Official Language in Indian Constitution

India is a democratic nation with a diverse ethnic culture, customs, and language. Different groups of people in India speak a varied range of languages. "Indian language varies every few kilometres like water," as it has been claimed about the country's language. It's no surprise that this is correct in every way. India with 29 states and eight Union Territories, has a diverse range of languages that vary by kilometre. There have been various arguments about the national language since the founding of the Constitution. A national language and an official language are two different things.

Is there a National Language of India According to the Indian Constitution?

No single language has the status of the National language of India according to the Indian constitution. Hindi has been formally designated as the country's official language. However, Hindi is only spoken by about 40% of the Indian people. As a result, this would be an issue for the rest of the population, as everyone would be obliged to learn Hindi, which is impossible. Hindi and English are the two official languages of communication for the Indian government, according to the Indian Constitution. Also, it includes a list of about 22 official languages that includes Hindi and English. These languages have representation on the Official Language Commission, and candidates for national government service can take the exam in any of these languages.

Official Language of India

The official languages of the central administration have been chosen as follows:

According to Article 343 of the Constitution, the Central Government communicates with the states of the Hindi Belt in Hindi.

The Associate official language is English, and it is the language that must be used when communicating with the states.

List of Official Scheduled Language of India

According to the eighth schedule of the constitution of India, 22 languages have been designated as India's scheduled languages. 

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Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India

The Republic of India's official languages is listed in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India. On this list, and inclusion meant that the language was entitled to representation on the Official Languages Commission at the time of the Constitution's enactment.  However, the list has grown in importance since then.

Official Languages of India 8th Schedule

The Indian government is now required to take steps to help these languages evolve so that "they increase fast in richness and become effective ways of transmitting modern knowledge." Furthermore, a candidate taking a public service examination has the option of answering the paper in any of these languages.

As per Articles 344(1) and 351 of the Indian Constitution, the 8th schedule consists of the recognition of the below mentioned 22 languages:

1. Assamese

2. Bengali

3. Bodo

4. Dogri

5. Gujarati

6. Hindi

7. Kannada

8. Kashmiri

9. Konkani

10. Maithili

11. Malayalam

12. Meitei (Manipuri)

13. Marathi

14. Nepali

15. Odia

16. Punjabi

17. Sanskrit

18. Santhali

19. Sindhi

20. Tamil

21. Telugu

22. Urdu

The Constitution incorporated 14 of these languages from the start. The 21st Constitutional Amendment Act of 1967 included Sindhi; the 71st Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992 added Konkani, Manipuri (Meitei), and Nepali; and the 92nd Constitutional Amendment Act of 2003 added Bodo, Dogri, Maithili, and Santali. The spelling of Oriya was changed to Odia by the 96th Constitutional Amendment Act of 2011.

The Demand for Inclusion of More Languages in the Eighth Schedule

At present, as per the Ministry of Home Affairs, there are demands for the inclusion of 38 more languages in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution. These are:

1. Angika

2. Banjara

3. Bajjika

4. Bhojpuri

5. Bhoti

6. Bhotia

7. Bundelkhandi

8. Chhattisgarhi

9. Dhatki

10. English

11. Garhwali (Pahari)

12. Gondi

13. Gujjari

14. Ho

15. Kachachhi

16. Kamtapuri

17. Karbi

18. Khasi

19. Kodava

20. KokBorok (Tripuri)

21. Kumaoni (Pahari)

22. Kurukh

23. Kurmali

24. Lepcha

25. Limbu

26. Mizo (Lushai)

27. Magahi

28. Mundari

29. Nagpuri (Sadri)

30. Nicobarese

31. Pahari (Himachali)

32. Pali

33. Rajasthani

34. Sambalpuri / Kosali

35. Shaurseni (Prakit)

36. Saraiki

37. Tenyidi

38. Tulu

Constitutional Provisions Related to Eight Schedule:

• The Constitutional provisions relating to the Eighth Schedule occur in articles 344(1) and 351 of the Constitution.

• The Eight Schedule consists of the 22 languages, namely (1) Assamese, (2) Bengali, (3) Gujarati, (4) Hindi, (5) Kannada, (6) Kashmiri, (7) Konkani, (8) Malayalam, (9) Manipuri, (10) Marathi, (11) Nepali, (12) Oriya, (13) Punjabi, (14) Sanskrit, (15) Sindhi, (16) Tamil, (17) Telugu, (18) Urdu (19) Bodo, (20) Santhali, (21) Maithili and (22) Dogri.

• The Sindhi language was added by the 21st Amendment Act of 1967. Of these languages,14 were initially included in the Constitution. 

• Konkani, Manipuri, and Nepali were included in the 71st Amendment Act of 1992.

• Bodo, Dogri, Maithili, and Santhali were added by the 92nd Amendment Act of 2003.

Recognized Languages in the Indian Constitution

More information on articles 343 to 351 of the Indian constitution

Article 344(1):

• It calls for the President to appoint a Commission after a period of five years and then after ten years after the Constitution's inception.

• Members of the commission should be drawn from the several languages listed in the 8th Schedule.

• They should provide suggestions to the President, among other things, for the active use of Hindi for official purposes of the Indian government.

Article 351:

It allows for the Hindi language to spread and flourish so that it can serve as a medium of expression for all aspects of India's composite culture without interfering with the other Indian languages included in the 8th Schedule.

This article provides us with a complete overview of the official language(s) s per the Indian constitution. The varied geography of India comes with varied languages, and the official scheduled languages adapted by the Indian constitution is an attempt to integrate the country in unity.