Jump to content

Seventy-first Amendment of the Constitution of India

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Constitution (Seventy-first Amendment) Act, 1992
Parliament of India
  • An Act further to amend the Constitution of India.
Citation71st Amendment
Territorial extentIndia
Passed byLok Sabha
Passed20 August 1992
Passed byRajya Sabha
Passed20 August 1992
Assented to31 August 1992
Commenced31 August 1992
Legislative history
First chamber: Lok Sabha
Bill titleConstitution (Seventy-eighth Amendment) Bill, 1992
Introduced byShankarrao Chavan
Introduced20 August 1992
Related legislation
21st and 92nd Amendments
Summary
Included Konkani, Meitei (officially called Manipuri) and Nepali as official languages by amending the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution
Status: In force

The Seventy-first Amendment of the Constitution of India, officially known as The Constitution (Seventy-first Amendment) Act, 1992, amended the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution so as to include Konkani, Meitei (officially called "Manipuri") and Nepali languages, thereby raising the total number of languages listed in the schedule to eighteen. The Eighth Schedule lists languages that the Government of India has the responsibility to develop.[1]

The Eighth Schedule to the Constitution originally included 14 languages.[2] Sindhi was included by the 21st Amendment, enacted in 1967. Bodo, Dogri, Santhali and Maithili were included in the Eighth Schedule in 2004, through the 92nd Amendment, raising the total number of languages to 22.[citation needed]

Text

[edit]

BE it enacted by Parliament in the Forty-third Year of the Republic of India as follows:—

1. Short title This Act may be called the Constitution (Seventy-first Amendment) Act, 1992.

2. Amendment of Eighth Schedule In the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution—

(a) existing entry 7 shall be re-numbered as entry 8, and before entry 8 as so re-numbered, the entry "7. Konkani." shall be inserted;
(b) existing entry 8 shall be re-numbered as entry 10, and before entry 10 as so re-numbered, the entry "9. Manipuri." shall be inserted;
(c) existing entries 9 to 15 shall be re-numbered as entries 12 to 18 respectively, and before entry 12 as so re-numbered, the entry "11. Nepali." shall be inserted.[3][4]

Proposal and enactment

[edit]

The Constitution (Seventy-first Amendment) Act, 1992, was introduced in Lok Sabha on 20 August 1992, as the Constitution (Seventy-eighth Amendment) Bill, 1992 (Bill No. 142 of 1992). It was introduced by Shankarrao Chavan, then Minister of Home Affairs, and sought to include Konkani, Meitei and Nepali languages in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.[5] The full text of the Statement of Objects and Reasons appended to the bill is given below:

There have been demands for inclusion of certain languages in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution. It is proposed to include Konkani, Manipuri and Nepali languages in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution. The Bill seeks to give effect to this decision.

2. The Nepali language is also known in some areas as "Gorkha Bhasa". In the Census operations, other nomenclatures such as "Gorkhali", "Gorkdhi", "Gurkhiya", "Khaskura" or "Naipali" have also been used.

— S.B. Chavan, "The Constitution (Seventy-eighth Amendment) Bill, 1992". Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

The Bill was debated by the Lok Sabha on 20 August 1992 and, as amended, passed on the same day. Clause 1 of the Bill was adopted by the Lok Sabha with a formal amendment replacing the word "Seventy-eighth" by the word "Seventy-first". The Bill, as passed by the Lok Sabha, was considered and passed by the Rajya Sabha on 20 August 1992.[5] The bill received assent from then President Shankar Dayal Sharma on 31 August 1992, and came into force on the same date.[5][6] It was notified in The Gazette of India on 1 September 1992.[7]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 October 2013. Retrieved 1 July 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  2. ^ "The Constitution of India (1949)" (PDF). Lok Sabha Secretariat. p. 1189. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 5 December 2013. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  3. ^ "Texts of the Constitution Amendment Acts" (PDF). Lok Sabha Secretariat. pp. 615–616. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  4. ^ "The Constitution (Seventy-first Amendment) Act, 1992". Retrieved 5 December 2013. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  5. ^ a b c R.C. Bhardwaj, ed. (1 January 1995). Constitution Amendment in India (Sixth ed.). New Delhi: Northern Book Centre. pp. 124, 217, 451–452. ISBN 9788172110659. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  6. ^ "The Constitution (Amendment) Acts". Constitution.org. Retrieved 5 December 2013. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  7. ^ "Constitution Amendment in India" (PDF). Lok Sabha Secretariat. p. 256. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 5 December 2013.