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National/ Official Languages in India: Check all official languages

In numerous entrance tests and recruitment exams for government jobs, questions regarding the National and languages of India are often asked. If you are also wondering what is the national language of India then you might be surprised to know that there is no national language in India. Instead, Indian constitution recognizes 22 regional languages. India is a diverse country with a large number of languages and dialects. Go through this post to know how many official languages are in India and many more interesting facts about National/ Official languages in India.

Languages with official status in India: Facts and Figures

As per the Indian Constitution, here are some important facts related to Languages in India.

  • Many queries are often made such as what is the national language of India?. Well, the answer to this question is that there is no national language in India.
  • In Article 343 (1) of the Indian Constitution, it is mentioned that “The official language of the Union shall be Hindi in Devanagari script. The form of numerals to be used for the official purposes of the Union shall be the international form of Indian numerals”.
  • The proceedings in Indian Parliament are transacted in Hindi and English Languages.
  •  Our constitution allows English to be used for official purposes such as parliamentary proceedings, judiciary, communications between the Central Government and a State Government.
  • Different states in India have the right to choose their languages through legislation.
  • Please note that it is not compulsory for any state to choose its official language only from the list of scheduled languages.

List of official languages in India as per Indian Constitution

Name of the Language Number of Speakers Officially recognized in State
Assamese15.3 millionAssam
Bengali97.2 millionWest Bengal, Tripura, Assam, Jharkhand
Bodo1.48 millionAssam
Dogri2.6 millionJammu and Kashmir
Gujarati55.5 millionDadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu and Gujarat
Hindi528 millionAndaman and Nicobar Islands, Bihar, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Ladakh, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal
Kannada43.7 millionKarnataka
Kashmiri6.8 millionJammu and Kashmir
Konkani2.25 millionDadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Goa
Maithili13.6 millionJharkhand
Malayalam34.8 millionKerala, Lakshadweep, Puducherry
Manipuri1.8 millionManipur
Marathi83 millionDadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Goa, Maharashtra
Nepali2.9 millionSikkim, West Bengal
Odia37.5 millionOdisha, Jharkhand, West Bengal
Punjabi33.1 millionDelhi, Haryana, Punjab, West Bengal
Sanskrit0.02 millionHimachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand
Santali7.3 millionJharkhand
Sindhi2.7 million 
Tamil69 millionTamil Nadu, Puducherry
Telugu81.1 millionAndhra Pradesh, Telangana, Puducherry
Urdu50.7 millionBihar, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal

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State-wise Official Languages in India

As mentioned above, states are free to choose their official languages through legislation. Plus, it is not mandatory for states to choose languages only the list of 22 scheduled languages. For example – English is not mentioned in the list of scheduled languages. Still, it is an official language in many states in India.

StateOfficial LanguagesAdditional official languages
Andhra PradeshTeluguEnglish
Arunachal PradeshEnglish 
AssamAssamese 
BiharHindi 
ChhattisgarhHindi 
GoaKonkani, English 
GujaratGujarati 
HaryanaHindi 
Himachal PradeshHindi 
JharkhandHindi 
KarnatakaKannadaEnglish
KeralaMalayalamEnglish
Madhya PradeshHindi 
MaharashtraMarathi 
ManipurManipuriEnglish
MeghalayaEnglishKhasi and Garo
MizoramMizoKhasi and Garo
NagalandEnglish 
OdishaOdia 
PunjabPunjabi 
RajasthanHindi 
SikkimEnglish, Nepali, Sikkimese, LepchaGurung, Limbu, Magar, Mukhia, Newari, Rai, Sherpa and Tamang
Tamil NaduTamilEnglish
TelanganaTeluguUrdu
TripuraBengali, English, Kokborok 
Uttar PradeshHindiUrdu
UttarakhandHindiSanskrit
West BengalBengali, EnglishDarjeeling and Kurseong Sub-division – Nepali

 

Urdu, Hindi, Odia, Santali, Punjabi, Kamtapuri, Rajbanshi, Kurmali, Kurukh and Telugu in blocks, divisions or districts with population greater than 10 percent

Official Language of Union Territories in India

StateOfficial LanguagesAdditional official languages
Andaman and Nicobar IslandsHindi, EnglishBengali, Tamil, Telugu, Andamanese
ChandigarhEnglish 
Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and DiuGujarati, Konkani, Marathi, Hindi 
DelhiHindi, English 
LakshadweepMalayalamEnglish
Jammu and KashmirKashmiri, Dogri, Hindi, Urdu, English 
LadakhHindi, English 
PuducherryTamil, French, EnglishTelugu, Malayalam.

Sudeshna Dutta

Sudeshna is a freelance content writer who has her write-ups published in one of the columns of India Today Magazine. She is a pianist and has won several competitions during her college life. She loves to be in a network of people who respect time and keep others engaged in meaningful activities.

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