Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution

Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution deals with the 22 official languages of India. The languages are Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Bodo, Santhali, Maithili and Dogri. These languages were included in the schedule to preserve linguistic diversity and grant special status and protection under the Constitution. The provision can be amended by the parliament to adapt to evolving linguistic considerations. The schedule strengthens the constitutional commitment to unity in diversity.

8th Schedule of Indian Constitution

List of Language in the Eighth Schedule

The Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India lists the 22 official languages of India. These languages are:

1. Assamese

• Assamese is an Indo-Aryan language mostly spoken in the northeastern state of Assam.
• It is the official language of Assam.
• It is spoken by more than 23 million people.

2. Bengali

• Bengali is an Indo-Aryan language and is also known as ‘Bangla’.
• The language is spoken by almost 300 million people.
• It is the second most spoken language in India.
• It is the official and national language of Bangladesh.

3. Gujarati

• Gujarati is an Indo-Aryan language and is the official language in Gujarat, as well in the Union Territories of Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.
• The language is spoken by around 55.5 million people.

4. Hindi

• Hindi is an Indo-Aryan language and is spoken across northern, central, eastern and western India.
• It is written in the Devanagari script
• It is the official languages of the Government of India.
• It is spoken by around 322 million people.

5. Kannada

• Kannada is a Dravidian language and is spoken mostly in Karnataka.
• It is the official anguage of Karnataka.
• It is spoken by approximately 43 million people.

6. Kashmiri

• It became an official language of the UT of Jammu & Kashmir in 2020.
• Kashmiri is an Indo-Aryan language and is mostly spoken by the people of the region.
• It is written in the Perso-Arabic script.
• It is spoken by approximately 7 million people.

7. Konkani

• It is mostly spoken in the Konkan region, which includes Goa and coastal areas of Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Kerala.
• It is spoken by almost 2.3 million people.
• It is written in multiple scripts, including Roman, Devanagari, and Kannada.

8. Malayalam

• Malayalam is a Dravidian language and the language is spoken in Kerala, Lakshadweep, Puducherry.
• It is spoken by around 34 million people.
• It is official languauge of Kerala.

9. Manipuri

• Manipuri, also known as Meitei, or Meetei, is a Sino-Tibetan language.
• The language is spoken in the northeastern state of Manipur.
• It is spoken by almost 1.8 million people and is currently classified as a “vulnerable language” by UNESCO.

10. Marathi

• Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language and is spoken in the state of Maharashtra.
• It has 83 million speakers, making it the third largest spoken language after Hindi and Bengali.
• It is written in the Devanagari script.

11. Nepali

• Nepali, an Indo-Aryan language and is official language of Nepal.
• It is spoken in the state of Sikkim and Darjeeling.
• It is written in the Devanagari script.

12. Oriya

• Odia, also known as Oriya, is an Indo-Aryan language and It is spoken in Odisha, in parts of West Bengal, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh by about 35 million people worldwide.
• It is written in the Odia script, which is derived from the Brahmi script.

13. Punjabi

• Punjabi, an Indo-Aryan language and is spoken by people of Punjab in both India and Pakistan.
• Punjabi is the third most-spoken native language in the Indian subcontinent.
• It is written in the Gurmukhi script.

14. Sanskrit

• Sanskrit, a classical Indo-Aryan language and is written in the Devanagari script.
• This ancient language served as the sacred language of Hinduism and Hindu philosophy.

15. Sindhi

• Sindhi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Sindhi people in the ancient Sindh area on the western Indian subcontinent.
• It uses the Arabic script.
• It is spoken by almost 1.68 million people.

16. Tamil

• Tamil is a Classical Dravidian language spoken by the Tamil people of South Asia as their first language.
• It is the official language of Tamil Nadu.
• Tamil is spoken by almost 75 million speakers and is among the longest-surviving classical languages in the world.

17. Telugu

• Telugu is a Dravidian language spoken mostly by Telugu people in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
• It is the official language of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
• It is spoken by approximately 82 million people.

18. Urdu

• Urdu, an Indo-Aryan language and uses the Perso-Arabic script.
• Spoken throughout South Asia, Urdu has approximately 230 million speakers.

19. Bodo

• Bodo (also known as Boro) is a Sino-Tibetan language.
• It is spoken by the Boro people of Northeast India, Nepal, and Bengal.
• It is spoken by approximately 1.4 million people.

20. Santhali

• Santhali is an Austroasiatic language spoken by the Santhal people.
• Mainly spoken in Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Mizoram, Odisha, Tripura, and West Bengal.
• It has its own script,A known as Ol Chiki.
• It is spoken by approximately 2.6 million people.

21. Maithili

• Maithili is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in Nepal and portions of India as it is spoken in Bihar and northeastern Jharkhand in India.
• It uses the Mithilakshar script for writing.
• It is spoken by33.9 million people.

22. Dogri

• Spoken mostly in Jammu of Jammu and Kashmir, western Himachal Pradesh, and the northern Punjab region.
• It uses the Devanagari script for writing.
• It is spoken by approximately 2.6 million people.

Chronology of Addition of Languages to the Eighth Schedule

The chronology of addition of different languages to the eighth schedule is:

• 1950: Initially 14 languages were included in the Constitution. Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, and Nepali.
• 1967: Sindhi was added by 21st Constitutional Amendment Act.
• 1992: Konkani, Manipuri (Meitei) and Nepali were added by 71st Constitutional Amendment Act.
• 2003: Bodo, Dogri, Maithili and Santali were added by 92nd Constitutional Amendment Act.
• 2011: The spelling of Oriya was replaced by Odia by 96th Constitutional Amendment Act.

Constitutional Provision Related to the Eighth Schedule

The Constitutional provisions related to the Eighth Schedule are:

• Part XVII of the Indian Constitution deals with the official languages in Articles 343 to 351.
• The Constitutional provisions related to the Eighth Schedule are present in Articles 344(1) and 351 of the Constitution.

Article 344(1): The provision provides for the constitution of a Commission by the President on the expiration of five years from the commencement of the Constitution and thereafter at the expiration of ten years from such commencement, which shall consist of a Chairman and such other members representing the different languages specified in the Eighth Schedule to make recommendations to the President for the progressive use of Hindi for official purposes of the Union.

Article 351: The Constitution provides that it shall be the duty of the Union to promote the spread of the Hindi language to develop it so that it may serve as a medium of expression for all the elements of the composite culture of India and to secure its enrichment by assimilating without interfering with its genius, the forms, style and expressions used in Hindustani and in the other languages of India specified in the Eighth Schedule, and by drawing, wherever necessary or desirable, for its vocabulary, primarily, on Sanskrit and secondarily on other languages.

• Section 3 of the Official Language Act, 1963 deals with the continuance of the English language for official purposes of the Union and Parliament. 

Criteria to Include Language Under Eighth Schedule

There is no specific criteria mentioned in the constitution for the inclusion of the language in the Eighth schedule. Pahwa (1996) and Sitakant Mohapatra (2003) committes were formed to decide the criteria for the inclusion of the language but yielded no results. It is difficult to decide the criteria as the evolution of dialects and languages is dynamic and is influenced by socio-eco-political developments of the time. The general criteria followed for the inclusion of language are as follows:

• Have well established history.
• Language is spoken by large number of people.
• Have a rich cultural and literary heritage.
• Have a distinct geographical distribution.
• The addition or removal of languages from the Eighth Schedule requires the approval of both houses of Parliament by a special majority.

Classical Languages

At present (2023) 6 languages enjoy the ‘Classical’ status in India. These are:

•  Tamil (declared in 2004), Sanskrit (2005), Kannada (2008), Telugu (2008), Malayalam (2013), and Odia (2014).
• All the Classical Languages are listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
• The guidelines for declaring a language as ‘Classical’ by Ministry of Culture are:

1. High antiquity of its early texts/recorded history over a period of 1500-2000 years.
2. A body of ancient literature/texts, which is considered a valuable heritage by generations of speakers.
3. The literary tradition is original and not borrowed from another speech community.
4. The classical language and literature being distinct from modern, there may also be a discontinuity between the classical language and its later forms or its offshoots.

After a language is recognised as a Classical language, the Human Resource and Development Ministry provides some benefits for the promotion of the language. These benefits can be:

• Academic Support: Centre of Excellence for studies and research in Classical Languages is established.
• International Recognition: Two major annual international awards for scholars of eminence in classical Indian languages.
• Inclusion in Educational Curriculum
• Gets Government Grants and Funding
• Promote Study and Research

Benefits of Inclusion of Language under the Eighth Schedule

Benefits of inclusion under the Eighth Schedule are as follows:

• The inclusion of the language in the schedule recognizes the language as the official language of India and is used for official communication at the central government level.
• These languages are provided with certain constitutional safeguards and ensure the development, enrichment, and protection of these languages.
• Candidated appearing for public service exam are entitled to use any of these scheduled languages as a medium to answer the paper.
• It become compulsory for the government to take measures for the development and enrichment of the language.
• The languages included in the Eighth schedule are recognised by the National Sahitya Academy.

Steps that Should be Taken to Protect the Linguistic Diversity of India 

Steps that should be taken to protect the Linguistic Diversity of India includes:

• Document and preserve endangered languages through national database, documentation projects and digital archives.
• Promote multilingual education and raise awareness at the school level by teaching in mother language along with other languages.
• To protect the linguistic diversity official communication can be done in regional language. 
• Promote Indigenous Languages.
• Organize festivals, cultural events, and language days to celebrate linguistic diversity.
• Government can provide financial and institutional support for the promotion of the language.
• Promote study and research in the regional languages.
• All languages should be respected and protected under the law through inclusive policies.
• Minority language speakers should be provided equal opportunity in education, and government services.

Demands for inclusion of Languages in the Eighth Schedule

At present, according to the Ministry of Home Affairs there are demands for inclusion of 39 more languages in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution. These are:- (1) Angika, (2) Awadhi, (3) Banjara, (3) Bazika, (5) Bhojpuri, (6) Bhoti, (7) Bhotia, (8) Bundelkhandi (9) Chhattisgarhi, (10) Dhatki, (11) English, (12) Garhwali (Pahari), (13) Gondi, (14) Gujjar/Gujjari (15) Ho, (16) Kachachhi, (17) Kamtapuri, (18) Karbi, (19) Khasi, (20) Kodava (Coorg), (21) Kok Barak, (22) Kumaoni (Pahari), (23) Kurak, (24) Kurmali, (25) Lepcha, (26) Limbu, (27) Mizo (Lushai), (28) Magahi, (29) Mundari, (30) Nagpuri, (31) Nicobarese, (32) Pahari (Himachali), (33) Pali, (34) Rajasthani, (35) Sambalpuri/Kosali, (36) Shaurseni (Prakrit), (37) Siraiki, (38) Tenyidi and (39) Tulu

FAQs on Eighth Schedule

What is the 8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution?

Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution deals with the 22 official languages of India. The languages are Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Bodo, Santhali, Maithili and Dogri.

How many languages are recognized as classical languages?

At present (2023) 6 languages enjoy the ‘Classical’ status in India. Tamil (declared in 2004), Sanskrit (2005), Kannada (2008), Telugu (2008), Malayalam (2013), and Odia (2014).

Why English is not included in the 8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution?

English is not included in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution as it has a special status as an associate official language. It is used for communication between the central government and the states and for official purposes at the national level.

How many languages are there in 8th schedule?

There are 22 official languages in the eighth schedule. These are Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Bodo, Santhali, Maithili and Dogri.

Which is oldest language in India?

Sanskrit is the oldest language in India. It has been spoken since 5000 B.C It has sacred status in religious texts such as the Vedas and Upanishads.