Two or Three: CBSE Three-Language Policy and English

Source: Original editorial ↗ The Hindu

The Lift Line

“English is a de facto Indian language. It has been in use in India for at least 300 years and is the leading language of education, courts, and professions widely practised by Indians.”

Why This Editorial Matters for Your Exam

The Hindu’s editorial of 5 October 2026 responds to the Supreme Court’s latest order in the challenge to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) three-language rule. On 28 September 2026 the Court directed that students now in Class 6 get the same relief already given to Classes 7, 8 and 9: their third language (R3) will be assessed by the school in Class 10, not in a Board examination (covered in the 29 September roundup). The editorial goes further and questions the policy itself. Language policy is a recurring Mains theme that touches federalism, the Official Language provisions and the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

GS Paper 2: Issues relating to development and management of the social sector and services relating to education; federal structure. GS Paper 1 (link): Salient features of Indian society, diversity.

Background and Context

The formula and its history.

Milestone	What it did
Kothari Commission (1964-66)	Recommended a modified three-language formula
National Policy on Education, 1968	Adopted it: Hindi, English and a modern Indian language (preferably a southern one) in Hindi-speaking States; the regional language, Hindi and English elsewhere
NEP 2020	Retains three languages with “greater flexibility”; at least two of the three native to India; no language imposed on any State
NCF for School Education, 2023	Frames languages as R1, R2, R3, at least two Indian
CBSE scheme (2026)	Three languages, at least two Indian; English, French, German, Spanish and Arabic count as non-native languages

The constitutional frame.

Provision	Content
Article 343	Hindi in Devanagari script is the official language of the Union; English was to continue for 15 years
Official Languages Act, 1963	Continues the use of English for official purposes of the Union
Article 348	Proceedings of the Supreme Court and High Courts in English, unless Parliament provides otherwise
Article 350A	States to provide instruction in the mother tongue at the primary stage for linguistic minorities
Article 351	Directive to promote the spread of Hindi
Eighth Schedule	22 languages; English is not among them

Where the case stands. The Court earlier asked whether the policy could start from 2027 instead of 2026, pointed out that a student who had not studied a second Indian language until Class 8 would find a new language in Class 9 disruptive, and mooted careful thought on whether English should be treated as indigenous. CBSE, the editorial says, has “stubbornly resisted compromise”. For a related view, see The Indian Express editorial on a fourth language and the mother tongue.

The Analysis

1. The Court is sanding the rough edges. Whatever its final judgment, The Hindu reads the Court’s interventions as an effort to reduce the load on students until schools are ready.

2. English is already Indian in function. It is the leading language of education, courts and the professions and the preferred link language for many, the editorial says. Its edge for Indians in global industries such as IT is an asset the government’s own jobs strategy relies on.

3. NEP 2020 itself values foreign languages. The policy favours two Indian languages but also mentions foreign languages for the global mobility of Indians seeking work.

4. The practical result is narrowing, not widening. Because English is the language of instruction for other subjects, it becomes the only “foreign” language students take. Many schools keep Hindi as the first language and Sanskrit as the second Indian language up to Class 10; southern schools keep Tamil or Kannada. Spanish, French and other foreign languages drop out.

5. The federal argument is weaker than it looks. The Court has seen merit in learning more Indian languages to strengthen the federal structure. The editorial doubts that this purpose will be served, and says a strenuous additional language “may cater to the atavistic impulses of some”.

6. The remedy. A two-language policy, English and the mother tongue, with a third language of the student’s choice tested through internal assessment and not a Board examination.

Data and Institutions Vault

Prelims-grade facts:

Policy lineage:

• Three-language formula: Kothari Commission (1964-66), adopted in NPE 1968, retained in NEP 2020 (at least two Indian languages).
• NCF-SE 2023: languages labelled R1, R2, R3.

Constitution:

• Article 343: official language of the Union; Official Languages Act, 1963 continues English.
• Article 348: English in the Supreme Court and High Courts.
• Article 350A: mother-tongue instruction at the primary stage; Article 351: spread of Hindi.
• Eighth Schedule: 22 languages; English is not listed.

The case:

• Supreme Court order of 28 September 2026: current Class 6 gets the internal-assessment relief given to Classes 7 to 9.
• Tamil Nadu follows a two-language policy (Tamil and English).

⚠️ Watch the trap: English is an official language of the Union under the Official Languages Act, 1963 and the language of the higher judiciary under Article 348, but it is not in the Eighth Schedule. “Scheduled language” and “official language” are different categories.

The Debate

For the editorial’s view. A rule that removes French and Spanish, defaults to Sanskrit and adds Board-exam stakes to a language learnt late does not obviously build either competence or integration. English and the mother tongue cover opportunity and identity.

The other side. Multilingualism has cognitive benefits; an Indian third language can build cross-regional understanding; NEP 2020 leaves choice to States and learners and rules out imposition; and calling English “Indian” would let it crowd out Indian languages that the formula exists to protect.

The balanced verdict. Keep the aim, change the method: phase in by school readiness, keep a genuine choice of third language, assess it without Board stakes, and decide the status of English through explicit policy.

How to Think About This

Separate goal from instrument. Multilingual competence is the goal; a compulsory, examined third language is one instrument. In any language-policy answer, test the instrument on three counts: does it widen choice, is capacity in place, and who bears the cost of transition? That keeps the answer analytical rather than ideological.

Diagram-in-Words

Takeaway Box

• Thesis: English and the mother tongue are enough; a third language should be optional and internally assessed.
• Court: relief extended to current Class 6 on 28 September 2026.
• History: Kothari Commission, NPE 1968, NEP 2020 (two of three languages Indian).
• Constitution: Articles 343, 348, 350A, 351; Eighth Schedule 22 languages, English not among them.

Sources: The Hindu, The Hindu, Class 6 order, Ministry of Education, NEP 2020, Constitution of India

Source: Two or Three: CBSE Three-Language Policy and English — Ujiyari.com | Free UPSC & State PCS Editorial Analysis

Key Arguments at a Glance

The Hindu argues that the CBSE’s three-language rule, as now applied, burdens students, squeezes out foreign languages and serves little practical purpose; a two-language policy of English and the mother tongue, with a third language of choice assessed internally, would serve India best.

✓ Supporting

• The Supreme Court has repeatedly softened the rule: current Class 6 students now get the same relief as Classes 7 to 9, whose Class 10 third-language assessment will be internal and not a Board examination, and the Court had asked whether the policy could begin in 2027 rather than 2026.
• English, in use in India for at least 300 years by the paper’s reckoning, is the leading language of education, courts and the professions and a link language; it gives Indians an edge in global industries such as IT.
• The National Education Policy 2020, while favouring two Indian languages, itself notes the value of foreign languages for global mobility.
• In practice, The Hindu’s reporting found, English becomes the only “foreign” language, many schools keep Sanskrit as the second Indian language after Hindi, and Spanish, French and other foreign languages are pushed out.

⚠ Counter

The case for the formula, not presented in the editorial: multilingual learning has cognitive and cultural value; a second Indian language builds cross-regional understanding, which the Court itself has seen as strengthening federalism; NEP 2020 lets States and students choose the languages and says none will be imposed; and English, though widely used, is not one of the 22 languages of the Eighth Schedule.

→ Way Forward

The editorial wants two languages, English and the mother tongue, with a third tested only by internal assessment. Ujiyari’s synthesis: phase the rule in only where teachers and materials exist, keep real choice of the third language including foreign languages, assess it without Board-exam stakes, and decide English’s classification openly rather than by default.