Introduction
India’s linguistic diversity, over 19,500 mother tongues spoken across the nation, presents both cultural richness and pedagogical challenges in education delivery. The Supreme Court’s judgment in Padam Mehta v. State of Rajasthan fundamentally reorients how constitutional law understands linguistic rights in education, holding that the right to receive education in one’s mother tongue flows from Article 19(1)(a)’s guarantee of freedom of speech and expression.
Reading Mother Tongue Rights into Article 19(1)(a)
The Court’s reasoning begins with an expansive interpretation of Article 19(1)(a), which guarantees freedom of speech and expression. Traditional jurisprudence understood this as protecting the right to speak, write, and disseminate information. The judgment extends this to include the right to receive information in a form that is meaningful and comprehensible. Education imparted in an unfamiliar language impedes understanding, risks impairing foundational
