Authoritative Hindi text of the Constitution
Also called: Article 394A · Topic: Making of the Constitution: Constituent Assembly, Sources and Salient Features · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Article 394A was added to the Constitution by the 58th Amendment in 1987. It makes the President responsible for publishing an authoritative Hindi translation of the Constitution and of its amendments. "Authoritative" means it is the official, accepted Hindi version, not just any private translation. This matters because the Constitution was adopted in English and Hindi is the official language of the Union.
Example
After the 58th Amendment (1987), the President published the official Hindi text of the Constitution. Hindi translations of later amendments are also published under Art. 394A.
Don't confuse with
- Art. 394: says which articles came into force on 26 November 1949. It has nothing to do with the Hindi text.
- Original manuscript: the hand-written English text calligraphed by Prem Behari Narain Raizada in 1949–50. It is not the Hindi translation under Art. 394A.
Related concepts
- Commencement of the Constitution
- Provisions in force from 26 November 1949
- Constitution Day
- Original manuscript of the Constitution