ADMINISTRATION
5.1 Modern administration relies heavily on language for its efficient functioning, for it is language which gives shape to Constitution, laws, regulations and procedures. It gives form to State policies and acts as a vehicle of communication between the State and the people. Accordingly, the Governments employ an official language, which makes for uniformity of usage and effectiveness and accuracy of expression. In a federal set up, it also serves as an interstate link and gives form to national urges and aspirations. Not only in the official field but also in the fields of commerce and technology, of politics and social change, language plays a leading role. Such a language can only be the language most widely spoken which, in our case, is Hindi. Due to historical reasons, English has been permitted to be used till such time as all the non-Hindi speaking States decide to adopt Hindi for this purpose. The importance of Hindi as the official language of the Country and of several States and Union Territories is recognized. However, in a country or our dimensions, there is conflux of people speaking different languages from one area to another. In every region, we find scores of languages operating peacefully together and functioning as media of transmission of ideas and aspirations. A democratic administration has therefore, to take care of all those languages in order not to lose contact with the people and to be able to respond to their urges and aspirations effectively. As the tempo of development in-creases the problem of mass communication assumes still greater urgency both for the people and the governmental 'machinery an idea situation would be to provide adequate facilities for all the languages and dialects, but in that case, the administration is likely to be overwhelmed by the sheer size of the problem. The choice has, therefore, to be limited to principal languages.
5.2 Our Constitution specifically mentions fifteen languages in the Eighth Schedule. Urdu Is one of them. At least one language has been declared the official language of each State or Union territory while other languages of the State have a minority status. The official language is used for all official purposes but, for specified purposes, the use of minority language has also been permitted. Urdu is the official language In the Jammu and Kashmir State.
5.3 The aspirations of the speakers of a particular language, are conditioned to a very large extent by the historical role assigned to it in the past and by the demands of the present. We would, therefore, try briefly to recapitulate the role Urdu has played In our administrative history.
Background 5.4 In recorded history, Sanskrit was the first language to be used for adminstrative purposes In India. For good governence it was necessary for the princes and kings to be well versed in the science of government.
5.5 According to Kautilya's Arthashastra,* the science of Varta, namely, agriculture, cattle-breeding and trade was to be acquired under government superintendence. The different official records to which Kautilya refers in his treatise, were maintained by the superintendents of various departments, who were required to work in association with accountants, writers, treasurers etc. All the sciences were obviously taught in Sanskrit. The dandniti, or the science of government, was learnt under theoretical and practical politicians (vaktripravoktribhvah)- The records of punishment awarded were again, presumably, kept In Sanskrit. The princes had to learn military arts, history, Dharmashastra and Arthashastra, and the kings were enjoined to be well educated and disciplined in science, devoted to the good governance of their subjects and mindful of the welfare of all people.
5.6 The fortunes of Sanskrit may have dwindled a little after the rise of Pali and other Prakrits with the advance of Buddhism but the extent to which Pali or the Prakrits replaced Sanskrit must have been extremely limited, particularly in the field of administration. Ashoka was the first Indian ruler to use local languages and dialects to communicate with his subjects. He published his views on the moral code "in documents composed in vernacular dialects and Inscribed In two distinct scripts........ According to Smith, most of the records were "Incised in the Brahmi script, the ancient form of the modern characters used In writing Sanskrit and the allied languages of northern and western India and also in Kharoshthi script," a form of Aramaic writing used in that region. The language of the records exhibits several dialect varieties, suitable for the different provinces.**
5.7 Similarly in the early centuries of the Christian era, Tamil was the language of all the kingdoms In the South.
5.8 With the advent of the Arabs, the Afghans and the Mughals on the Indian scene, Turkish, Push to and Persian made their appearance. There are no records to show that Arabic was ever used for administra tive purposes, nor was Turkish or Pushto. Persian, however, was adopted as the official language by these
* Kautilya's Arthashastra, p. 8 (Translation by Dr. R. Shamasastry, 1951).
** Oxford History of India by v. A. Smith.pages 135 and 161.
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rulers. It was Most widely understood and practised by the elite which was composed of many ethnic and lnguistic groups whom Persian brought together for the purposes of administration. Tile elimination of small States and the consolidation of empires gave Persia an inter- regional status on the political plane.
5.9 The local languages continued to flourish as media of day-to-day communication. Sanskrit and Arabic were the main media of higher education but not of administration. The maintenance of official records and literary and administrative communication continued to be in Persian. In course of time, a new language was evolved, Incorporating a part of the foreign vocabulary, while maintaining the basic characteristics of the Indigenous languages. This process went on in market places and in cantonments where polyglot groups flocked in large numbers. Hindi, Hindavi, Hindustani or Urdu, as the language came to be called at-different stages, provided a useful channel of communication in the medieval period. A few rulers gave encouragement to this language In their respective States and slowly it gained admittance Into the royal court and assumed the title of Urdu-i-Moalla in Shahjeban's time.
5.10 Urdu was ordered to be used as an official language by Ibrahim Adil Shah II of Bijapur (1580-1672) and was in use In Golcunda also at the time of Abdullab Qutb Shah (1626-1672). The language was known in the Deccan as Hindavi or Deccani right up to the dissolution of Adil Shahi kingdom in 1686 and the Qutb Shahi kingdom a year later.
5.11 Under the early Mughals, local languages do not seem to have been used anywhere in the offices When Raja Todar Mal, Akbar's Revenue Minister, reorganized the revenue system under Akbar's orders, he undertook a survey (paimaish) of the entire land under cultivation. Land was divided Into four classes, namely, poulai, parauti, chachar and baniar. All these classifications were In Hindi . Similarly, the measurements were in terms of bigha and biswa. Many of the nomenclatures of the local revenue officers were in local languages; for example, potdar, batwari and bitikchi. It was the duty of the patwari to give a detailed receipt to the peasant, stating the amount of rent, the area of land cultivated and the name of the village to which the cultivator belonged. The language used in these receipts is not indicated but presumably It was such as Would be intelligible to the ordinary literate villagers, In other words, in Hindavi or Urdu. The records for use by the officers were all In Persion and, In higher spheres of administration, that language was employed not only by the Delhi court but also by the governors and the provincial governments. Ever the courts openly hostile to Delhi, like those of the Sikhs and the Marathas, used Persion for official purposes. This practice continued all over India till the advent of the British.
5.12 With the ascendency of the British power In India, the language question assumed new dimensions. After the Battle of Plassey (1757), Persion was allowed to be used for transacting business In the ad- ministrative departments of the East India Company, but Hindustani was also introduced as an appendage. In the Hindi speaking areas of today, Government orders meant for the public at large, Were often translated Into Urdu and the text released for publication.
5.13 The British rulers subsequently took some well calculated administrative measures aimed at the gradual adoption of the English language for official purposes, (ii) driving a wedge between Hindi and Urdu as a matter of policy by encouraging extremist elements on both sides, and (iii) giving a denominational touch to education and learning. A passing reference to this policy has been made by us while discussing educational and literary problems.
5.14 In 1830, the Court of Directors of the East India Company advised the Government of India to Introduce English (in place of Persian) as the language of public business in all Its departments, and to begin correspodence with all native princes or persons of rank who are known to understand that language. The courts of law were, however, exempted from the operation of these Instructions. The Directors felt that It was "highly important that justice should be administered In a language familiar to the litigant parties, to their vakeels and to the people at large, and it was easier for the judge to acquire the language of the people than for the people to- acquire the language of the judge".
5.15 Six years later, we discover East India Company civilians engaged In articulating the question of the script to be adopted for the purposes of public-offices. F. John Shore, a British civilian, pleaded for the substitution of Hindustani for Persian In the courts of justice. He, however, posed the question: "In the event of this plan being adopted there remains the question whether the written characters should be Persian or the Nagri? The Nagri character and the Hindustani language are essentially the, same, with the sole exception of Bengal proper and Orissa, and even in these provinces, there is scarcely a village in which many people would not be found who understand them, and to obviate difficulties, their own language might be retained." *
5.16 Under orders of Lord William Bentinck, the then Governor- General, reform In the language was introduced by the Bengali and Persian Language Act (Act No . XXIX of 1837). The Act stated: "It shall be lawful for the Governor-General-in-Council by an order In the Council, to dispense either generally or within such local limits, as may seem to him meet, with any provision of the Bengal Code which enjoins the use of the Persian language in any judicial proceedings or any proceedings relating to the Revenue, and to prescribe the language and character to be used in such proceedings."
* Notes on Indian Affairs Vol. I (1836) P. 29.
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5.17 The Act authorized the Governor-General "to delegate all or any of the powers given by this Act to any subordinate authority". The Governor-General-in-Council delegated authority to Governor or Lt. Governor with necessary guidelines. He duly authorised the Lt. Governor of North Western Provinces, as Uttar Pradesh and adjacent areas were then called, to substitute vernacular' languages in place of Persian. Accordingly, by circular No. 26 dated May 31, 1839, Sadar Diwani Adalat, ordered the authorities of the North Western Provinces that "with effect from July 1 , 1840, the use of Persian language in all criminal proceedings, petitions and writings, of whatsoever kind, be wholly discontinued and Hindustani be adopted in its stead" The circular went on to state that "when the record of criminal proceedings was sent to the Sadar Diwani Adalat, it will be the duty of the Sessions Judge to transmit all proceedings they may refer to, or send up on a call of the court, written in a current 'Oordoo' style, in a fair and legible characcter".
5.18 Reference to 'Oordoo' implied the style and not the script, as the Sadar Divani Adalat or North Western Provinces further laid down that "pleadings and proceedings should be recorded in clear intelligible Oordoo or Hindi where that dialect is current". Persian had been the court language earlier and the proceoings in court were recorded in that script on account of convenience, habit and usage, while the syntax and expression remained unaffected. Very soon the regional language replaced Persian in the different provinces of India. In the North Western Provinces, Bihar and Central Province (part of the present Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra), the choice went in favour of Urdu in Urdu script. the court employees themselves suggested to the Government the retention of the Urdu character for, they pleaded, in that case the changeover would not entail any difficulty. The plea was accepted.
5.19 Meanwhile a controversy over the two forms of Hindustani and the scripts was being quietly instigated to achieve the ulterior objective of bringing in English later as a compromise. We come across a letter in one of the issues of the Calcutta.Review in 1822, which refers to Hindi as "an artificial language" with a history of "60 or 70 ears" and argues that Hindi should be replaced in schools and courts by Baiswadi of Oudh, Gunwari of Banaras or Magadhi of South Bihar. In another letter dated March 21, the same year, John Christ (then posted at Monghyr) opposed the adoption of Devnagari script and advocated Kaithi which, according to the writer, was "the character of the mass of the people in which they transacted their ordinary business and used it in the writing of their sacred books. It is simple in its formulation." The same motives which had prompted the Company Officials to set Urdu and Hindi against each other made them whip up a controversy between Hindi and local dialects.
5.20 In 1832, the Lt. Governor of Bengal, Sir George Campbell, on a petition from Bihar, issued instructions that "Hindi in the Kaithi or Nagari character should be adopted in the courts of Patna and Bhagalpur Divisions, while Urdu be retained in other Divisions." The order, however, stipulated that while notifications and proclamations should be made in Hindi in these two Divisions, the petitions should be received at the option of the petitioner in the Hindi of Urdu character, and a knowledge of the Hindi character should be insisted upon in the case of police and ministerial officers. The option for presenting the petitions in Urdu was given expressly because of its wider prevalence. In Central Provinces also, following similar representations, orders were passed on the same lines in 1888.
5.21 Sir Antony Macdonnell, Lt. Governor of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, announced his decision on the question of language and script on March 8, 1898. It was published in the Government Gazette dated April 18, 1900. Inter alia, the order stated that "the convenience of a large section of the population knowing Hindi will be served by the recognition of the Nagri character to a greater extent than is the case at present". Pursuant to this policy, the following rules were made applicable to all the criminal and civil as well as rent and revenue courts :
(i) "Any person may present his petition or complaint either in the Nagri or the Persian character as he desires.
(ii) All summons, proclamations and letters in vernacular issuing to the public from the courts or from revenue officials shall be in the Persian and the Nagri characters and the portion in the latter shall invariably be filled up as well as that in the former.
(iii) No persan shall be appointed, except in a purely English office, to any ministerial appointment henceforth unless he can read and write both the Nagri and Persian characters fluently."
5.22 At the turn of the century, the position of the court language in general, as provided by the laws prevailing in Indict, can be summed up as under :
(i) Persian was abolished as the court language in 1835.
(ii) Its place was given to English, which was accepted as the official language for use in the high court, the chief court, the subordinate courts,while evidence could be recorded in varnaculars. The language to be used by the presiding officers was to be English.
(iii) Both in respect of proceedings governed by the Civil Procedure Code and the Criminal Procedure Code, the State Governments had the authority to declare what would be the language of surbordintate courts. Section 558 of the Criminal Procedure Code (1898) laid down that the
*Education Commission-Bengal Committee Report, 1833, p. 398.
State Government could determine for what purposes of the court a language would be deemed to be the language of each court. Section 137 of the Civil Procedure Code (1908) gave authority to the State Government to declare what should be the language of any such court and in what character applications to and proceedings in such courts should be written.
5.23 For the purposes of Urdu, we are concerned chiefly with United Provinces, Bihar, Punjab, Central Provinces In the erstwhile British India. The final state of affairs in regard to these areas is summarised below .
(i) In the United Provinces, petitions or complaints in civil, revenue and criminal courts could be -presented either in the Urdu or in the Devnagari character. (It was all along a question of script -and not of language). All summons and proclamations issued by the courts or revenue officers were to be both in the Urdu and the Nagri characters. For all ministerial appointments execept those in the English office, knowledge of both Urdu and Hindi was essential.
(ii) In Bihar, after 1881, all documents issued by the courts were to be in Hindi or Kaithi characters except 'the exhibits' produced in courts, which could be in other languages. For all police and ministerial officers knowledge of the Hindi character was made compulsory.
(iii) In Central Provinces, as in Bihar, Hindi was introduced as the language of courts.
(iv) In Punjab, Urdu was being used for official purposes in the lower courts as also at the lower administrative level.
5.24 The position in the princely States was different. In a large number of States falling within the present boundaries of the States of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra, Urdu was being used in the courts at lower levels and in some of the States like Hyderabad, Bhopal, Patiala, etc., up to the highest judicial levels.
5.25 On the eve of Independence, the question of a common official language for the Union as well as for, each individual State was being discussed widely in non-official circles. The anxiety of our national leaders in the pre-independence period to evolve a common language was fully justified by the post-independence events. At that time, there was unanimity among the political elements in the country to eliminate the use of English from Government offices and courts as soon as possible and to replace it by an Indian language. Hindi was the obvious choice in view of the vast numbers speaking it. Much thought, however, was not given at that time to the problem of regional languages.