Other than religious minorities, the Constitution of India also recognises linguistic minorities under Article-29 and 30 of the Constitution. Therefore, to preserve and promote the interests of the linguistic minorities, a Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities is appointed under article-350B of the Constitution.

Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities Background

Originally the Constitution did not provide any provision with respect to the officer for linguistic minorities.

The State Reorganisation Commission recommended appointing a Special Officer for linguistic minorities in its report. Accordingly, the 7th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1956 added a new article -350B in the Constitution under part XVII of the Constitution. The officer is designated as Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities in India (CLM). The office of CLM came into existence in July 1957. It falls under the Ministry of Minority Affairs.

Appointment of the Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities

According to Article-350B, the Special Officer for linguistic minorities is appointed by the President of India.

The Constitution does not specify the qualifications, tenure, salaries, service conditions, procedure for removal etc. of the CLM.

Functions and Role of Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities

The Commissioner ensures that equal opportunities are provided to linguistic minorities for their development. Other than this, he/she performs following functions:

• Investigation: The Commissioner for linguistic minorities investigates matters related to linguistic minorities. He/she takes up the matters of non-implementation of Constitutional and nationally agreed schemes of safeguards provided to linguistic minorities.
• Monitoring: The Commissioner monitors the implementation of the safeguards through questionnaires, visits, conferences, seminars etc. to promote interests of the linguistic minorities.

The Commissioner launched a 10 points programme to provide impetus to governmental efforts towards preservation of the language and culture of the linguistic minorities.

• Awareness among minorities: The role of the Commissioner is also envisaged as to spread awareness among linguistic minorities regarding provisions available for their safeguard in the Constitution. 
• Report of the Commissioner: As per Article-350B, the CLM submits a report to the President of India on the status of implementation of the Constitutional and nationally agreed safeguards for linguistic minorities.

The Commissioner for linguistic minorities serves as a bridge between the linguistic minorities and the government and provides a platform to the voices of the minorities. The officer plays a crucial role in ensuring that the linguistic minorities are able to preserve their language and culture and also participate in social, economic and political development of the country.