Article 343 — Official Language of the Union

According to Article 343(1): "The official language of the Union shall be Hindi in Devanagari script."

It further specifies that the form of numerals to be used for the official purposes of the Union shall be the international form of Indian numerals (i.e., 1, 2, 3, etc., not the Hindi script numerals १, २, ३).

When the Constitution was being drafted, non-Hindi speaking states (especially in South India) strongly opposed the immediate transition to Hindi.

To compromise, Article 343(2) stated that for a period of 15 years from the commencement of the Constitution (i.e., until 1965), the English language shall continue to be used for all the official purposes of the Union as it was being used before 1950.

Article 343(3) gave Parliament the power to pass a law allowing the use of English even after the 15-year period ended in 1965.

As 1965 approached, severe anti-Hindi agitations broke out in Tamil Nadu. Consequently, Parliament passed the Official Languages Act, 1963, which provided for the continued use of English indefinitely alongside Hindi for the official purposes of the Union and for parliamentary business.

Today, the Union Government is legally bilingual: official documents, acts, and communications are issued in both Hindi and English.