
Which language is being used in which state
India is, truly, a nation with a lot of diversity in every aspect. A long time back, that is, during the pre-independence period, when India, as a nation, had not come into being, there used to be princely states separated from each other by their ruler or the governor depending upon the area or the territory that they ruled or controlled.
After independence, India was established as a republic state unified by its external boundaries and divided internally by its states separated on the basis of the language spoken by the majority in those states. No language could be declared as the sole national language of India, since it is a huge area of land occupied by ethnic groups belonging to many different linguistics, cultures, communities, creeds, etc. It was, thus, decided in 1965 that the Official Languages Act be brought into effect, and in every state, a few languages be recognized as official languages of that state.
The Comprehesive list
Language | Family | Speakers (in millions) | States where this language enjoys “official language’ status |
Hindi | Indo-Aryan | 528 |
Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Bihar, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Ladakh, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal
|
Bengali | Indo-Aryan, Eastern | 97.2 |
West Bengal, Tripura, Assam and Jharkhand
|
Marathi | Indo-Aryan, Southern | 83 |
Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Goa, Maharashtra
|
Telugu | Dravidian | 81.1 |
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Puducherry
|
Tamil | Dravidian | 69 |
Tamil Nadu and Puducherry
|
Gujarati | Indo-Aryan, Western | 55.5 |
Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu and Gujarat
|
Urdu | Indo-Aryan, Central | 50.7 |
Bihar, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal
|
Kannada | Dravidian | 43.7 | Karnataka |
Odia | Indo-Aryan, Eastern | 37.5 |
Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal
|
Malayalam | Dravidian | 34.8 |
Kerala, Lakshadweep and Puducherry
|
Punjabi | Indo-Aryan, Northwestern | 33.1 |
Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and West Bengal
|
Assamese | Indo-Aryan, Eastern | 15.3 | Assam |
Maithili
|
Indo-Aryan, Eastern | 13.6 | Jharkhand |
Santali | Austroasiatic | 7.3 | Jharkhand |
Kashmiri | Indo-Aryan, Dardic | 6.8 |
Jammu and Kashmir
|
Nepali | Indo-Aryan, Northern | 2.9 |
Sikkim and West Bengal
|
Sindhi | Indo-Aryan, Northwestern | 2.7 | |
Dogri | Indo-Aryan, Northwestern | 2.6 |
Jammu and Kashmir
|
Konkani | Indo-Aryan, Southern | 2.25 |
Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu and Goa
|
Manipuri | Tibeto-Burman | 1.8 |
Manipur
|
Bodo | Tibeto-Burman | 1.48 | Assam |
Sanskrit | Indo-Aryan | 0.02 |
Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand
|
If you go through the above data carefully, you will realise that many languages are on the verge of a sad, slow death. They will not survive if they are not conserved and nurtured and taken forward to the coming generations. We can definitely keep our languages alive and thriving by learning them ourselves, and by teaching them lovingly to the next generations.
Moreover, the languages which are spoken on a wide scale, and are in high demand due to their usage in professional lives of people or the similar, can be learnt from reliable sources within a short span. Then, why not give as much importance to Indian languages as we give to English?
