IndiaIN

Article 344 of the Constitution of India

Article
344
Chapter
CHAPTER I.—L ANGUAGE OF THE UNION
Index row title
(1) The President shall, at the expiration of five
Source document
India Constitution
Provision ID
d09c0d22-7d8b-44b1-b3f3-4043f00adddd

365 words

Verbatim text

years from the commencement of this Constitution andthereafter at the expiration of ten years from suchcommencement, by order constitute a Commission whichshall consist of a Chairman and such other membersrepresenting the different languages specified in the Eighth Schedule as the President may appoint, and the order 1See C.O. 41.Official language of the Union. Commission and Committee ofParliament onofficial language. shall define the procedure to be followed by the Commission. (2) It shall be the duty of the Commission to make recommendations to the President as to— (a) the progressive use of the Hindi language for the official purposes of the Union; (b) restrictions on the use of the English language for all or any of the official purposes of the Union; (c) the language to be used for all or any of the purposes mentioned in article 348; (d) the form of numerals to be used for any one or more specified purposes of the Union; (e) any other matter referred to the Commission by the President as regards the official language of theUnion and the language for communication betweenthe Union and a State or between one State andanother and their use. (3) In making their recommendations under clause (2), the Commission shall have due regard to theindustrial, cultural and scientific advancement of India,and the just claims and the interests of persons belongingto the non-Hindi speaking areas in regard to the publicservices. (4) There shall be constituted a Committee consisting of thirty members, of whom twenty shall be members ofthe House of the People and ten shall be members of theCouncil of States to be elected respectively by themembers of the House of the People and the membersof the Council of States in accordance with the system ofproportional representation by means of the singletransferable vote. (5) It shall be the duty of the Committee to examine the recommendations of the Commission constitutedunder clause (1) and to report to the President theiropinion thereon.THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA (Part XVII. —Official Language.—Art. 344.)213 (6) Notwithstanding anything in article 343, the President may, after consideration of the report referredto in clause (5), issue directions in accordance with thewhole or any part of that report. C HAPTER II.—R EGIONAL LANGUAGES

What this means

  • The index files this text under article 344 of the Constitution of India.
  • The index files it under the chapter heading “CHAPTER I.—L ANGUAGE OF THE UNION”.
  • The passage runs to about 365 words.

The row’s stored title is a body fragment, not a heading (“(1) The President shall, at the expiration of five”), so it is not used as the provision’s title here.

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How to cite this

Constitution of India, article 344, Portable Lawyer, https://www.portablelawyer.app/provision/d09c0d22-7d8b-44b1-b3f3-4043f00adddd (accessed 25 October 2026).

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Accessed 25 October 2026.

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