The Eighth Schedule to the

Constitution of India The Constitution of India is the supreme law of India, legal document of India, and the longest written national constitution in the world. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures ...

lists the

languages Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing. Human language is ch ...

officially recognized by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

. , 22 languages have been classified under the schedule.

Definition

As per the

, the provisions belonging to the eight schedule are defined in articles 344(1) and 351. Article 344(1) defined a set of 14 regional languages which were represented in the Official Languages Commission and Article 351 deals with the promotion of usage of

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

, which was declared as an official language. English was declared as an additional official language to be used for a period not exceeding 15 years. The commission was to suggest steps to be taken to progressively promote the use of Hindi as the official language of the country.

Official Languages Act, 1963

The Official Languages Act, 1963 which came into effect on 26 January 1965, made provisions for the continuation of English as an official language alongside Hindi in official communications after the expiration of the fifteen year period. In 1968, the official language resolution was passed by the

Parliament of India The Parliament of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Government of India, Government of the Republic of India. It is a bicameralism, bicameral legislature composed of the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok ...

which further mandated the development and promotion of all the languages listed in the Eighth Schedule. As per the resolution, the Government of India was obligated to take measures for the development of the languages defined in the eighth schedule.

History

Initial list (1950)

The original Eighth Schedule in 1950 included 14 languages: * Assamese * Bengali * Gujarati *

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

* Kashmiri *

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

* Marathi * Oriya * Punjabi *

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

* Tamil * Telugu *

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

Additions through constitutional amendments

Source: * 21st Amendment (1967): Sindhi was added as the 15th language. * 71st Amendment (1992):

Konkani __NOTOC__ Konkani may refer to: Language * Konkani language is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Konkan region of India. * Konkani alphabets, different scripts used to write the language **Konkani in the Roman script, one of the scripts used to ...

, Manipuri, and Nepali were included, increasing the total to 18 languages. * 92nd Amendment (2003): Four languages— Bodo, Dogri, Santali, and Maithili—were added, raising the total number to 22 languages. * 96th Amendment (2011): Oriya was renamed Odia.

Scheduled languages

The Eighth Schedule of the Constitution defined 14 languages in 1950: Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati,

, Kashmiri,

, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi,

, Tamil, Telugu and

. In 1967, the 21st amendment to the constitution added Sindhi to the Eighth Schedule. The 71st Amendment, enacted in 1992, added three more languages:

, Manipuri and Nepali. In 2003, the 92nd Amendment added Bodo, Dogri, Santhali and Maithili, raising the total number of languages to 22. In 2011, the spelling Oriya was changed to Odia by 96th amendment. , the following languages are recognized under the eighth schedule of the Constitution of India:

Demands for expansion

In 2003, a committee was established by Government of India, to study the possible inclusion of more languages to the schedule. As per the Ministry of Home Affairs, there are demands for inclusion of 38 more languages in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution. These are: * Angika * Banjara * Bajjika * Bhojpuri * Ladakhi * Sikkimese * Bundeli * Chhattisgarhi * Dhatki * English * Garhwali * Gondi * Gujjari * Ho * Kachhi * Kamtapuri * Karbi * Khasi * Kodava * Kokborok * Kurmali * Kumaoni * Kurukh * Lepcha * Limbu * Mizo * Magahi * Mundari * Sadri * Nicobarese * Pahadi *

Pali Pāli (, IAST: pāl̤i) is a Classical languages of India, classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages, Middle Indo-Aryan language of the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pali Canon, Pāli Can ...

* Rajasthani * Sambalpuri * Shauraseni Prakrit * Saraiki * Angami * Tulu

Arguments regarding expansion

Arguments for inclusion

* Cultural preservation: Many communities argue that inclusion in the Eighth Schedule would help preserve and promote their cultural heritage and linguistic identity.https://www.researchgate.net/publication/375894955_PROMOTING_MULTILINGUALISM_AND_CULTURAL_DIVERSITY_IN_NATIONAL_EDUCATION_POLICY * Administrative recognition: Inclusion grants official recognition, ensuring the use of these languages in government administration and education. * Increased resources: Inclusion allows for funding and resources to be allocated for the development and promotion of the language.

Arguments against inclusion

* Administrative complexity: Recognizing too many languages could complicate governance, translation, and communication. * Dilution of resources: Increased inclusion could divert resources and attention from the development of existing languages. * Politicization of language: Inclusion may encourage regional and political pressures, leading to disputes over linguistic priorities.

References

{{Languages of India Languages of India 8