The Constitution of India
Article 394A
Authoritative text in the Hindi language
(1) The President shall cause to be published under his authority, —
(a) the translation of this Constitution in the Hindi language, signed by the members of the Constituent Assembly, with such modifications as may be necessary to bring it in conformity with the language, style and terminology adopted in the authoritative texts of Central Acts in the Hindi language, and incorporating therein all the amendments of this Constitution made before such publication; and
(b) the translation in the Hindi language of every amendment of this Constitution made in the English language.
(2) The translation of this Constitution and of every amendment thereof published under clause (1) shall be construed to have the same meaning as the original thereof and if any difficulty arises in so construing any part of such translation, the President shall cause the same to be revised suitably.
(3) The translation of this Constitution and of every amendment thereof published under this article shall be deemed to be, for all purposes, the authoritative text thereof in the Hindi language.]
Why this exists
India's Constitution was originally authored and adopted in English. Article 343 recognized Hindi as the Union's official language, and there was a long-standing goal to give citizens an authoritative Hindi version of the Constitution itself, not just a courtesy translation. Article 394A was inserted by the 58th Constitutional Amendment in 1987 to formalize this: it empowers the President to publish an official Hindi text (matching the language used in other Central laws) and ensures all future amendments are also translated and published in Hindi with equal legal standing.
Common misconceptions
- Myth: The Hindi version of the Constitution is just an unofficial translation for convenience.
Fact: Once published under Article 394A, the Hindi text is legally declared the authoritative Constitution text in Hindi, equal in legal force to the English original. - Myth: Only the original 1950 Constitution needs a Hindi version; amendments don't matter.
Fact: Article 394A requires every future amendment made in English to also be translated and published in Hindi.