Question

Give one reason why English continued to be used in India after Independence.

Answer 1

In the Constituent Assembly there were many debates on many issues, one of them was regarding the decision to continue or discontinue using English language. Ultimately, the decision was taken to continue with the usage of English language.

• Many members of the Constituent Assembly wanted to remove English language just the way British rulers were removed from India.
• Many members of the Constituent Assembly argued that English must be completely replaced by the Hindi language.
• However the Constituent Assembly had members from all parts of the country and from different political parties.
• Members who did not speak Hindi were against the decision to remove the English language.
• T.T. Krishnamachari said in the assembly that Indian citizens from the South, would seek for separation from India, if Hindi Language was forced upon them.
• Hence all the members reached a consensus that Hindi language would be used as an official language, whereas English language would be used in official communication between states, would be used for services and in courts.
• Members of the Constituent Assembly did not have the same views on all the provisions of the Constitution.
• The Constituent Assembly worked in a consensual, open and systematic manner.
• Initially there was agreement on some of the basic principles.
• The draft constitution was prepared for discussion.
• Clause by clause there was discussion on the draft constitution.
• The number of amendments that were considered was more than two thousand.
• Spread over three years, the members of the constituent assembly debated for 114 days.
• The debates of constituent assembly are preserved, which are used for interpretation of the constitution.