Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities
Also called: Article 350B, Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities · Topic: Constitutional Bodies: UPSC, CAG, Finance Commission and Others · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities is an officer appointed by the President under Article 350B. The 7th Amendment (1956) added this article on the advice of the States Reorganisation Commission. A linguistic minority is a group whose mother tongue differs from the main language of their state. The officer checks whether the protections promised to these groups are working, including those in Arts. 29-30, 347, 350 and 350A. The officer is also called the Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities and works under the Ministry of Minority Affairs.
Example
Article 350A asks states to provide teaching in the mother tongue at the primary stage. Suppose a state does not do this for a minority-language group. The Commissioner can look into it and report to the President. The President lays the report before Parliament and sends it to the states. The officer cannot force the state to act, and reports are often delayed.
Don't confuse with
- National Commission for Minorities: a statutory body, made by an ordinary Act and not by the Constitution. It deals mainly with religious minorities. The Article 350B officer is a constitutional post and deals only with language minorities.