Table of Contents
National Language of India
National Language of India: According to the Constitution of India, India has no national language rather it has Hindi and English as official languages. To know about why India does have National language, read the article below. You will also get to know the 22 scheduled languages of India.
National Language of India: History
Before Independence, English language was used at the central level for all the official purposes, although, Hindi and Urdu were also considered the official language along with English. When India adopted the Constitution in 1950, it recognized Hindi in Devanagari script as the Official Language of India. In 2001 census, 422 million people in India reported Hindi as their native language.
Official Language of India
As per Constitution of India, India does not have any national language of its own. Article 343 of the Indian Constitution states that the official language of the Union shall be Hindi in Devanagari script. Article 343(3) states that Parliament may by law provide for the use of English language. Initially, there were 14 languages which were included in the Constitution. These were:
- Assamese
- Bengali
- Gujarati
- Hindi
- Kannada
- Kashmiri
- Marathi
- Malayalam
- Oriya
- Punjabi
- Sanskrit
- Tamil
- Telugu
- Urdu
- Sindhi language was added by the 21st Amendment Act of 1967.
- Konkani, Nepali, and Manipuri were included by the 71st Amendment Act of 1992.
- Bodo, Dogri, Maithili, and Santhali were added by 92nd Amendment Act of 2003.
So, now there are 22 scheduled languages which are included in the 8th schedule of the Constitution. Now that we have read about the official language of the Union, we will discuss about the official language of States below.
Official Language of Indian States
Indian Constitution gives States the power to adopt any language ass their Official Language. Legislature of the State may by law adopt any one or more of the languages in use in the State or Hindi as the language or languages to be used for all or any of the purposes of that State. Until the Legislature of the State otherwise provides by law, the English language shall continue to be used for those official purposes within the state.
Below map shows the official language being adopted by all 28 states. This language is used by them for official communication between the Union and the States.
Indian Languages List
| Sr. No | Language | Official Recognition in state |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Assamese | Assam, Arunachal Pradesh |
| 2 | Bengali | West Bengal, Tripura |
| 3 | Bodo | Assam |
| 4 | Dogri | Official language of Jammu and Kashmir |
| 5 | Gujarati | Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Gujarat |
| 6 | 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 |
| 7 | Kannada | Karnataka |
| Kashmiri | Jammu and Kashmir | |
| 9 | Konkani | Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, and Kerala (The Konkan Coast) |
| 10 | Maithili | Bihar, Jharkhand |
| 11 | Malayalam | Kerala, Lakshadweep, Puducherry |
| 12 | Manipuri | Manipur |
| 13 | Marathi | Maharashtra, Goa, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu |
| 14 | Nepali | Sikkim and West Bengal |
| 15 | Odia | Official language of Orissa |
| 16 | Punjabi | Official language of Punjab and Chandigarh, 2nd official language of Delhi and Haryana |
| 17 | Sanskrit | Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand |
| 18 | Santali | 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 |
| 19 | Sindhi | Gujarat and Maharashtra, especially Ulhasnagar |
| 20 | Tamil | Tamil Nadu, Puducherry |
| 21 | Telugu | Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Puducherry |
| 22 | Urdu | Jammu and Kashmir, Telangana, Jharkhand, Delhi, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal |
List of official languages of Union Territories of India
| No. | Union Territory | Official Language(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Andaman and Nicobar Islands | Hindi, English |
| 2. | Chandigarh | English |
| 3. | Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu | Gujarati, Konkani, Marathi, Hindi |
| 4. | Delhi | Hindi, English |
| 5. | Lakshadweep | Malayalam |
| 6. | Jammu and Kashmir | Kashmiri, Dogri, Hindi, Urdu, English |
| 7. | Ladakh | Hindi, English |
| 8. | Puducherry | Tamil, French, English |
National Language of India: FAQs
Q1. What is the National language of India?
Ans. There is no national language of India. Hindi in Devanagari script and English are considered as the official language of India.
Q2. How many languages have been granted the status of Scheduled Languages of India?
Ans. 22 languages are mentioned in the eighth schedule of the Indian Constitution.
Q3. How many languages were initially added in the Indian Constitution?
Ans. There were 14 languages which were initially included in the Indian Constitution.
Q4. What are the 22 National languages of India?
Ans. 22 National languages of India are Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu.
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