telugu 18. Santali 19. Urdu 20. Konkani 21. Manipuri and 22. Nepali.

« Previous 123 Next »