How Many Languages are Recognized by The Constitution of India

Team Careers360Updated on 28 Jun 2023, 10:01 AM IST

Introduction

The eighth schedule recognizes a total of 22 languages as official languages, despite the fact that there are hundreds of languages spoken throughout the nation. Fourteen of these languages were initially listed in the Constitution, while the remaining languages were added through later revisions.

Languages Listed in The Eighth Schedule

The subsequent 22 languages are listed in the Constitution's Eighth Schedule:

Assamese
Bengali,
Gujarati,
Hindi,
Kannada,
Kashmiri,
Konkani,
Malayalam,
Manipuri,
Marathi,
Nepali,
Oriya,
Punjabi,
Sanskrit,
Sindhi,
Tamil,
Telugu,
Urdu,
Bodo,
Santhali,
Maithili,
Dogri

The Constitution was initially written in 14 of these languages. In 1967, the Sindhi language was added. Three new languages were added in 1992: Konkani, Manipuri, and Nepali. Bodo, Santhali, Maithili, and Dogri were introduced in 2004.

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Requests for Languages to be Added to The Eighth Schedule

There are currently requests for the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution to include 38 more languages.

These are:-

Angika,
Banjara,
Bazika,
Bhojpuri,
Bhoti,
Bhotia,
Bundelkhandi
Chhattisgarhi,
Dhatki,
English,
Garhwali (Pahari),
Gondi,
Gujjar/Gujjari
Ho,
Kachachhi,
Kamtapuri,
Karbi,
Khasi,
Kodava (Coorg),
Kok Barak,
Kumaoni (Pahari),
Kurak,
Kurmali,
Lepcha,
Limbu,
Mizo (Lushai),
Magahi,
Mundari,
Nagpuri,
Nicobarese,
Pahari (Himachali),
Pali,
Rajasthani,
Sambalpuri/Kosali,
Shaurseni (Prakrit),
Siraiki,
Tenyidi and
Tulu.

The Indian Constitution's 8th Schedule and The Articles Linked to it

Article 344	Committee and Commission on Official Languages of the Parliament
Article 344(1)	Establishing a commission by the President at the end of the first five years following the Constitution’s adoption and then at the end of the tenth year following that adoption. It must be composed of a chairman and other individual members representing the alternative languages indexed inside the eighth agenda to advise the dynamic use of Hindi for legitimate functions by means of the government of India.
Article 351	The Union's obligation is to encourage the spread of the Hindi language, to strengthen it so that it is able to function as a medium of communique for all additives of India's composite culture, and to safeguard its development through integrating with interfering with the genius, fashion, and expressions utilized in Hindustani and the alternative Indian languages precise inside the 8th agenda and by way of drawing, anyplace important or required, for its terminology basically on Sanskrit and Hindi.

Conclusion

For UPSC(Union Public Service Commission) 2023, we should learn about the 22 languages that are legally part of the Indian Constitution. To answer questions in the UPSC Exams, you need to be familiar with the year of recognition and the chronology of the languages listed in the Indian Constitution's 8th schedule. Aspirants reading "The Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution" may also be interested in the following political topics, which are listed in the table below:

7th Schedule of the Indian Constitution	10th Schedule of the Indian Constitution
73rd Amendment Act of 1992	Important Amendments to the Indian Constitution
Sources of the Indian Constitution	Directive Principles of State Policy
The Preamble to the Indian Constitution	42nd Constitutional Amendment Act