National Language of India
National Language of India: India is a diverse country with diverse cultures in every part of the country. It is a union of 28 states and 8 Union Territories where each state represents its own cultural heritage with its own dialect. According to the eighth schedule of the Indian constitution, there are a total of 22 scheduled languages that are widely spoken in different states. As there are so many languages spoken in the country, it was difficult to determine the National language of India. So what is the national language of India? Which language is the official language of India? Know about the National language in detail.
Which is the Real National Language of India?
India doesn’t give the status of the National language to any of the languages due to the diversity of the country. Hindi is a language spoken by less than 44% of people in India. The debate to make Hindi an official language has sparked for decades but to no avail. The Indian constitution does not give rights to any language to be declared as the National language of India. However, Hindi and English have been declared as the official languages to be used for official purposes throughout the country.
The National Language for India
Article 343(1) of the Indian constitution clearly mentions 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 business in the Indian parliament or the offices of government can only be transacted in Hindi or in English. English is allowed to be used for official purposes throughout the country such as parliamentary proceedings, communications between the Central Government and a State Government, and judicial matters.
- Hindi is the language used by the Central Government as per Article 343 when communicating with the states of the Hindi Belt.
- English is the Associate official language and the language to be used while communicating with the states.
What is the difference between National and Official languages?
The National Language is any language that is spoken by a large proportion of the inhabitants of a nation. It is used for political, cultural, and social functions.
The official language is the language that is used for government matters, like in the national court, parliament, or business purposes, typically recognized and adopted by the government or in the legislature.
Hindi language would be used by the Central Government as per Article 343 when communicating with the Hindi states.
English is the Associate official language and the language to be used while communicating with the states.
So as per the Constitution of India, Hindi and English are the official languages and not the National languages.
List of 22 languages of India
There are 22 languages that have been recognized in the eighth schedule of the Indian constitution. Part XVII of the Indian constitution deals with the official languages of India from articles 343 to 351. Originally, only 14 languages were mentioned and later, after several amendments, the other languages were added. Check out the list of all the 22 languages of India as recognized by the Indian constitution.
| Sr. No | Language | Recognition in state |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Assamese | Assam, Arunachal Pradesh |
| 2 | Bengali | West Bengal, Tripura |
| 3 | Bodo | Assam |
| 4 | Dogri | The official language of Jammu and Kashmir |
| 5 | Gujarati | Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Gujarat |
| 6 | Hindi | Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Bihar, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Mizoram, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal |
| 7 | Kannada | Karnataka |
| Kashmiri | Jammu and Kashmir | |
| 9 | Konkani | Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, and Kerala (The Konkan Coast) |
| 10 | Maithili | Bihar, Jharkhand |
| 11 | Malayalam | Kerala, Lakshadweep, Puducherry |
| 12 | Manipuri | Manipur |
| 13 | Marathi | Maharashtra, Goa, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu |
| 14 | Nepali | Sikkim and West Bengal |
| 15 | Odia | The official language of Orissa |
| 16 | Punjabi | The official language of Punjab and Chandigarh, 2nd official language of Delhi and Haryana |
| 17 | Sanskrit | Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand |
| 18 | Santali | Spoken by Santhal people mainly in the state of Jharkhand as well as in the states of Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram, Odisha, Tripura, West Bengal |
| 19 | Sindhi | Gujarat and Maharashtra, especially Ulhasnagar |
| 20 | Tamil | Tamil Nadu, Puducherry |
| 21 | Telugu | Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Puducherry |
| 22 | Urdu | Jammu and Kashmir, Telangana, Jharkhand, Delhi, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal |
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