EXTRACTS FROM THE MINUTES OF THE THIRD MEETING OF THE COMMITTEE OF ZONAL COUNCILS FOR NATIONAL INTERGRATION HELD ON AUGUST 31, 1964
PRESENT
1. Shri G. L. Nanda, Union Home Minister Chairman
2. Shri S. Nijalingappa, Chief Minister, Mysore Member
3. Shri V. P. Naik, Chief Minister, Maharashtra Member
4. Shri Ram Kishan, Chief Minister, Punjab Member
In his opening remarks, the Chairman stated that the Committee of Zonal Councils for National Integration was appointed to keep in touch at the national level with the implementation of safeguards for linguistic minorities and matters relating to national integration. The Committee could not meet since August 1962, but the various Zonal Councils had considered these problems from time to time and played an important and useful role in furtherance of the objectives for which the Committee had been constituted. The Councils provided a very useful forum for exchange of knowledge and experience acquired by the State and the Central Government and could be effectively utilised to deal with problems of national integration. It was, therefore, necessary that they should be made more effective and purposeful and that this Committe should guide them so that there was more or less a uniform approach to all major problems in the various zones.
The Chairman further stated that there had been progress in implementation of the safeguards for the linguistic minorities in the States but in certain respects still this was not quite satisfactory. Some States had done well in this matter and some others had accepted the need for early actions. He urged that the States which had not fully implemented the decisions taken at the all India level should do so without further avoidable delay.
He also referred to the need for propagation of Hindi for various administrative purposes and also retention of English as an associate language as it was of great Value for international communication and acquisition of modern knowledge.
Referring to the language restrictions imposed by certain States in the matter of recruitment to State services, the Chairman stated that it was necessary that all such restrictions should be withdrawn. He also emphasised that every citizen should have access to educational institutions in any part of the country and that domiciliary restriction should not operate in any form.
2. The various items of the agenda were then taken up for consideration.
ITEM-I : Review of the implementation of decisions in respect of :
(a) Safeguards for linguistic minorities and language policy.
(i) Primary Education : The Committee noted that, by and large, all the States had implemented the policy laid down at the all-India level on the question of imparting instruction at primary stage in the mother- tongue of the pupils.
(ii) Secondary Education : The Committee reviewed the position. It was noted that the State Government of U. P. had not agreed so far to provide facilities for instruction through the medium of minority language at the secondary stage and that although facilities for instruction through minority languages existed in Madhya Pradesh, the decidions taken at the Chief Ministers Conference on National Integration (1961) had not been fully implemented. The Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh agreed to look into this matter and send a report to the Government of India. It was decided that the matter should be taken up again with both the State Governments.
(iii) Three Language Formula : It was noted that although some progress had been made since the last meeting of the Committee, the position remained unsatisfactory, more especially in the Central Zonal areas. It was agreed that the States concerned should be requested to take urgent steps to implement the decisions taken at all India level in the interests of national integration.
(iv) Provision of suitable Text-Books : It was agreed that a Committee consisting of a representative of the Union Ministry of Education and one representative from each Zone should be set up to consider the existing arrangements made in the States for preparing text-books and recommend measures for effecting further improvements in this regard. The Committee might co-opt member from the other States in the Zones.
(v) Teaching of Hindi and English from an early stage : The Committee reviewed the arrangements made in various States for teaching English and Hindi from an early stage. It was noted that arrangements now exist for the teaching of Hindi and English from a fairly early stage except
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in Madras where Hindi was introduced from Class VIII and in Gujarat where English was introduced from Class VIII.
(vi) Affiliation of schools and colleges to outside Bodies :The Committee noted that suitable arrangements existed in almost all States for affiliation of schools and colleges teaching in minority languages.
(vii) Use of Minority Languages for communication with public and for purposes of publicity : The Committee reviewed the action taken by the States to implement the policy laid down at the all-India level. It was decided that the State Governments which had not yet fully implemented the policy decisions taken by the Chief Ministers Conference on National Integration, should be advised to do so.
(viii) Recruitment to State Services : The Committee noted that almost all States had modified their recruitment rules in accordance with the basic principles laid down by the Chief Ministers Conference on National integration in 1961. The State Government of Uttar Pradesh was, however, still unwilling to withdraw the compulsory Hindi paper in the competitive examinations for recruitment to the State civil service and rules prescribing knowledge of Hindi as a condition of eligibility for Government service and posts. It was decided that the Government of Uttar Pradesh may again be requested to modify existing recruitment rules and instructions suitably..........
(Reproduced from the Seventh 'Report of the Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities, pp- 118 to 120)