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| EXPLORE INDIA DESTINATIONS |
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| GREAT INDIAN JOURNEYS |
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| INCREDIBLE INDIA |
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| Languages of India |
The languages of India primarily belong to two major linguistic families, Indo-European (whose branch Indo-Aryan is spoken by about 74% of the population) and Dravidian (spoken by about 24%). Other languages spoken in India come from the Austro-Asiatic and Tibeto-Burman linguistic families, as well as numerous language isolates. The Andamanese languages, spoken on the Andaman Islands, are apparently not related to any other language family. The number of mother tongues in India is as high as 1,652[1], of which 24 languages are spoken by a million or more people. Three millennia of language contact situation have led to a lot of mutual influence among the four language families in India and South Asia. Two contact languages have played an important role in the history of India: Persian and English. Two classical languages native to the land are Sanskrit and Tamil.
Official languages of India
India has a diverse list of spoken languages among different groups of people. At least 800 different languages and around 2000 dialects have been identified. The Constitution of India has stipulated the usage of Hindi and English to be the two languages of communication for the Central (Federal) government. The state governments use their own language along with English for communication with the Central government. For example, the central government sends its information in Hindi and English to the state of Karnataka and this state communicates back in Kannada and English. Information from the center to Tamil Nadu is in English and Hindi and this state communicates back in Tamil and English. India has a list of 23 official languages (including Hindi and English). These languages are entitled to representation on the Official Language Commission, and a candidate in an examination conducted for national government service may opt to take the exam in any of these languages. But in most of the states Hindi is popular for uneducated labor as this still is a source or means of communication in all of India.
Article 343 of the India Constitution states that the official language of the Union (India) shall be Hindi in Devanagari script. As drafted in the constitution in 1950, English ceased to exist as an official language (on par with Hindi) in 1965, after which it was intended to continue as an "associate additional official language" until such time that a duly appointed committee can decide on a full-scale transition to Hindi, based on a periodic review. However, due to protests from South Indian states where there is low Hindi penetration, the "twin language" system is still in vogue. Due to rapid industrialization, and a bustling multinational influence in the economy, English continues to be a popular and influential means of communication in the government and day-to-day business, and moves to replace it have effectively been shelved.
Official languages - State Governments
No. |
State |
Official Language |
1. |
Andhra Pradesh |
Telugu, Urdu |
2. |
Arunachal Pradesh |
English, Hindi |
3. |
Assam |
Assamese, Bodo, Bengali, Karbi |
4. |
Bihar |
Hindi, Urdu, Bhojpuri, Magahi, Maithili |
5. |
Chhattisgarh |
Hindi, Chhattisgarhi |
6. |
Goa |
Konkani, Marathi, Portuguese, English |
7. |
Gujarat |
Gujarati, Hindi, Urdu |
8. |
Haryana |
Hindi, Punjabi |
9. |
Himachal Pradesh |
Hindi, Pahari |
10. |
Kashmir |
Farsi, Kashmiri, Urdu, |
11. |
Jharkhand |
Hindi |
12. |
Karnataka |
Kannada, Konkani, Tulu, Kodava Takk |
13. |
Kerala |
Malayalam |
14. |
Madhya Pradesh |
Hindi |
15. |
Maharashtra |
Marathi, Konkani |
16. |
Manipur |
Meitei |
17. |
Meghalaya |
Khasi, Garo, English |
18. |
Mizoram |
Mizo, English |
19. |
Nagaland |
English |
20. |
Orissa |
Oriya |
21. |
Punjab |
Punjabi |
22. |
Rajasthan |
Hindi, Rajasthani |
23. |
Sikkim |
Nepali |
24. |
Tamil Nadu |
Tamil, English |
25. |
Tripura |
Bengali, Kokborok |
26. |
Uttarakhand |
Hindi |
27. |
Uttar Pradesh |
Hindi, Urdu |
28. |
West Bengal |
Bengali |
29. |
Delhi |
Hindi, English, Urdu, Punjabi |
Official languages - Union Territories
No. |
Union Territory |
Official Language |
1. |
Andaman and Nicobar Islands |
Nicobarese, Bengali, English, Hindi, Malayalam, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu |
2. |
Chandigarh |
Punjabi, Hindi |
3. |
Dadra and Nagar Haveli |
Gujarati |
4. |
Daman and Diu |
Gujarati, English |
5. |
Lakshadweep |
Malayalam |
6. |
Pondicherry |
Tamil, French, Telugu and Malayalam |
Official languages of India
Apart from Hindi and English, a total of 21 other languages are recognized as official languages by the Constitution of India
No. |
Official Language |
Place(s)/Community |
1. |
Assamese |
Assam |
2. |
Bengali |
Tripura, West Bengal |
3. |
Bodo |
Assam |
4. |
Dogri |
Jammu and Kashmir |
5. |
Gujarati |
Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Gujarat |
6. |
Kannada |
Karnataka |
7. |
Kashmiri |
Jammu and Kashmir |
8. |
Konkani |
Goa |
9. |
Maithili |
Bihar |
10. |
Malayalam |
Kerala, Puducherry, Lakshadweep |
11. |
Manipuri (also Meitei or Meithei) |
Manipur |
12. |
Marathi |
Maharashtra |
13. |
Nepali |
Sikkim |
14. |
Oriya |
Orissa |
15. |
Punjabi |
Punjab, Chandigarh, second official language of Delhi, Haryana |
16. |
Sanskrit |
Classical language of learning |
17. |
Santhali |
Santhal tribals of the Chota Nagpur Plateau (comprising the states of Jharkhand, Bihar, Orissa, Chattisgarh) |
18. |
Sindhi |
Sindhi community |
19. |
Tamil |
Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, Andaman & Nicobar Islands |
20. |
Telugu |
Andhra Pradesh, Puducherry, Andaman & Nicobar Islands |
21. |
Urdu |
Jammu and Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh |
Puducherry
In the territories of Puducherry (formerly Pondicherry), a former French colony, French is still one of the official languages. So, French is taught in Schools and Colleges. It remained as de jure official language of Puducherry Union Territory because of Treaty of Cession signed by India and France on 28 May 1956. The Article XXVIII of Traité de Cession states that,
“ Le français restera langue officielle des Établissements aussi longtemps que les représentants élus de la population n'auront pas pris une décision différente. ("The French language shall remain the official language of the Establishments so long as the elected representatives of the people shall not decide otherwise.") ”
Goa, Daman and Diu
In the state of Goa and in the territories of Daman and Diu, Portuguese is still spoken by a minority of the population, though it has no official status. The same is also true, to a lesser degree, in the territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli. All these areas were formerly part of Portuguese India.
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