Languages of India: National, Official, and Classical Languages
There is 22 official language of India as per the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. According to the 2011 Census, Hindi is the most spoken language in India, followed by Bengali, Marathi, Telugu, Tamil, and Gujarati.
Indian languages belong to several language families, including Indo-Aryan, Dravidian, and Sino-Tibetan. Indo-Aryan languages are spoken by nearly 78% of India’s population, while Dravidian languages are spoken by approximately 19%. The remaining 3% of the population speaks languages from other families.
Top 5 most spoken languages in India
- Hindi
- Bengali
- Marathi
- Telugu
- Tamil
Official Language of India
The Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution recognizes the following 22 official languages
- Assamese
- Bengali
- Bodo
- Dogri
- Gujarati
- Hindi
- Kannada
- Kashmiri
- Konkani
- Maithili
- Malayalam
- Manipuri
- Marathi
- Nepali
- Odia
- Punjabi
- Sanskrit
- Santali
- Sindhi
- Tamil
- Telugu
- Urdu
Initially, 14 languages were included in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution. Later, Sindhi was added in 1967. In 1992, three more languages—Konkani, Manipuri, and Nepali—were included. The most recent additions came in 2004, when Bodo, Dogri, Maithili, and Santali were officially recognized.
India has no national language as per the Constitution. There are 22 official languages recognized under the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. However, Hindi and English are primarily used for official purposes, including legislation, judiciary, and government communication
Indian Languages by Number of Speakers
| Language | Language Family | Total Speakers (million) | Total Speakers (crores) | % of speakers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hindi | Indo-Aryan | 692 | 69.2 | 57.1 |
| Bengali | Indo-Aryan | 107 | 10.7 | 8.9 |
| Marathi | Indo-Aryan | 99 | 9.9 | 8.2 |
| Telugu | Dravidian | 95 | 9.5 | 7.8 |
| Tamil | Dravidian | 77 | 7.7 | 6.3 |
| Gujarati | Indo-Aryan | 60 | 6 | 5 |
| Urdu | Indo-Aryan | 63 | 6.3 | 5.2 |
| Kannada | Dravidian | 59 | 5.9 | 4.9 |
| Odia | Indo-Aryan | 43 | 4.3 | 3.5 |
| Malayalam | Dravidian | 36 | 3.6 | 2.9 |
| Punjabi | Indo-Aryan | 36 | 3.6 | 3 |
| Assamese | Indo-Aryan | 24 | 2.4 | 2 |
| Maithili | Indo-Aryan | 14 | 1.4 | 1.2 |
| Meitei (Manipuri) | Indo-Aryan | 2 | 0.225 | 0.2 |
| English | Indo-European | 129 | 12.9 | 10.6 |
| Sanskrit | Indo-Aryan | 0.002 | 0.0002 | 0.025 |
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Demands of languages for inclusion in the Eighth Schedule
- Angika
- Banjara
- Bazika
- Bhojpuri
- Bundelkhandi
- Chhattisgarhi
- Dhatki
- Magahi
- Nagpuri
- Pahari (Himachali)
- Pali
- Rajasthani
- English
- Tulu
- Kurmali
- Kodava (Coorg)
- Bhoti
- Bhotia
- Garhwali(Pahari)
- Gondi
- Gujjar/Gujjari
- Ho
- Kachchhi
- Kamtapuri
- Siraiki
- Shaurseni (Prakrit)
- Karbi
- Khasi
- Kok
- Barak
- Kumaoni(Pahari)
- Kurak
- Lepcha
- Limbu
- Mizo(Lushai)
- Mundari
- Nicobarese
- Tenyidi
- Sambalpuri/Kosali
