List of national languages of India

India has a diverse list of spoken languages among different groups of people. At least 800 different languages and around 2000 dialects have been identified. The Constitution of India has stipulated the usage of Hindi and English to be the two languages of communication for the Central (Federal) government. The state governments use their own language along with English for communication with the Central government. For example, the central government sends its information in Hindi and English to the state of Tamil Nadu and this state communicates back in Tamil and English. India has a list of 21 official languages (excluding Hindi and English). These languages are entitled to representation on the Official Language Commission, and a candidate in an examination conducted for national government service may opt to take the exam in any of these languages. Neither the constitution nor the laws of India accord the status of "National Language" to any language in India. There is a law which basically says no language will be made the National Language unless and until all the constituent states of the Union of India accept it. Out of the 28 states and 7 union territories, only 10 states and 3 union territories have Hindi as the principal official language.

As drafted in the constitution in 1950, English ceased to exist as an official language (on par with Hindi) in 1965, after which it was intended to continue as an "associate additional official language" until such time that a duly appointed committee can decide on a full-scale transition to Hindi, based on a periodic review. However, due to protests from South Indian states where there is low Hindi penetration, the "twin language" system is still in vogue. Due to rapid industrialization, and a bustling multinational influence in the economy, English continues to be a popular and influential means of communication in the government and day-to-day business, and moves to replace it have effectively been shelved.

Official languages

Two languages are the languages used by the central administration:

Hindi is the language used by the Central Government when communicating with the states of Hindi Belt. It is also the official language of Arunachal Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Bihar, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal.
English is the Associate official language and the language to be used while communicating with the states.

Recognized languages of India

Apart from Hindi and English, a total of 21 other languages are recognized by the Constitution of India:

Assamese — official language of Assam
Bengali — official language of Tripura and West Bengal
Bodo — official language of Assam
Dogri — official language of Jammu and Kashmir
Gujarati — official language of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu and Gujarat
Kannada — official language of Karnataka
Kashmiri — official language of Jammu and Kashmir
Konkani — official language of Goa
Malayalam — official language of Kerala, Lakshadweep, Pondicherry
Maithili - official language of Bihar
Manipuri or Meithei — official language of Manipur
Marathi — official language of Maharashtra
Nepali — official language of Sikkim
Oriya — official language of Orissa
Punjabi — official language of Punjab and Chandigarh, second official language of Delhi and Haryana
Sanskrit — language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism, required teaching in many schools
Santali - language of the Santhal tribals of the Chota Nagpur Plateau (comprising the states of Jharkhand, Bihar, Orissa and Chattisgarh)
Sindhi - language of the Sindhi community
Tamil — official language of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry
Telugu — official language of Andhra Pradesh
Urdu — official language of Jammu and Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh

Other Important State languages

These languages are state official languages but are not yet recognized as national languages:

Kokborok - official language of Tripura
Mizo - official language of Mizoram
Khasi - official language of Meghalaya
Garo - official language of Meghalaya

Other popular languages of India

These languages have over 5 million speakers but no official status. Many are often considered sub-varieties of Hindi.

Bihari languages

These three Bihari languages also have over 5 million speakers but no official status. They were once mistakenly thought to be dialects of Hindi, but have been more recently shown to be part of the Eastern Group of Indic languages, along with Bengali, Assamese, and Oriya.

Angika — language of Bihar, Spoken largely in the Northern and Southern part of Bihar, Major part of Jharkhand and Maldah district of West Bengal
Bhojpuri — language of Bihar
Magadhi — language of southern Bihar

Rajasthani languages

Rajasthani dilect is spoken in state of Rajasthan by more than fifty million people, the dialect changes from district to district but people could communicate with each other even if they are from different districts and have different dialects. The main varieties are as such:

Marwari — language of Marwar. The region including Jodhpur, Nagour and Bikaner.
Mewari — language of Mewar. The region including Udaipur, Chittor and Kota-Bundi.
Shekhavati — language of Shekhavati. The region including Sikar, Churu, Jhunjhunu.

Other languages

Haryanvi - Hindi dialect of Haryana
Bhili (Bhil tribals)
Gondi (Gond tribals)
Kodava, spoken in the Kodagu district of Karnataka
Kutchi — language of Kutch, a region in Gujarat
Tulu — spoken by Tulu people of Karnataka and Kerala
Sankethi — spoken by Sankethi people in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala

The Constitution of India lists 18 regional languages.

Minority languages of India

These languages have fewer than one million speakers:

Mahl — language of Minicoy, spoken in the island of Minicoy.

External links

Department of Official Language (DOL) – Official webpage explains the chronological events related to Official Languages Act and amendments
Central Institute of Indian Languages – A comprehensive federal government site that offers complete info on Indian Languages
Official List of Languages
Ethnologue – Ethnologue report on the languages of India
TDIL-MCIT,GoI – Technology Development for Indian Languages, Government of India

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