66th Anniversary of the 1960 Presidential Order: The Evolution of India’s Official Language Policy

The 66th anniversary of the 1960 Presidential Order on Official Language marks a significant milestone in India’s journey of post-independence consolidation. Issued by President Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the order was a response to the recommendations of the First Official Language Commission (Kher Commission, 1955) and the subsequent report by a Joint Parliamentary Committee. It represents a pivotal moment in resolving the 'National Language Question' that threatened to polarize the young republic along linguistic lines. At the heart of the 1960 Order was a pragmatic compromise. While Article 343 of the Constitution declared Hindi in Devanagari script as the official language of the Union, it also provided for the continued use of English for a period of 15 years (until 1965). As this deadline approached, anxieties grew in non-Hindi speaking states, particularly in South India, regarding the potential imposition of Hindi. The 1960 Presidential Order acted as a stabilizing force, directing the government to prepare for the progressive use of Hindi while ensuring that English remained an associate language for administrative and judicial purposes.