Media reports on the eleventh report of the Committee of Parliament on Official Languages that allegedly suggested prioritizing native or regional languages as a medium of instruction in IITs, IIMs and other central institutions has triggered a war of words. But how do the numbers stack up in terms of the Distribution of IIT, IIM & NIT Seats in Regions A, B & C in Terms of ‘Official Language Rules, 1976’. There was criticism following media reports about the eleventh report of the Committee of Parliament on Official Languages, headed by Home Minister, which allegedly suggested prioritizing native or regional languages over English across the nation. Critics called it ‘Linguistic Imperialism,’ accusing the government of engaging in ‘Language wars.’ While the debates over language may not be entirely new, the atmosphere and context under which the current debates are taking place are completely distinct. Things have become much polarized, for people exhibiting any resistance towards imposition are often termed as ‘linguistically intolerant’. This article does not intend to get into the debate on the linguistic imposition but would rather examine the potential practical implications of such steps if any. It must be noted that the report of the committee in question is not available in the public domain. The Languages recognized by the Constitution For starters, the Eighth Schedule of Indian Constitution lists out twenty-two languages, including Hindi. There are demands for including 38 more languages to this list. The Pahwa Committee in 1996, and the Sita Kant Mohapatra Committee in 2003, failed to derive any set criteria for the inclusion of languages to the scheduled list. Inclusion of any language into this schedule is considered a guarantee of state patronage, and efforts shall be made to preserve the identity of the language. Any debate on language imposition must not forget the context in which it operates, and the history, and socio-economic and political conditions surrounding it. The imposition of language in India dates to the independence days, and the creation of linguistically majority states. However, as mentioned above, tracing history, and elaborating it here is not appropriate, as much had been written earlier including reports official commissions. Hindi and English in India The 2011 Language Atlas of census estimates that Hindi speakers comprise 43.63% of the total country’s population. However, four major states, Uttar Pradesh (35.58%), Bihar (15.27%), Madhya Pradesh (12.17%), and Rajasthan (11.60%) accounted for three-fourths of the total Hindi speakers of the country. As per 2011 census, the number of English speakers account for 0.02% of country’s total population, and Maharashtra (41.07%), Tamil Nadu (9.43%), Karnataka (8.94%), West Bengal (5.76%), Rajasthan (5.08%), Uttar Pradesh (5.04%), and Andhra Pradesh (5.03%) account for more than 80% of the total English speakers in India. The number of bilinguals (having English as first subsidiary language) and trilinguals (English as second subsidiary language) is highest among Hindi speakers, followed by Marathi, Telugu, Tamil, and Bengali speakers. Similarly, the total number of bilinguals and trilinguals with Hindi as their first and second subsidiary language comes to around 31.5 Crore, which is approximately one-fourth of the total population. It is notable that Hindi is one of the major languages in twenty-six out of thirty-six States and Union Territories. Are there rules governing communication between Union & State Governments? The Official Language (Use for Official Purpose of the Union) Rules, 1976 lay down the process to be followed for central government to communicate with other governments or organizations. In view of the diversity of languages in India, and the various official languages used by the states, a need was identified to differentiate the nature of communication. Accordingly, all the states have been categorised into 3 different regions. Few important guidelines for communication of central government with the states in these three regions is as follows. With Region A: All the official communication between the Central departments and the State departments of the respective states needs to be in Hindi. In case there is any official communication made in English, it ought to be accompanied by a translation in Hindi. With Region B: The communication between the Centre and any department of the state would be in Hindi. If there is any communication in English, a translation in Hindi needs to be accompanied. In case, the communication needs to be sent in a local language, there is also a provision to send a translation in that local language along with the communication in Hindi or English.