India has 22 languages which have been given the grade of National
Languages.
Assamese
• It is an Indo-Aryan language and is the official language of Assam.
Bengali
• It is one of the leading Indo-Aryan languages and is the official language of West Bengal.
Gujarati
• It is an Indo-Aryan language and is the official language of Gujarat.
Hindi
• The largest spoken Indo-Aryan language.
• It is official language of the Government of India.
• Various dialects of Hindi are Khariboli, Brajbhasga, Bundeli, Awadhi, Marwari, Maithili and Bhojpuri.
• In 6 states and UTs, Hindi is the official language.
Kannada
• It belongs to the Dravidian family & is the official language of Karnataka.
Kashmiri
• It is an Indo-Aryan language.
• It is often mistaken as the official language of Jammu and Kashmir.
Konkani
• It is the official language of Goa and is spoken by thousand of Konkanis in Maharashtra, Karnrataka and Kerala. It was added in 1992 by 71st Amendment.
Malayalam
• Belong to the Dravidian family and is the official language of Kerala.
Manipuri
• It is the official language of Manipur. It was added in 1992 by 71st Amendment.
Marathi
• It is an Indo-Aryan language and is the official language of Maharashtra.
Nepali
• It is spoken in parts of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Assam etc. It was added in 1992 by 71st Amendment.
Oriya
• It is an Indo-Aryan language and is the official language of Odisha.
Punjabi
• It is an Indo-Aryan language and is the official language of Punjab.
Sanskrit
• It is one of earliest language of the World.
• Early Sanskrit is known as Vedic Sanskrit and covers the period between 2000 and 500 BC.
Sindhi
• It is an Indo-Aryan language. It was added in 1967 by 21st Amendment.
Tamil
• It is the oldest of the Dravidian language and is the official language of Tamil Nadu.
Telegu
• It is numerically the biggest of the Dravidian languages and is the official language of Andhra Pradesh.
Urdu
• It is the official language of Jammu and Kashmir.
• Modern Urdu developed due to the efforts of Sir Sayyed Ahmed Khan (1817–1898).
Dogri
• It is generally spoken in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu. It is a combination of ancient Sanskrit and Pahari Dogri Languages.
• It has been added by the 92nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 2003.
Maithili
• It is Chiefly spoken in the Maithilianchal region of Bihar. It is the second state language of Bihar.
• It has been added by the 92nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 2003.
Santhali
• It is Chiefly spoken in the area of Chhotanagpur Plateau in Jharkhand and Bihar.
• It has been added by the 92nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 2003.
Bodo
• It is chiefly spoken in Assam and its adjoining North-East States.
• It is been added by the 92nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 2003.
Comparative Strengths of Scheduled Languages (Census 2001)
Mother Tongue – % age of total population
• Hindi – 41.03
• Nepali – 0.28
• Bengali – 8.11
• Assamese – 1.28
• Urdu – 5.01
• Punjabi – 2.83
• Telugu – 7.19
• Kashmiri – 0.54
• Tamil – 5.91
• Maithili – 1.18
• Santhali – 0.63
• Konkani – 0.24
• Marathi – 6.99
• Gujarati – 4.48
• Kannada – 3.69
• Malayalam – 3.21
• Oriya – 3.20
• Sindhi – 0.25
• Manipuri – 0.14
• Sanskrit – Negligible
• Dogri – 0.22
• Bodo – 0.13
Assamese
• It is an Indo-Aryan language and is the official language of Assam.
Bengali
• It is one of the leading Indo-Aryan languages and is the official language of West Bengal.
Gujarati
• It is an Indo-Aryan language and is the official language of Gujarat.
Hindi
• The largest spoken Indo-Aryan language.
• It is official language of the Government of India.
• Various dialects of Hindi are Khariboli, Brajbhasga, Bundeli, Awadhi, Marwari, Maithili and Bhojpuri.
• In 6 states and UTs, Hindi is the official language.
Kannada
• It belongs to the Dravidian family & is the official language of Karnataka.
Kashmiri
• It is an Indo-Aryan language.
• It is often mistaken as the official language of Jammu and Kashmir.
Konkani
• It is the official language of Goa and is spoken by thousand of Konkanis in Maharashtra, Karnrataka and Kerala. It was added in 1992 by 71st Amendment.
Malayalam
• Belong to the Dravidian family and is the official language of Kerala.
Manipuri
• It is the official language of Manipur. It was added in 1992 by 71st Amendment.
Marathi
• It is an Indo-Aryan language and is the official language of Maharashtra.
Nepali
• It is spoken in parts of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Assam etc. It was added in 1992 by 71st Amendment.
Oriya
• It is an Indo-Aryan language and is the official language of Odisha.
Punjabi
• It is an Indo-Aryan language and is the official language of Punjab.
Sanskrit
• It is one of earliest language of the World.
• Early Sanskrit is known as Vedic Sanskrit and covers the period between 2000 and 500 BC.
Sindhi
• It is an Indo-Aryan language. It was added in 1967 by 21st Amendment.
Tamil
• It is the oldest of the Dravidian language and is the official language of Tamil Nadu.
Telegu
• It is numerically the biggest of the Dravidian languages and is the official language of Andhra Pradesh.
Urdu
• It is the official language of Jammu and Kashmir.
• Modern Urdu developed due to the efforts of Sir Sayyed Ahmed Khan (1817–1898).
Dogri
• It is generally spoken in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu. It is a combination of ancient Sanskrit and Pahari Dogri Languages.
• It has been added by the 92nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 2003.
Maithili
• It is Chiefly spoken in the Maithilianchal region of Bihar. It is the second state language of Bihar.
• It has been added by the 92nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 2003.
Santhali
• It is Chiefly spoken in the area of Chhotanagpur Plateau in Jharkhand and Bihar.
• It has been added by the 92nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 2003.
Bodo
• It is chiefly spoken in Assam and its adjoining North-East States.
• It is been added by the 92nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 2003.
Comparative Strengths of Scheduled Languages (Census 2001)
Mother Tongue – % age of total population
• Hindi – 41.03
• Nepali – 0.28
• Bengali – 8.11
• Assamese – 1.28
• Urdu – 5.01
• Punjabi – 2.83
• Telugu – 7.19
• Kashmiri – 0.54
• Tamil – 5.91
• Maithili – 1.18
• Santhali – 0.63
• Konkani – 0.24
• Marathi – 6.99
• Gujarati – 4.48
• Kannada – 3.69
• Malayalam – 3.21
• Oriya – 3.20
• Sindhi – 0.25
• Manipuri – 0.14
• Sanskrit – Negligible
• Dogri – 0.22
• Bodo – 0.13
