Article 345

State Legislative Power to Adopt Regional Official Languages

Official heading: “Official language or languages of a State”

Check this article against the official editionAwaiting human legal review

Source edition: The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)
Source locator: Part XVII, Article 345, printed page 205
Last human source-link check: Not yet checked
Last human legal review: Not yet reviewed

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1. In One Sentence

Empowers State Legislatures to adopt any one or more regional languages or Hindi as the official language of the State, while continuing English until the legislature otherwise provides.

2. What It Means in Everyday Language

Article 345 recognizes linguistic federalism by authorizing each State Legislature to adopt any one or more languages in use in the State, or Hindi, as its official language.

States are not compelled to use Hindi; they may adopt their regional mother tongues (such as Tamil in Tamil Nadu, Telugu in Andhra Pradesh, Bengali in West Bengal, or Kannada in Karnataka).

The proviso ensures continuity: until the State Legislature enacts a language statute, the English language continues to be used for all official state purposes for which it was used prior to 1950.

3. Practical Illustrative Example

Everyday Scenario:

The Maharashtra State Legislature enacts an Official Languages Act declaring Marathi as the sole official language for state administrative business.

Core takeaway: Under Article 345, State Legislatures possess full constitutional autonomy to choose their own official administrative languages.

Illustrative Notice: The choice of state official language applies to internal state administration; inter-state and Union-state communications are governed separately by Article 346.

4. Important Limits, Qualifications & Exceptions

Article 345 safeguards state linguistic self-determination within the Indian federation.

State autonomy: State Legislatures may choose one or multiple local languages or Hindi.
No central imposition: The Union Government cannot force a State to adopt Hindi for its internal state administration.
English continuity: Preserves the validity of English language administration until state legislation provides otherwise.

5. Operative Constitutional Text

Subject to the provisions of articles 346 and 347, the Legislature of a State may by law adopt any one or more of the languages in use in the State or Hindi as the language or languages to be used for all or any of the official purposes of that State: Provided that, until the Legislature of the State otherwise provides by law, the English language shall continue to be used for those official purposes within the State for which it was being used immediately before the commencement of this Constitution.

Transcription for reference; compare with the linked official editionNot yet verified by a human legal reviewer

6. Sources & Historical Assembly Deliberations

Assembly quotations are withheld until wording, dates, and attribution have been checked against the primary record.

Sources & Citation Metadata

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Constitutional TextThe Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)Cited PDF page
Government of India (Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice) • Part XVII, Article 345, printed page 205 • Human source-link check pending
Primary PDF accessed and transcribed with AI assistance on 14 October 2026. Formatting and amendment annotation markers are omitted; operative wording is retained. This is not human legal review. Later amendments and commencement notifications have not been comprehensively checked.

Human legal review is pending; compare the text with the cited editionNon-partisan educational resource