National Language of India, Check 22 Scheduled Languages of India

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

Prior to gaining Independence, English was the primary language used for official matters at the central level in India. However, Hindi and Urdu were also acknowledged as official languages alongside English. After the adoption of the Indian Constitution in 1950, Hindi written in the Devanagari script was established as the official language of India. As of the 2001 census, a substantial population of 422 million individuals in India identified Hindi as their native language.

Official Language of India

The Constitution of India does not designate a specific national language for the country. According to Article 343 of the Indian Constitution, Hindi written in the Devanagari script is recognized as the official language of the Union. However, Article 343(3) grants Parliament the authority to legislate the use of the English language. In the beginning, the Constitution incorporated 14 languages as recognized languages.

1. Assamese
2. Bengali
3. Gujarati
4. Hindi
5. Kannada
6. Kashmiri
7. Marathi
8. Malayalam
9. Oriya
10. Punjabi
11. Sanskrit
12. Tamil
13. Telugu
14. 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.

Indian Languages List

Below table 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.

List of official languages of Union Territories of India

Here is a list of the official languages of the Union Territories of India: