India is a land of immense linguistic diversity, home to hundreds of languages spoken across its vast geography. This diversity is rooted in the country’s rich cultural heritage and long history of migration, trade, and conquests. The Constitution of India recognizes 22 official languages under the Eighth Schedule, but the actual number of spoken languages is far greater, exceeding 1,600 by some estimates.
India does not have a national language. Instead, it has two official languages at the federal level: Hindi (in the Devanagari script) and English. These languages are used in government administration, legislation, and judiciary at the central level. However, each state in India is free to adopt its own official language(s) for local administration.
The Constitutionally recognized 22 Scheduled Languages are spoken in different regions across the country. For example, Hindi is widely spoken across northern and central India, including states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, and Punjab. Notably, in Punjab, both Punjabi and Hindi are commonly spoken by the population.
Similar multilingual realities exist in other states as well—for instance, Maharashtra sees widespread use of both Marathi and Hindi, while in Gujarat, Gujarati coexists with Hindi in daily communication. In West Bengal, both Bengali and Hindi are spoken, especially in urban areas.
Tamil Nadu has a strong Tamil-speaking population, but English and to a lesser extent Hindi are understood, particularly in cities. In states like Karnataka, Kannada is the official language, but English and Hindi are also used, especially in the IT sector in Bengaluru. In the Northeast, states such as Assam and Manipur have their own local languages like Assamese and Manipuri, but Hindi and English often act as link languages.
Below is a table showing the scheduled languages and the primary regions where they are spoken:
| Language | Primary Region(s) |
|---|---|
| Assamese | Assam |
| Bengali | West Bengal, Tripura, parts of Assam |
| Bodo | Assam |
| Dogri | Jammu region |
| Gujarati | Gujarat |
| Hindi | Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, and others |
| Kannada | Karnataka |
| Kashmiri | Kashmir Valley |
| Konkani | Goa, parts of Karnataka and Maharashtra |
| Maithili | Bihar |
| Malayalam | Kerala, Lakshadweep |
| Manipuri | Manipur |
| Marathi | Maharashtra |
| Nepali | Sikkim, parts of West Bengal |
| Odia | Odisha |
| Punjabi | Punjab, parts of Haryana |
| Sanskrit | Taught and used across India |
| Santali | Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal |
| Sindhi | Gujarat, Rajasthan (diaspora communities) |
| Tamil | Tamil Nadu, Puducherry |
| Telugu | Andhra Pradesh, Telangana |
| Urdu | Jammu & Kashmir, Telangana, parts of Bihar and UP |
Apart from the Scheduled Languages, India is home to many other important regional languages that aren’t officially recognized at the national level but are widely spoken in their respective areas, like Bhojpuri, Magahi, Tulu, and Rajasthani dialects.
India’s languages belong to various linguistic families, including Indo-Aryan, Dravidian, Tibeto-Burman, and Austroasiatic. Multilingualism is a defining feature of Indian society—most Indians grow up speaking more than one language and switch between them fluidly in different contexts such as home, school, work, and public life.
From education and governance to digital media and interpersonal communication, India’s multilingual ecosystem showcases the country’s ability to thrive in diversity while maintaining unity. Understanding and respecting this linguistic richness is essential for anyone looking to deeply engage with Indian culture and society.
