ACHIEVEMENTS
Legal glossary
The importance of a standard legal terminology for use in all Indian languages in
the field of law is now too well known to be emphasised. The work of developing and
publishing ‘Legal Glossary’ is a continuous process. Since the inception of
Official languages (Legislative) Commission in 1961, five editions of Legal Glossary have
been brought out and every successive edition was larger in size. While the first edition
(1970) contained 10,000 entries, the fifth edition (1992) of Legal Glossary contained
61,000 entries spread over in seven parts. The Legal Glossary brought out by the Official
Languages Wing has received wide acclaim by discerning men of law and letters. In 1986, a
multilingual glossary of the Constitution of India has also been published. It contains
equivalents of technical and legal terms occurring in the Constitution of India in 13
languages. The work for bringing out another enlarged edition is in progress.
Constitution of India
The Constitution of India is the fundamental law of the country and every body
should know it. In view of this, the Constitution has been translated and published in
most of the languages included in the Eighth Schedule besides its authoritative text in
Hindi. These languages are Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Punjabi,
Marathi, Sanskrit, Oriya, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Sindhi and Nepali. The Official Languages
Wing has also published the diglot edition (Hindi-English) of the Constitution of India.
First edition was published in the year 1988 and its revised editions are also being
published as and when required. A pocket size diglot edition (Hindi-English) of the
Constitution has also been published this year so that any person can refer to it any time
anywhere.
Authoritative Texts and Diglot Editions of Central Acts
Preparation and publication of authoritative Hindi texts of central Acts is one of the most important
functions of this organisation. It is worth noting that most of these Acts have been
authorised to be published in the Official Gazette under Clause (a) of sub-section (1) of
section 5 of the Official Languages Act, 1963. This way most of the Acts included in the
India Code from 1836 to 1998 have been authenticated and published in Hindi. Central Acts,
for which there is a likelihood of public demand are published by the Official Languages
Wing in diglot form also. So far, 326 Acts have been brought out in diglot form out of
which 287 have been reprinted.
Existing Rules
The Official Languages Act, 1963 contains a provision for publication of
authoritative texts of all rules, regulations, etc. which were in force on the date of
commencement of that Act, in Hindi. Translation of such existing subordinate legislation
has been taken up in a phased manner. So far about eight hundred rules have been published
in the Official Gazette as authoritative texts .
Various Departments such as Income-Tax Department, Railway Board, Central Board of Direct Taxes, Central Board of Excise and Customs, Department of Food, Department of Rural Development etc. have published their Manuals in bilingual form by making use of the authoritative Hindi texts supplied by the Official Languages Wing.
Under sub-section (2) of section 5 of the Official Languages Act, 1963, the authoritative texts, in the English language of all Bills, to be introduced or amendments thereto to be moved in either House of Parliament must be accompanied by a translation of the same in Hindi. The provision came into force w.e.f. 1st October 1976. Since that date, all Bills in English are accompanied by Hindi translation before introduction in either House of Parliament.
General Statutory Rules and Orders (G.S.R.O’s)
Under clause (i) of sub-section (3) of section 3 of the Official Languages Act, all
resolutions, general orders, rules, notifications, etc. issued or made by the Central
Government must be both in Hindi and English. The Official Languages Wing of the
Legislative Department prepares Hindi translation of such statutory rules and orders, etc.
in Hindi for simultaneous publication in the Gazette.
Legal Documents
The Official Languages Wing prepares
for the various departments of the Government Hindi translation of standard forms of
leases, contracts, etc. With a view to achieving uniformity in the translation of standard
legal documents in use by the Central Government offices, the Official Languages Wing has
prepared and published eight volumes of model forms of licences, tenders, agreements,
etc., in diglot form.
Publication of Central Acts in Regional Languages
Under section 2 of the Authoritative Texts (Central Laws) Act, 1973, translations
in various regional languages of the Central Acts are to be authenticated by the
President, and published in the Gazette of India. So far, 751 Acts have been authorised to
be published in the Official Gazette under section 2 of the said Act in various regional
languages. This work has been done in co-operation with the State Governments.
Grants-in-aid to Voluntary Organisations
Since 1985, the Official Languages Wing is implementing a scheme to give financial
aid to those voluntary organisations, which undertake publication of law books or journals
in Hindi and other languages specified in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of
India. So far, seventy-eight voluntary organisations have been given financial assistance
for such projects.
Joint
Secretary & Legislative Counsel,
Official Languages Wing,
Legislative Department,
‘A’ Wing, 7th Floor, Shastri Bhawan,
Dr. Rajindra Prasad Road,
New Delhi – 110115.
Phone : 23386229
