The Constitution of India
Article 350B
Special Officer for linguistic minorities
(1) There shall be a Special Officer for linguistic minorities to be appointed by the President.
(2) It shall be the duty of the Special Officer to investigate all matters relating to the safeguards provided for linguistic minorities under this Constitution and report to the President upon those matters at such intervals as the President may direct, and the President shall cause all such reports to be laid before each House of Parliament, and sent to the Governments of the States concerned.
Why this exists
India has many languages, and after Independence there were fears that speakers of minority languages within a state (for example, Tamil speakers in Karnataka, or Urdu speakers in various states) could be neglected once states were reorganised largely on linguistic lines in the 1950s. To reassure such groups and monitor their treatment, the Constitution (through the Seventh Amendment, 1956) added this office. It works alongside other minority-language safeguards, such as Article 30 (right to run educational institutions) and Article 347 (special provisions for a language spoken by a section of a state's population).
Common misconceptions
- Myth: The Special Officer can force a state government to change its language policy.
Fact: The Article only gives the officer power to investigate and report; it does not grant enforcement or judicial powers over states. - Myth: This Article was part of the original 1950 Constitution.
Fact: Article 350B was inserted later, by the Seventh Constitutional Amendment Act, 1956, alongside the reorganisation of states on linguistic lines.