National Languages Of India
India is a diverse country with different types of cultures in every corner of the country. This is a federation of 28 states and 8 union territories with different languages and distinct cultural heritage. Hence there have been many debates on the origin of the constitution, and the concern of the national language.
It is said about the language of India, “The language spoken in India changes just like the taste of water changes in India every few kilometres”. However, India does not have a national language as there is a considerable difference between an official language and a national language.
National Language of India
The Hindi language was fixed as the national language of India but the issue was only 44% of the Indian population understood and spoke Hindi. Thus making it a point for other Indian populations to communicate with other state people.
Finally, the Constitution of India states that both Hindi and English are the official languages of India. In addition, it includes a list of 22 official languages. These languages are eligible for representation in the Commission for Official Languages, and a candidate may choose to take the test in any of these official languages at an examination conducted for the service of the National Governments.
Official Languages of India
According to the usage of the central administration, there are two languages recognized as official languages in India.
Hindi The language adopted by the central government while interacting with the states of the Hindi belt is Hindi.
English -English is the associate official language of India, used to communicate with the states.
Article 343(1) of the Constitution of India stipulates that “the official language of the Union shall be Hindi in Devanagari script. Formation of numerals to be used for the official purposes of the Union shall be the International Form of Indian Numerals.”
List of All Official 22 Languages Specified by the Indian Constitution
In the 8th Schedule of the Constitution of India, the government recognized that there are 22 official languages in India. Part XVII Articles 343 to 351 of the Indian Constitution dealt with the official languages of India. Earlier only 14 languages were considered and later after some modifications other languages were added. Thus, check out the Indian Constitution Approved List of all the official 22 languages of India below:
| S.No. | Languages | Spoken in the States |
|---|---|---|
1 | Assamese | Assam, Arunachal Pradesh |
2 | Bengali | West Bengal, Tripura |
3 | Gujarati | Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Gujarat |
4 | Hindi | Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Bihar, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Mizoram, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal, Almost every part of the country including North-Central India. |
5 | Kannada | Karnataka |
6 | Kashmiri | Jammu and Kashmir. |
7 | Konkani | It is the official language of Goa but is also spoken in southern Maharashtra, northern Karnataka, and Kerala. |
8 | Malayalam | Kerala, Lakshadweep, Puducherry. |
9 | Manipuri | Manipur |
10 | Marathi | Maharashtra, Goa, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu |
11 | Nepali | This is the national language of Nepal. This language is also spoken in Sikkim, West Bengal, north-eastern states, Bhutan, Tibet, and Myanmar. |
12 | Odia | Odisha |
13 | Punjabi | This is the language of Punjab is Punjabi but spoken in Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan, Pakistan, USA, Canada, and Australia also. |
14 | Sanskrit | Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand |
15 | Sindhi | Spoken by Santhal people mainly in the state of Jharkhand as well as in the states of Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram, Odisha, Tripura, West Bengal. |
16 | Urdu | This is an additional official language of Jammu and Kashmir, Telangana, Delhi, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh. |
17 | Tamil | Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Sri Lanka. |
18 | Telugu | Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Puducherry. |
19 | Bodo | Bodo or Boro is a Tibeto-Burman language spoken by the Bodo people living in the Northeast, Nepal and Bangladesh. |
20 | Dogri | This language is spoken in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Punjab. This is the dialect of Punjabi. |
21 | Maithili | The Maithili language is spoken in the northern region of Bihar and the valley of Nepal. |
22 |
Santali | Spoken by Santal people mainly in the state of Jharkhand as well as in the states of Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram, Odisha, Tripura, West Bengal. |
Other Major State Languages
The following languages are some of the important state official languages, but are not yet recognized as national languages of India:
- Tripura’s official language is – Kokborok
- Meghalaya’s official language is – Garo
- Meghalaya’s official language is – Khasi
- Mizoram’s official language is – Mizo
A Few Other Popular Languages in India
These popular Indian languages have speakers of about 5 million but are not specified as official languages in India. Often, many of these languages are considered sub-varieties of Hindi – the national language of India.
- Bihari People’s languages Are -Angika, Bhojpuri, Magadhi
- Rajasthani People’s languages Are -Marwari, Mewari, Shekhawati
Other Languages
- Bhili Language is- Bhili is a member of the Bhil languages,
- Gondi language is the similar language of Telugu, Kannada and Tamil
- Tulu -The Tulu language, a member of the Dravidian language family, is spoken in southern Karnataka state, India.
- Kodava,-Another name for the Kodava language is Coorgi. The language is native to the Kodagu district in southern Karnataka, India.
- Kutchi -This language is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Kutch region of India and the Sindh region of Pakistan.
Indian Minority Language
Mahal – the language of Minicoy, spoken on Minicoy Island, an island in Lakshadweep, India. The number of speakers of some minority languages in India is less than one million.
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