National Language of India: India, with its rich cultural heritage, is made up of 28 states and 8 union territories, each with its own unique heritage and dialect. The Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution lists 22 scheduled languages spoken in these states. Given the linguistic diversity, it was a challenge to determine a single national language for India. So, what exactly is the national language of India? And which language has official status? Let us learn in depth about the national language of India.
Which is the real national language of India?
India does not give the status of national language to any language due to the diversity of the country. Hindi is a language spoken by less than 44% of the people in India. The debate on making Hindi an official language has been going on for decades but to no avail. The Indian Constitution does not give the right to declare any language as the national language of India. However, Hindi and English have been declared the official languages used for official purposes throughout the country.
national language of india
of the Indian Constitution Article 343(1) It is mentioned that “The official language of the Union shall be Hindi in Devanagari script. The form of the figures to be used for the official purposes of the Union shall be the international form of the Indian figures.”
Business in the Indian Parliament or Government offices can be conducted only in Hindi or English. English is allowed to be used throughout the country for official purposes such as parliamentary proceedings, communication between the central government and state government and judicial matters.
- Hindi The language is used by the Central Government while communicating with the states of the Hindi belt as per Article 343.
- English The associate is the official language and is the language used when communicating with states.
List of 22 languages of India
22 languages are recognized in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution. Part XVII of the Indian Constitution deals with the official languages of India under Articles 343 to 351. Originally, only 14 languages were mentioned and later, after several amendments, other languages were added. See the list of all 22 languages of India recognized by the Indian Constitution.
| List of 22 languages of India | ||
| Sl. No. | Language | recognition in the 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 |
| 8 | cashmere | Jammu and Kashmir |
| 9 | Konkani | Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and Kerala (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 | Oriya | official language of orissa |
| 16 | Punjabi | Official language of Punjab and Chandigarh, second official language of Delhi and Haryana |
| 17 | Sanskrit | Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand |
| 18 | Santhali | Santhal is spoken by the 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 |
What is the difference between national and official languages?
The national language is the language spoken by the majority of the inhabitants of a nation. It is used for political, cultural and social functions.
An official language is the language used for government matters, such as in a national court, parliament, or for business purposes, that is generally recognized and adopted by the government or legislature.
According to Article 343, Hindi language will be used by the Central Government while communicating with the Hindi speaking states.
English is the associate official language and is the language used when communicating with states.
Therefore according to the Constitution of India, Hindi and English are official languages, not national languages.
Official languages of Indian states
Under the Indian Constitution, states can designate any language as their official language. The State Legislature may by passing law designate Hindi or any other language now in use as the language or languages to be used for all or any of the purposes of the State. The English language shall be used for such official purposes within the State unless the Legislature of the State by law makes different provision.
List of official languages of states
The list of official languages of the states of India is given below.
| Official languages of Indian states | ||
Sl.No. | State | Official language/languages |
1. | Andhra Pradesh | Telugu |
2. | Arunachal Pradesh | English |
3. | Assam | Assamese |
4. | Bihar | Hindi |
5. | Chhattisgarh | Hindi |
6. | Goa | konkani, english |
7. | Gujarat | Gujarati |
8. | Haryana | Hindi |
9. | Himachal Pradesh | Hindi |
10. | Jharkhand | Hindi |
11. | Karnataka | Kannada |
12. | Kerala | Malayalam |
13. | Madhya Pradesh | Hindi |
14. | Maharashtra | Marathi |
15. | Manipur | Manipuri |
16. | Meghalaya | English |
17. | Mizoram | Mizo |
18. | Nagaland | English |
19. | Odisha | Oriya |
20. | Punjab | Punjabi |
21. | Rajasthan | Hindi |
22. | Sikkim | English, Nepali, Sikkimese, Lepcha |
23. | Tamil Nadu | tamil |
24. | Telangana | Telugu |
25. | Tripura | bengali, english, kokborok |
26. | Uttar Pradesh | Hindi |
27. | Uttarakhand | Hindi |
28. | West Bengal | bengali, english |
List of official languages of union territories
Below is a list of official languages of the union territories of India.
| Official languages of union territories of India | ||
Sl.No. | Union Territory | official languages |
1. | Andaman and Nicobar islands | hindi, english |
2. | Chandigarh | English |
3. | Dadar 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 |
Some other popular languages in India
The number of speakers of these popular Indian languages is approximately 5 million, but they are not recognized as official languages in India. Often, many of these languages are considered subspecies of the national language of India – Hindi.
- Some popular languages of Bihar are Angika, Bhojpuri, Magadhi.
- The folk languages of Rajasthan include Marwari, Mewari, Shekhawati languages.
- Bhili language is one of the languages spoken in the Bhil community.
- Gondi language is a language similar to Telugu, Kannada and Tamil.
- Tulu – The Tulu language, a member of the Dravidian language family, is spoken in the southern Indian state of Karnataka.
- Kodava – Another name of Kodava language is Coorgi. The language is native to the Kodagu district of southern Karnataka, India.
- Kachhi – This language is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Kutch region of India and Sindh region of Pakistan.
Sharing is caring!