Constitution (Twenty-first Amendment) Act, 1967

The Constitution (Twenty-first Amendment) Act, 1967 added Sindhi to the list of official languages of India by amending the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution. With this amendment, the total number of languages recognized in the Eighth Schedule increased from 14 to 15.
The Eighth Schedule enumerates the languages that the Government of India is obligated to promote and develop, and whose speakers are entitled to various constitutional protections.
The Amendment was introduced by Yashwantrao Balwantrao Chavan, then Minister of Home Affairs, passed by Parliament in April 1967, and came into effect on 10 April 1967, following Presidential assent by Dr. Zakir Husain.

Background

When the Constitution of India came into force in 1950, the Eighth Schedule contained 14 languages:

1. Assamese
2. Bengali
3. Gujarati
4. Hindi
5. Kannada
6. Kashmiri
7. Malayalam
8. Marathi
9. Oriya (now Odia)
10. Punjabi
11. Sanskrit
12. Tamil
13. Telugu
14. Urdu

However, Sindhi, though a major Indian language historically spoken in the Sindh region (now in Pakistan), was not included, because after Partition in 1947, Sindh became part of Pakistan, and there was no longer a Sindhi-majority territory within India.
Following Partition, a large number of Sindhi-speaking refugees migrated to India and settled in various States such as Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan. Despite being a linguistic community without a defined geographic region, the Sindhis continued to maintain their language and culture.
Persistent demands arose from the Sindhi-speaking community and their representatives for inclusion of Sindhi in the Eighth Schedule, so that it would receive constitutional recognition and state support for its development.
The Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities also recommended its inclusion, acknowledging the Sindhi community’s unique historical and cultural circumstances.
In November 1966, the Government of India officially announced its decision to include Sindhi in the Eighth Schedule, leading to the introduction of the Twenty-first Amendment Bill in early 1967.

Objective of the Amendment

The Statement of Objects and Reasons appended to the Bill explained the rationale:

“There have been persistent demands from the Sindhi-speaking people for the inclusion of the Sindhi language in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution. Although at present Sindhi is not a regional language in a well-defined area, it used to be the language of a province of the undivided India and, but for partition, would have continued to be so. The Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities has also recommended the inclusion of Sindhi in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution. On 4 November 1966, it was announced that Government had decided to include the Sindhi language in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution. The Bill seeks to give effect to this decision.”

Thus, the key objectives were:

• To recognize the Sindhi language constitutionally, despite the absence of a territorial base.
• To promote the cultural and linguistic identity of the Sindhi-speaking population in India.
• To extend government responsibility under Article 351 and related provisions for the development of Sindhi.

Provisions of the Amendment

The Twenty-first Amendment made a single but significant change to the Constitution—amending the Eighth Schedule by inserting “Sindhi” as an additional language.
The amended portion read as follows:

2. Amendment of Eighth Schedule.In the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution—(a) entries 12 to 14 shall be renumbered as entries 13 to 15 respectively; and(b) before entry “13” as so renumbered, the entry “12. Sindhi.” shall be inserted.

As a result, Sindhi was formally added as the 12th entry, with subsequent entries renumbered.

Legislative History

• Introduced: 20 March 1967
  • By Yashwantrao Chavan, Minister of Home Affairs, in the Rajya Sabha.
  • Bill No. 1 of 1967, titled The Constitution (Twenty-first Amendment) Bill, 1967.
• Debated and Passed:
  • Rajya Sabha: 4 April 1967 (passed without amendment).
  • Lok Sabha: 7 April 1967 (passed in original form).
• Presidential Assent: 10 April 1967 (by Dr. Zakir Husain).
• Came into Force: 10 April 1967 (same day, as notified in The Gazette of India).

Constitutional Significance

The Twenty-first Amendment marked an important development in the recognition of India’s linguistic diversity and the inclusive character of its Constitution. Its significance can be summarized as follows:

1. Cultural Recognition Without Territory
   • It established the principle that a language could be included in the Eighth Schedule even without a defined geographic region, as long as it represented a substantial and distinct linguistic community within India.
2. Protection and Promotion of Minority Languages
   • The inclusion obligated the Union Government to promote the development of Sindhi under Article 351 and other relevant provisions, thereby ensuring linguistic preservation and cultural vitality.
3. Symbolic and Emotional Importance
   • For the Sindhi-speaking community, who were displaced from their homeland after Partition, the constitutional recognition of their language served as an affirmation of their identity and belonging within the Indian Union.
4. Expansion of the Eighth Schedule
   • Raised the number of scheduled languages from 14 to 15, beginning a trend of further inclusions through subsequent amendments (71st and 92nd Amendments).

Later Developments

Following the 21st Amendment, the Eighth Schedule continued to expand to reflect India’s linguistic richness:

Broader Impact

• The inclusion of Sindhi demonstrated India’s accommodative approach to cultural pluralism.
• It underscored that linguistic identity is not strictly territorial but can also be diasporic.
• It encouraged future efforts by other linguistic groups seeking recognition and representation in the national framework.