First Official Language Commission (B G Kher)

The Kher Commission — formally the First Official Language Commission, chaired by B. G. Kher — was the body the President was constitutionally required to set up under Article 344(1) once five years had passed since the Constitution commenced on 26 January 1950. Its task was to review how the transition from English to Hindi as the Union's official language was progressing, and to recommend the pace and manner of that shift going forward.

Article 344: The Constitutional Basis

Article 344(1) obliges the President, at the expiry of five years from the Constitution's commencement, and again at the expiry of ten years, to constitute a Commission consisting of a Chairman and other members representing the different languages specified in the Eighth Schedule. The order constituting the Commission also lays down the procedure the Commission is to follow. Because the five-year mark fell in 1955, the Commission set up at that point — headed by B. G. Kher — is remembered as the first such body under this clause. A second review mechanism, a Parliamentary Committee under Article 344(4), examines the Commission's recommendations, tied to the ten-year mark.

What the Commission Was Asked to Recommend

Under Article 344(2), a Commission constituted under this clause has the duty of making recommendations to the President on:

• the progressive use of the Hindi language for the official purposes of the Union;
• restrictions on the use of the English language for all or any of the official purposes of the Union; and
• the language to be used for specified official purposes.

These heads defined the terms of reference for the Kher Commission: it had to weigh how quickly Hindi could take over official business, how far English could be scaled back, and which official functions needed one language rather than another.

Why a Commission Rather Than a Direct Switch

Article 343 explains why a review body was needed at all. Article 343(1) makes Hindi in Devanagari script the official language of the Union, but Article 343(2) kept English in use for all official purposes for fifteen years from commencement — that is, until 1965 — while allowing the President to authorise additional use of Hindi, and of Devanagari numerals, during that period. Article 343(3) further empowers Parliament to provide by law for the continued use of English, or of the international form of numerals, even after the fifteen years end. The Official Language Commission under Article 344 was the mechanism meant to inform how this transition, and any extension of it, should actually be carried out.

Links to the Wider Part XVII Framework

The Commission's work does not stand alone; several other provisions of Part XVII connect to it.

Article	Connection to the Commission
343	Defines the Hindi-English transition (15 years from 1950) that the Commission was set up to review
344	Constitutes the Commission (5 years) and the Parliamentary Committee (10 years)
345	Lets States independently adopt a State language or Hindi for State purposes, outside the Commission's remit
346	Governs the language for Union-State and inter-State communication
347	Allows Presidential recognition of a language desired by a substantial section of a State's population
349	Requires Presidential sanction, given after considering the Commission's recommendations, before certain language-related Bills could be introduced during the first 15 years

Article 349 is the clearest link between the Commission and legislative action: during the fifteen-year transitional period, no Bill or amendment changing the language to be used for the purposes mentioned in Article 348 could be introduced or moved without the President's prior sanction — and the President was required to consider the Official Language Commission's recommendations before granting that sanction.

The Eighth Schedule Connection

Because Article 344(1) draws the Commission's membership from representatives of "the different languages specified in the Eighth Schedule," the Commission's composition was tied directly to India's list of constitutionally recognised languages. That list today numbers twenty-two: Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santhali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu — though the Schedule was shorter when the Kher Commission was constituted, before later constitutional amendments added several of these languages.

UPSC Relevance

Prelims

• The Official Language Commission is constituted under Article 344(1) at the expiry of five years from commencement (1955); a Parliamentary Committee reviews its recommendations at the ten-year mark.
• The Commission's membership is a Chairman plus representatives of Eighth Schedule languages.
• Article 344(2) sets the Commission's mandate: progressive Hindi use, restrictions on English, and the language for specified official purposes.
• Article 349 requires Presidential sanction for certain Bills, granted only after considering the Commission's recommendations — a frequently tested cross-reference.

Mains

• Discuss the institutional design of Article 344 as a periodic-review mechanism for a constitutionally mandated language transition, and evaluate whether such a structure balances administrative continuity with linguistic accommodation.
• Analyse how the Official Language Commission's recommendations interact with Parliament's law-making power under Article 343(3) and the Presidential sanction requirement under Article 349.

FAQ

What is the First Official Language Commission? It is the Commission the President constituted under Article 344(1) five years after the Constitution commenced, chaired by B. G. Kher, to recommend on the progressive use of Hindi and restrictions on English for the Union's official purposes.

What was the Commission required to recommend? Under Article 344(2), it had to advise the President on the progressive use of Hindi for official purposes, restrictions on the use of English, and the language to be used for specified official purposes.

How is the Commission's membership decided? Article 344(1) provides for a Chairman and other members representing the different languages specified in the Eighth Schedule, appointed by Presidential order, which also lays down the Commission's procedure.

Is there a second review body besides the Commission? Yes. Article 344(4) provides for a Parliamentary Committee that examines the Commission's recommendations, tied to the ten-year mark from commencement.

How does the Commission's work connect to Article 349? Article 349 required Presidential sanction, given only after considering the Official Language Commission's recommendations, before Bills changing the Article 348 language could be introduced during the first fifteen years.

Quick Revision

• Article 344(1): Commission constituted at 5 years from commencement (1955); Chairman + Eighth Schedule language representatives.
• First Official Language Commission: chaired by B. G. Kher.
• Article 344(2): recommends progressive Hindi use, restrictions on English, language for specified official purposes.
• Article 344(4): Parliamentary Committee reviews recommendations at the 10-year mark.
• Article 343: Hindi in Devanagari script is the official language; English continued for 15 years (1950-1965).
• Article 349: Presidential sanction, after considering Commission recommendations, needed for certain Bills during the 15-year period.

Sources

• The Constitution of India, Part XVII, Articles 343-349 — https://legislative.gov.in/constitution-of-india

Further Reference

For deeper reading on this topic and the wider polity syllabus, these standard works are recommended:

• M. Laxmikanth, Indian Polity (McGraw Hill) — the standard UPSC handbook.
• D.D. Basu, Introduction to the Constitution of India (LexisNexis) — authoritative constitutional-law treatment.
• The Constitution of India — Bare Act — the official text.

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