•The Eighth Schedule to the Constitution consists of 22 languages; originally, there were 14 languages in the 8th schedule.
The further Indian Languages were added as later:—
1. Sindhi by 21st amendment, 1967
2. Konkani, Manipuri and Nepali languages by 71st amendment, 1992.
3. Bodo, Dogri, Santhali and Maithali by 92nd Amendment, 2004.
•The 22 Official Languages and Related states are::-
1. ASSAMESE-Assam.
2. BENGALI-West Bengal, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Tripura, West Bengal.
3. BODO-Assam
4. DOGRI-Jammu and Kashmir.
5. GUJARATI-Daman and Diu, Gujarat, Dadra and Nagar Haveli.
6. HINDI- Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand,Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh. Bihar, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, the national capital territory of Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh.
7. KANNADA-Karnataka.
8. KASHMIRI-Jammu and Kashmir.
9. KONKANI-Goa, Karnataka, Maharashtra.
10. MAITHILI-Bihar
11. MALAYALAM – Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Kerala.
12. MANIPURI-Manipur.
13. MARATHI – Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Goa, Maharashtra.
14. NEPALI-Sikkim, West Bengal.
15. ODIYA-Odisha
16. PUNJABI-Chandigarh, Delhi, Haryana, Punjabi.
17.SANSKRIT-Only in scriptures. Not in usage.
18. SANTHALI-Santhal tribal of the Chota Nagpur Plateau (comprising the states of Orissa Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand)
19. SINDHI-Sindhi community.
20. TAMIL-Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Pondicherry, Tamil Nadu,
21. TELUGU-Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana
22. URDU – Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana.
Classical Languages::—
To determine the eligibility of language to be considered as a classical language the Government of India follows the following criteria
1. High antiquity of its early texts/recorded history over a period of 1500-2000 years.
2. A body of ancient literature/texts, which is considered a valuable heritage by generations of speakers.
3. The literary tradition be original and not borrowed from another speech community.
4. The classical language and literature being distinct from modern, there may also be a discontinuity between the classical language and its later forms or its offshoots..
N.B–Tamil was the first Classical Indian Languages of India.
Current classical Languages are::—-
1. Tamil (since 2004).
2. Sanskrit (since 2005)
3. Telugu (since 2008)
4. Kannada (Since 2008)
5. Malayalam (since 2013)
6. Odiya (since 2014)
Some important points about Indian Languages:—
•Tamil language was used in the literature of Sangam period.
•Dravidian Indian Languages are Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam.
•Konkani language recently included in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution, which is widely spoken in goa.
•Tamil is the oldest Dravidian language.
•Sahitya Academy promotes and develops literature in all the 22 languages of India .
•The languages spoken in Sikkim are Nepali, Hindi, Lepcha, Bhutani.
•The language spoken in Lakshadweep islands is Malayalam
• Oldest Indian Language is Tamil .
•Official language of Nagaland is English .
•The Indian language known as the Italian of the East’ is Telugu.
•The official language of the Supreme Court and High Court as prescribed by the Constitution of India is English.
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