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 federal Central Government. However, 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. Similarly, 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 22 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.
Neither the constitution nor the laws of India accord the status of "National Language" to any language in India. Indian law states that no language will be made the National Language unless and until all the constituent states of the Union of India accept it. Out of the 28 states and 7 union territories, only 10 states and 3 union territories have Hindi as the principal official language.
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 - Central Government
Two languages are the languages used by the central administration:- Hindi is the principal official language used by the Central Government when communicating with the states having Hindi as their official language. It is also the official language of Arunachal Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Bihar, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
- English is the associate official language and the language to be used while communicating with the states not having Hindi as the official language.
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/Asomiya | 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, 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. | Telegu | Andhra Pradesh, Andaman & Nicobar Islands |
| 21. | Urdu | Jammu and Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh |