1. Which Article of the Constitution provides that every state shall endeavour to provide an adequate facility for instruction in mother-tongue at primary stage of education?
(a) Article 349
(b) Article 350
(c) Article 350-A
(d) Article 351
[U.P. P.C.S. (Pre) 2003 ,U.P. P.C.S. (Pre) 2002, U.P. Lower Sub. (Pre) 2002 ,I.A.S. (Pre) 2001]
Ans. (c) Article 350-A
- The 7th Amendment Act (1956) states that all states and local authorities should provide teaching in the language of minority groups at the primary level.
- The President can direct any state to make sure these facilities are available.
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2. Which one of the following is correct about the languages mentioned in the Constitution of India?
(a) The state can compel linguistic minorities to choose their mother tongue as a medium of instruction in primary schools.
(b) ‘Angika’ is now included in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution.
(c) Hindi is the National language of India.
(d) Bodo is a recognized language in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution.
[U.P.P.C.S. (Mains) 2016]
Ans. (d) Bodo is a recognized language in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution.
- Bodo is an officially recognized language according to the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
- It was added through the 92nd Amendment Act in 2003, while the other options don’t have a connection to the languages mentioned in the Indian Constitution.
- Article 343 states that Hindi is the official language of India, not the national language.
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3. Under Article 344 of the Indian Constitution, the first ‘Official Language Commission’ was established-
(a) In 1950 under the Chairmanship of K.M. Munshi
(b) In 1955 Under the Chairmanship of B.G. Kher
(c) In 1960 under the Chairmanship of M.C. Chagala
(d) In 1965 under the Chairmanship of Humayun Kabir
[U.P.P.C.S. (Pre) 1998]
Ans. (b) In 1955 Under the Chairmanship of B.G. Kher
- In 1955, Dr. Rajendra Prasad appointed the First Official Language Commission, which was headed by B.G. Kher.
- In 1956, the Commission gave its report which proposed using Hindi instead of English.
- Then, in 1957, a Parliamentary Committee headed by Govind Ballabh Pant was created to look at the Kher Commission’s report.
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4. Which of the following languages was added to the eighth schedule of the Constitution in 2003?
(a) Konkani
(b) Sindhi
(c) Manipuri
(d) Santhali
[Chhattisgarh P.C.S. (Pre) 2005]
Ans. (d) Santhali
- The Constitution of India recognizes 22 regional languages as the official language of the Union.
- Originally, there were only 14 languages but an amendment in 1967 added one more language (Sindhi).
- Three more languages (Konkani, Manipuri, and Nepali) were added in 1992 and four more (Bodo, Dogri, Maithili, and Santhali) were added in 2003.
- Thus, in total, there are 22 languages in the Eighth Schedule: Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, etc.
- Malayalam, Maithili, Marathi, Oriya, Panjabi, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Santali,
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5. Under one of the following Constitutional Amendment Acts, four languages were added to the languages under the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. Thereby raising their number to 22?
(a) Constitution (90th Amendment) Act
(b) Constitution (91st Amendment) Act
(c) Constitution (92nd Amendment) Act
(d) Constitution (93rd Amendment) Act
[I.A.S. (Pre) 2007]
Ans. (c) Constitution (92nd Amendment) Act
- India’s Constitution recognizes 22 regional languages as official languages of the Union.
- At first, there were only 14, but in 1967 they added Sindhi.
- After that, in 1992, three more languages (Konkani, Manipuri, and Nepali) were added and then in 2003 four more (Bodo, Dogri, Maithili and Santhali) were added.
- So, in total, 22 languages are in the Eighth Schedule: Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri
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6. Which of the following languages is not included in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution?
(a) Urdu
(b) Nepali
(c) Konkani
(d) Bhojpuri
[M.P.P.C.S. (Pre) 2005]
Ans. (d) Bhojpuri
- India’s Constitution states that there are 22 languages that are officially recognized in the country.
- Initially, there were 14, but three more (Sindhi, Konkani, Manipuri and Nepali) were added in 1967 and 1992 respectively.
- Lastly, in 2003, four more (Bodo, Dogri, Maithili and Santhali) were added, making the total 22.
- These 22 languages are Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dog
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7. Which of the following languages has been added to the Eighth Schedule by the Constitutional Amendment?
(a) Sanskrit
(b) Sindhi
(c) Punjabi
(d) Konkani
[U.P.P.C.S. (Pre) 1990]
Ans. (b) Sindhi
- India’s Constitution recognizes 22 languages.
- At first, there were 14, but then 3 more (Sindhi, Konkani, Manipuri and Nepali) were added in 1967 and 1992.
- In 2003, 4 additional languages (Bodo, Dogri, Maithili and Santhali) were included, bringing the total to 22.
- These languages are Assamese, Bengali
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8. Which of the following is not included in the Eighth Schedule of our Constitution?
(a) Gujrati
(b) Kashmiri
(c) Rajasthani
(d) Dogri
[U.P.P.C.S. (Pre) 1993]
Ans. (c) Rajasthani
- India’s Constitution officially lists 22 languages.
- First, there were 14, then 3 more (Sindhi, Konkani, Manipuri and Nepali) were added in 1967 and 1992.
- Then in 2003, 4 extra languages (Bodo, Dogri, Maithili and Santhali) were added
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9. Which three languages have been added to the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution by 71st Amendment?
(a) Sindhi, Manipuri, Konkani
(b) Konkani, Kashmiri, Nepali
(c) Nepali, Konkani, Manipuri
(d) Nepali, Konkani, Assamese
[M.P.P.C.S. (Pre) 1993]
Ans. (c) Nepali, Konkani, Manipuri
- India’s Constitution lists 22 languages in total.
- Initially, 14 languages were listed, then an additional 3 were added in 1967 and 1992.
- Finally, 4 more languages (Bodo, Dogri, Maithili and Santhali) were added in
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10. The number of official languages recognized by the constitution in the eighth schedule is………
(a) 16
(b) 17
(c) 18
(d) 22
[48th to 52nd B.P.S.C. (Pre) 2008, Uttarakhand P.C.S. (Mains) 2006, U.P.P.C.S. (Spl) (Mains) 2004]
Ans. (d) 22
- Before 2003, the Constitution’s Eight Schedule listed 18 languages.
- After the 92nd Constitution Amendment Act was passed, the number of languages increased to 22.
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11. The number of official languages recognized under the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution is –
(a) 22
(b) 20
(c) 18
(d) 17
[U.P.P.C.S. (GIC) 2010]
Ans. (a) 22
- Before 2003, the Constitution only had 18 languages listed in its Eight Schedule.
- The 92nd Constitution Amendment Act was passed, which increased the number of languages to 22.
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12. Which Article of the Indian Constitution provides the procedure for the adoption of the official Language or Languages of the State?
(a) 343
(b) 344
(c) 345
(d) 346
[R.A.S./R.T.S.(Pre) 2013]
Ans. (c) 345
- The Indian Constitution (Article 345) states that each state can choose to use one or more of the languages that are spoken in the state, or Hindi, as its official language(s).
- Until the legislature of the state passes a law changing this, English will stay the official language of the state.
- Article 343 covers the official language of the Union, Article 344 covers the commission and committee of Parliament on official language, and Article 346 covers the official language used for communication between states or between a state and the Union.
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13. Which of the following states has given the Sanskrit language the status of second official language?
(a) Bihar
(b) Chhattisgarh
(c) Uttar Pradesh
(d) Uttarakhand
[U.P.P.C.S. (Pre) 2011]
Ans. (d) Uttarakhand
- On January 1, 2010, Uttarakhand made Sanskrit their second official language.
- Later, their former Chief Minister, Ramesh Pokhariyal ‘Nishank’ announced that Rishikesh was now a city that spoke Sanskrit.
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14. Parliament can amend the provision on the official language of India under the Constitution by-
(a) a simple majority of its members
(b) 2/3rd majority
(c) 3/4th majority
(d) support of 1/3 of its members
[U.P.P.C.S. (Pre) 2018]
Ans. (a) a simple majority of its members
- The question about the official language of India has a different meaning in Hindi and English.
- In Hindi, it refers to the language mentioned in the Constitution, while in English, it focuses on the Parliament’s power to change the language.
- This creates confusion and it is difficult to come to a conclusion.
- Part XVII of the Constitution deals with the official language in Articles 343 to 351. It is not mentioned in the Indian Constitution that English is the official language of India.
- The Hindi version of the question suggests that the answer is an option (b), while the English version suggests that option (a) is the correct answer.
- The Parliament has the power to make an exception to Article 343 (1) and change the official language of the Union.
- The Official Language Act, of 1963, states that English is mandatory for some Union government purposes.
- This Act can be changed by the Parliament using its simple majority.
- This clarifies the word ‘Provision’ used in the English version of the question. Therefore, there are two distinct answers to the same question.
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15. The Provisions related to the official Language of India can be amended by –
(a) Simple majority
(b) Minimum 2/3 majority
(c) Minimum 3/4 majority
(d) Cannot be amended
[U.P.P.C.S. (Mains) 2005]
Ans. (a) Simple majority
- The question about the official language of India has different meanings when translated from Hindi to English.
- Part XVII of the Constitution explains the official language but doesn’t mention English as the official language.
- This can make it confusing to answer the question.
- Depending on whether it’s asked in Hindi or English, the answer could be either option (a) or (b).
- The Parliament has the power to change the official language by using its simple majority, which is stated in the Official Language Act of 1963. So, this question can have two different answers.
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16. Which one of the following languages included in the VIII Schedule of the Constitution is spoken by the largest number of people?
(a) Bengali
(b) Gujarati
(c) Marathi
(d) Telugu
[U.P.P.C.S. (Pre) 1998 (*)]
Ans. (a) Bengali
- The Census-2001 and Census-1991 data show that Bengali is the most spoken language in India out of the given options, with Telugu coming in second.
- However, the Census-2011 data shows that Hindi is now the language spoken by most people, with Bengali at second and Marathi at third.
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17. Which of the following is the correct sequence in descending order of the Indian languages, being used as the mother tongue?
1. Bengali
2. Marathi
3. Tamil
4. Telugu
Select the 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
[U.P.P.C.S. (Pre) 2001 (*)]
Ans. (c) 1, 4, 2, 3
- The Indian languages in order of most to least speakers according to the 2001 Census were: Bengali (8.11%), Telugu (7.19%), Marathi (6.99%) and Tamil (5.91%).
- The order according to the 2011 Census was Hindi (43.63%),
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18. The percentage of Hindi-speaking Indians is about :
(a) 50
(b) 45
(c) 40
(d) 35
[R.A.S./R.T.S.(Pre) 2003 (*)]
Ans. (c) 40
- Based on the 2001 Census data, the majority of Indians speak Hindi.
- 41.03% spoke Hindi in the 2001 census and 43.63% spoke Hindi in the 2011 census.
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19. Which of the following languages is spoken by the maximum number of persons in the world?
(a) Bengali
(b) French
(c) Japanese
(d) Portuguese
[I.A.S. (Pre) 2003 (*)]
Ans. (b) French
- The most commonly spoken languages in the world are English (1268 million people), Mandarin Chinese (1120 million people), Hindi (637 million people), Spanish (538 million people), French (277 million people), Standard Arabic (274 million people), Russian (258 million people), Portuguese (252 million people), Bengali (265 million people), Standard German (132 million people) and Japanese (126 million people).
- Therefore, the correct answer is option (b).
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20. Which one of the following is a language of Baluchistan but from a philological aspect it is a language of the Dravidian family?
(a) Brahui
(b) Kui
(c) Pargi
(d) Pengo
[I.A.S. (Pre) 1994]
Ans. (a) Brahui
- Brahui is the language spoken in Baluchistan, but from a linguistic point of view, it belongs to the Dravidian language family.
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21. Consider the following languages:
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
[I.A.S. (Pre) 2014]
Ans. (c) 2 and 3 only
- Six Indian languages have been designated as classical languages by the Indian Government for the purpose of preserving and promoting their ancient literary traditions.
- These are Tamil (2004), Sanskrit (2005), Telugu and Kannada (2008), Malayalam (2013), and Odiya (2014).
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