Eighth Schedule To The Constitution
The Eighth Schedule to the Indian Constitution contains a list of 22 scheduled languages. At the time the constitution was enacted, inclusion in this list meant that the language was entitled to representation on the Official Languages Commission, and that the language would be one of the bases that would be drawn upon to enrich Hindi, the official language of the Union. The list has since, however, acquired further significance. The Government of India is now under an obligation to take measures for the development of these languages, such that "they grow rapidly in richness and become effective means of communicating modern knowledge." In addition, a candidate appearing in an examination conducted for public service at a higher level is entitled to use any of these languages as the medium in which he or she answers the paper.
Via the 92nd Constitutional amendment 2003, 4 new languages – Bodo, Maithili, Dogri, and Santali – were added to the 8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution.
The following table lists the languages set out in the eighth schedule as of May 2007, together with the regions where they are used:
| Language | Family | Speakers |
State(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assamese/Axomiya | Indo-Aryan, Eastern | 013 13 | Assam, Arunachal Pradesh |
| Bengali | Indo-Aryan, Eastern | 083 83 | West Bengal, Tripura, Andaman & Nicobar Islands |
| Bodo | Tibeto-Burman | 0014 1.4 | Assam |
| Dogri | Indo-Aryan, Northwestern | 0023 2.3 | Jammu and Kashmir |
| Gujarati | Indo-Aryan, Western | 046 46 | Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Gujarat |
| Hindi | Indo-Aryan, Central | 258 258–422 | Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, the national capital territory of Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand |
| Kannada | Dravidian | 038 38 | Karnataka |
| Kashmiri | Indo-Aryan, Dardic | 0055 5.5 | Jammu and Kashmir |
| Konkani | Indo-Aryan, Southern | 0025 2.5–7.6 | Goa, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Kerala |
| Maithili | Indo-Aryan, Eastern | 012 12–32 | Bihar |
| Malayalam | Dravidian | 033 33 | Kerala, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Pondicherry |
| Manipuri (also Meitei or Meithei) | Tibeto-Burman | 0015 1.5 | Manipur |
| Marathi | Indo-Aryan, Southern | 072 72 | Maharashtra, Goa, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Madhya Pradesh |
| Nepali | Indo-Aryan, Northern | 0029 2.9 | Sikkim, West Bengal, Assam |
| Oriya | Indo-Aryan, Eastern | 033 33 | Orissa |
| Punjabi | Indo-Aryan, Northwestern | 029 29 | Chandigarh, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab |
| Sanskrit | Indo-Aryan | 00001 0.01 | non-regional |
| Santhali | Munda | 0065 6.5 | Santhal tribals of the Chota Nagpur Plateau (comprising the states of Bihar, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa) |
| Sindhi | Indo-Aryan, Northwestern | 0025 2.5 | non-regional |
| Tamil | Dravidian | 061 61 | Tamil Nadu, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Pondicherry |
| Telugu | Dravidian | 074 74 | Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Andhra Pradesh, Pondicherry |
| Urdu | Indo-Aryan, Central | 052 52 | Jammu and Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand |
Since 2003, a government committee has been looking into the feasibility of treating all languages in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution as "Official Languages of the Union".
Read more about this topic: Languages With Official Status In India
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