AHMEDABAD: Does India have a national language? No, says the Gujarat High Court. The court also observed that in India, a majority of people have accepted Hindi as a national language and many speak Hindi and write in Devanagari script, but it's not officially the national language.

With this observation, a bench headed by Chief Justice S J Mukhopadhaya refused to issue directions that packaged commodities must contain details about goods in Hindi.

Petitioner Suresh Kachhadia had, in 2009, filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Gujarat HC seeking mandamus to the Centre as well as the state government to make it mandatory for manufacturers of goods to print in Hindi, all details of goods like price, ingredients and the date of manufacture. His contention was that the consumers are entitled to know what they are consuming.

It was argued that because Hindi is the national language and is understood by a large number of people in the country, directions should be given to publish all such details in Hindi. His counsel placed reliance on the deliberations in the Constituent Assembly in his arguments. Even the Centre's counsel referred to the Standard of Weights and Measures (Packaged Commodities) Rules and told the court that such declaration on packets should be either in English or in Hindi in Devanagari script.

But the court asked whether there was any notification saying Hindi is India's national language, for it's an ``official language'' of this country. No notification ever issued by the government could be produced before the court in this regard. This is because the Constitution has given Hindi the status of the official language and not the national language.

The court concluded that the rules have specific provisions for manufacturers that particulars of declaration should be in Hindi in Devanagari script or in English, and it's their prerogative to use English. Therefore, no mandamus can be issued on manufacturers or governments for giving details or particulars of package in Hindi.

Why should Hindi be our national language?