HistoryModern India: Framing the Constitution

A member told the Constituent Assembly that some called the new statu…

A member told the Constituent Assembly that some called the new status of Hindi a concession to the Hindi language. He disagreed. How did he describe it?

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 3

The correct answer is Option (3) → A consummation of a historic process

Option (1) A compromise formula to resolve a deadlock — Incorrect. "Compromise formula" describes the Language Committee's plan, which tried to settle the deadlock. The member rejected any idea of a concession.

Option (2) A gradual transition from English to Hindi — Incorrect. A gradual change from English was part of the formula, but the member did not describe the outcome this way.

Option (3) A consummation of a historic process — Correct. He said Hindi's new status was no concession but a consummation of a historic process, the natural end of a long growth.

Option (4) A mutual adjustment between language groups — Incorrect. Mutual adjustment was the appeal of T. A. Ramalingam Chettiar from Madras for a united nation.

NCERT (2026-27): “5.1 A plea for Hindi …
Almost three years later, on 13 September 1949, Dhulekar’s speech on the language of the nation once again sparked off a huge storm. By now the Language Committee of the Constituent Assembly had produced its report and had thought of a compromise formula to resolve the deadlock between those who advocated Hindi as the national language and those who opposed it. It had decided, but not yet formally declared, that Hindi in the Devanagari script would be the official language, but the transition to Hindi would be gradual. …”

“Sir, nobody can be more happy than myself that Hindi has become the official language of the country … Some say that it is a concession to Hindi language. I say “no”. It is a consummation of a historic process.”