India is home to several languages. Several dialects and languages are spoken in India and the country is usually referred to as the “museum of languages”. As per Article 343 of the Indian Constitution, among all the languages, Hindi stands out to be the official language of India. It is also the mother tongue of approximately 20% of the Indian population living in regions like the ‘Hindi belt’ or ‘cow belt’ in the north side of India. India’s official language is English, which holds a special place as an additional official language. It is also used in legislative and judicial matters. Besides English and Hindi, India has many regional languages, with each state typically having its own official language. The Constitution’s Eighth Schedule recognizes 22 regional languages.
Major Languages
India is home to 122 major languages, each spoken by at least 10,000 people. Here’s a brief look at some of the most widely spoken languages:
- Hindi: Also known as Hindustani, Hindi is the most widely spoken language in India, with around 420 million speakers, mainly in northern and central states like Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. It ranks as the fourth most spoken language globally.
- English: Approximately 125 million people in India speak English, primarily as a second language, while only about 200,000 speak it as their first language.
- Bengali: Bengali, or Bangla, has about 83 million speakers, mainly in West Bengal and surrounding areas. It boasts a rich cultural legacy and is the seventh most spoken language in the world.
- Telugu:With around 74 million speakers, Telugu is primarily spoken in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
- Marathi:This language is common in Mumbai has around 72 million speakers and ranks 20th in the world.
- Tamil: Known as thamizh, Tamil is one of the oldest classical languages, spoken by 60 million people in India and 10 million abroad. It was the first Indian language to be published in book form.
- Urdu: About 52 million people speak Urdu in India, specifically in regions with substantial
- Muslim populations. It sounds similar to Hindi, but its script is different.
- Gujarati: With 46 million speakers, Gujarati is the native language of many prominent figures, including Mahatma Gandhi and current Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
- Kannada: Spoken by around 37 million people, Kannada is the primary language in Karnataka.
- Malayalam: The main language of Kerala, Malayalam has 33 million speakers and is one of India’s classical languages.
- Odia : This classical language has around 32 million speakers, mainly in Odisha and neighboring states.
- Punjabi: With 29 million speakers in India, Punjabi is also widely spoken in Pakistan, totaling over 100 million speakers worldwide. It features prominently in Bollywood films and music.
- Assamese: Assamese is spoken by 13 million people, mainly in the northeastern states.
- Maithili This is the primary language of Bihar, with about 12 million speakers.
Other Languages
Languages like Rajasthani and Marwari are common in Rajasthan and are sometimes considered dialects of Hindi. Bhojpuri is also often classified as a Hindi dialect. Nepali is spoken near the Nepal border, and Kashmiri is found in Jammu and Kashmir.
Therefore, India is home to manifold languages, which adds to its diversification aspect. With various religions, cuisines, states, and now languages, India is vast and holds immense cultural diversity in the world.
