Languages and Scripts of India: Eighth Schedule and PYQs
Exam notes on the languages and scripts of India: the four language families, the Eighth Schedule and its amendments, official language articles and classical languages.
By GK24 Editorial Team· Published · 4 min read
India does not have one national language; it has a constitutional arrangement for many languages. For the exam this topic breaks into four blocks: the families the languages belong to, the Eighth Schedule and its amendments, the articles of the Constitution that deal with official language, and the scripts in which the languages are written. Every one of these blocks has been asked in SSC, Railway, State and teaching papers, usually as a one-line matching question.
The language families of India
Indian languages are grouped into four main families. The Indo-Aryan family, a branch of the Indo-European family, covers the largest share of speakers and includes Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Odia, Assamese, Sindhi, Kashmiri, Nepali, Konkani, Maithili, Dogri, Urdu and Sanskrit. The Dravidian family covers the south and includes Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Tulu, Gondi and Brahui. The Austro-Asiatic family, also called the Munda group, covers Santali, Mundari, Ho and Khasi, spoken in Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal and Meghalaya. The Tibeto-Burman family, a branch of the Sino-Tibetan family, covers Manipuri or Meitei, Bodo, Lepcha, Ladakhi and the Naga languages of the north-east. Two small families survive as well, the Andamanese family of the islands and the Tai-Kadai group to which the old Ahom language belonged.
The Eighth Schedule
The Eighth Schedule lists the languages the Union recognises for the purposes of Articles 344 and 351. It began with 14 languages in 1950 and now carries 22. Three amendments made the additions, and their pairing with the languages is the single most asked fact of this topic.
| Amendment | Year | Languages added | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Constitution, as adopted | 1950 | The original 14 | 14 |
| 21st Amendment | 1967 | Sindhi | 15 |
| 71st Amendment | 1992 | Konkani, Manipuri, Nepali | 18 |
| 92nd Amendment | 2003 | Bodo, Dogri, Maithili, Santhali | 22 |
What the Constitution says about language
- Article 343 makes Hindi in the Devanagari script the official language of the Union, with the international form of Indian numerals.
- Article 344 provides for an Official Language Commission and a committee of Parliament.
- Article 345 lets a State adopt any language in use in the State as its official language.
- Article 348 keeps English as the language of the Supreme Court, the High Courts and of Bills and Acts.
- Article 350A directs States to provide primary education in the mother tongue to children of linguistic minorities.
- Article 350B provides for a Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities appointed by the President.
- Article 351 directs the Union to promote the spread of Hindi and to draw on Sanskrit for its vocabulary.
The Official Languages Act of 1963 allowed English to continue alongside Hindi for the official purposes of the Union, which is why the Union works in both languages to this day. Language was also the basis on which States were redrawn: Andhra State, carved out in 1953 after the fast unto death of Potti Sriramulu, was the first State created on a linguistic basis, and the States Reorganisation Act of 1956 extended the principle.
Classical languages
A separate status, that of classical language, is granted by the Union Government to languages with an ancient and independent literary tradition. Tamil was declared the first classical language in 2004, Sanskrit followed in 2005, Kannada and Telugu in 2008, Malayalam in 2013 and Odia in 2014. In 2024 the status was extended to Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese and Bengali. A classical language is not the same thing as an Eighth Schedule language, and questions often place the two lists side by side to see whether the candidate can tell them apart.
The scripts of India
Almost every Indian script descends from Brahmi, the script of the Ashokan edicts, which was deciphered by James Prinsep in 1837. Brahmi runs from left to right; its contemporary Kharosthi, used in the north-west, ran from right to left. The Indus script is older than both and remains undeciphered.
| Script | Used for | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Devanagari | Hindi, Sanskrit, Marathi, Nepali, Konkani, Maithili, Dogri | Descends from Brahmi through Nagari |
| Gurmukhi | Punjabi | Standardised by Guru Angad Dev |
| Ol Chiki | Santali | Created by Pandit Raghunath Murmu |
| Meitei Mayek | Manipuri | Revived script of Manipur |
| Perso-Arabic | Urdu, Kashmiri, Sindhi | Written from right to left |
| Bengali-Assamese | Bengali, Assamese | One script for two languages |
The Census of India 2011 recorded 121 languages and 270 mother tongues with ten thousand speakers or more, out of a raw return of more than 19,500 names; Hindi returned the largest number of speakers. The 1961 Census, the widest of the counts, had listed 1,652 mother tongues, a figure that still turns up in papers.
Exam Point of View
Three question types cover almost everything asked here. First, the amendment and the languages it added, where the 92nd Amendment of 2003 with Bodo, Dogri, Maithili and Santhali is the favourite, and the 73rd of the same era is the trap. Second, family and language pairs, where Manipuri is put among the Dravidian names and Santali among the Indo-Aryan ones to catch a quick reader. Third, articles: 343 for the Union, 345 for a State, 348 for the courts, 350B for the Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities and 351 for the duty to promote Hindi. Script questions come as matching pairs, Ol Chiki with Santali and Meitei Mayek with Manipuri, and the year of classical status is asked as a standalone fact, with 2004 and Tamil the pair to fix first.
Important Facts
| Eighth Schedule languages | 14 in 1950, 22 today |
|---|---|
| 21st Amendment, 1967 | Added Sindhi, taking the count to 15 |
| 71st Amendment, 1992 | Added Konkani, Manipuri and Nepali, taking the count to 18 |
| 92nd Amendment, 2003 | Added Bodo, Dogri, Maithili and Santhali, taking the count to 22 |
| Article 343 | Hindi in Devanagari as the official language of the Union |
| Article 348 | English as the language of the Supreme Court and the High Courts |
| Article 350B | Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities, appointed by the President |
| First classical language | Tamil, 2004 |
| Brahmi deciphered by | James Prinsep, 1837 |
| Ol Chiki script | Created by Pandit Raghunath Murmu for Santali |
| Census of India 2011 | 121 languages and 270 mother tongues with 10,000 speakers or more |
| First linguistic State | Andhra State, 1953 |
Practice MCQs on this topic
Which of the following is not a language family existing in India?
- A.Tibeto-Burman
- B.African-Asian
- C.Dravidian
- D.Austro-Asian
Show answer
There is no language family by that name in India. The Afro-Asiatic family, which the name echoes, covers Arabic, Hebrew and the Berber and Cushitic languages of West Asia and North Africa, and no Indian language belongs to it.
Read the full explanation →Which of these languages belong to the Dravidian language family?
- A.Kannada
- B.Hindi
- C.Oriya
- D.Manipuri
Show answer
Kannada is one of the four major Dravidian languages, the others being Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam, and it is the official language of Karnataka.
Read the full explanation →The languages spoken in Jharkhand and parts of central India mainly belong to which of the following language family?
- A.Indo-European family
- B.Austro-Asiatic family
- C.Tibeto-Burman family
- D.Dravidian family
Show answer
The tribal languages of Jharkhand and the neighbouring belt of central and eastern India, namely Santali, Mundari, Ho and Kurukh's neighbours in the Munda group, belong to the Austro-Asiatic family, whose Indian branch is called Munda.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following languages is one of the two official languages of Uttar Pradesh?
- A.Urdu
- B.Awadhi
- C.Bundeli
- D.Bagheli
Show answer
Under Article 345 a State may adopt any language in use within it as its official language, and Uttar Pradesh has adopted Hindi as its official language and Urdu as its second official language.
Read the full explanation →In which amendment to the Constitution were Bodo, Dogri, Santhali and Maithili added to the list of recognised languages?
- A.73rd Constitution Amendment Act of 1992
- B.92nd Constitution Amendment Act of 2003
- C.103rd Constitution Amendment Act, 2018
- D.101st Constitution Amendment Act, 2016
Show answer
That amendment added four languages, Bodo, Dogri, Maithili and Santhali, to the Eighth Schedule and took the count from 18 to 22, where it stands.
Read the full explanation →How many languages were initially included in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution?
- A.14
- B.18
- C.16
- D.22
Show answer
When the Constitution came into force in 1950 the Eighth Schedule listed 14 languages.
Read the full explanation →Which article of the Constitution declares Hindi in the Devanagari script to be the official language of the Union?
- A.Article 343
- B.Article 345
- C.Article 348
- D.Article 351
Show answer
It states that the official language of the Union shall be Hindi in the Devanagari script and that the form of numerals to be used shall be the international form of Indian numerals; it also allowed English to continue for fifteen years from the commencement of the Constitution, a period…
Read the full explanation →The Brahmi script, in which the edicts of Ashoka are written, was deciphered by which scholar?
- A.Alexander Cunningham
- B.James Prinsep
- C.John Marshall
- D.William Jones
Show answer
Prinsep, an officer of the East India Company mint at Calcutta, deciphered the Brahmi script in 1837, which made the edicts of Ashoka readable and opened up the early history of India.
Read the full explanation →The Ol Chiki script, created by Pandit Raghunath Murmu, is used to write which language?
- A.Bodo
- B.Santali
- C.Maithili
- D.Konkani
Show answer
Santali is an Austro-Asiatic language of the Munda group, spoken mainly in Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha, and Pandit Raghunath Murmu designed the Ol Chiki script for it so that it need not borrow a script from a neighbouring language.
Read the full explanation →Which language was the first to be given the status of a classical language of India, in 2004?
- A.Sanskrit
- B.Telugu
- C.Tamil
- D.Kannada
Show answer
Tamil was declared a classical language in 2004, the first language to receive the status, on the strength of its ancient Sangam literature and an independent literary tradition.
Read the full explanation →Frequently Asked Questions
Is Hindi the national language of India?
No. The Constitution uses the term official language, not national language. Article 343 makes Hindi in the Devanagari script the official language of the Union, and the Official Languages Act of 1963 allows English to be used alongside it. Each State separately adopts its own official language under Article 345.
How many languages are there in the Eighth Schedule?
There are 22. The Constitution started with 14 in 1950, the 21st Amendment of 1967 added Sindhi, the 71st Amendment of 1992 added Konkani, Manipuri and Nepali, and the 92nd Amendment of 2003 added Bodo, Dogri, Maithili and Santhali.
What is the difference between an Eighth Schedule language and a classical language?
An Eighth Schedule language is recognised by the Constitution for the purposes of Articles 344 and 351, which concern the official language of the Union. Classical language status is granted by the Union Government to a language with an ancient and independent literary tradition, and it brings scholarly recognition and funding, not official use. Pali and Prakrit are classical languages but are not in the Eighth Schedule.
Which is the oldest script of India that can be read?
Brahmi. It is the script of the Ashokan edicts and was deciphered by James Prinsep in 1837. The Indus script is older still but has never been deciphered, so Brahmi is the oldest Indian script that scholars can read.
Which languages belong to the Dravidian family?
Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam are the four major Dravidian languages, and Tulu, Gondi, Kurukh and Brahui also belong to the family. Brahui is unusual because it is spoken far away in Balochistan, outside the southern belt.
Sources
- The Constitution of India, Part XVII and the Eighth Schedule — Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India
- Census of India 2011: Language, Paper 1 of 2018 — Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India
- Scheme for the development of classical languages — Ministry of Education, Government of India
