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Languages in the 8th Schedule Indian Constitution

As per Indian Constitution official language of the Government of India is Hindi written in the Devanagari script, as well as English. States specify their own official language(s) through legislation. The section of the Constitution of India dealing with official languages therefore includes detailed provisions which deal not just with the languages used for the official purposes of the Union, but also with the languages that are to be used for the official purposes of each State and Union Territory in the country, and the languages that are to be used for communication between the Union and the States inter se.

In 1950, Hindi in Devanagari script was declared the official language of the union.

The Indian constitution draws a distinction between the language to be used in Parliamentary proceedings, and the language in which laws are to be made. Parliamentary business, according to the Constitution, may be conducted either in Hindi or English. The constitution provides that all proceedings in the Supreme Court of India, the country's highest court and the High Courts, shall be in English.

By 92nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 2003, 4 new languages – Bodo, Maithili, Dogri, and Santhali – were added to the 8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution.

Even though English language is not included in 8th Schedule as it is a foreign language, but it is one of the official languages of Union of India.

List of Languages in the 8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution


LanguageState(s)
AssameseAssam, Arunachal Pradesh
BengaliWest Bengal
BodoAssam
DogriJammu and Kashmir
GujaratiDadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Gujarat
HindiAndaman and Nicobar Islands, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, the National capital territory of Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand
KannadaKarnataka
KashmiriJammu and Kashmir
KonkaniGoa, Karnataka, Maharashtra
MaithiliBihar
MalayalamKerala, Lakshadweep
ManipuriManipur
MarathiMaharashtra, Goa
NepaliSikkim, West Bengal
OriyaOdisha
PunjabiPunjab, Chandigarh
Sanskritnon-regional
SanthaliSanthal tribals of Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha
Sindhinon-regional
TamilChennai, Puducherry
TeluguAndhra Pradesh, Puducherry
UrduJammu and Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh

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