Recently, the debate on the National Language of India has been one of the most trending topics in India. There will be no surprise if Teaching Aspirants find a question in the upcoming Government Teaching Exams related to the National Language of India. Therefore, the candidates preparing for Teaching Job Exams must go through the Topics in detail as given below. Read the following article to find out all the relevant and essential information on the National Language of India.
National Language of India 2023
As per the Constitution of India, there is no National Language of India. People often confuse the Official Languages of India with the National Languages of India. India is a diverse country when it comes to languages. Every region speaks a different language and the dialect for every language changes every 50 to 100 km. Therefore, declaring any one language as the National Language of India has been challenging for India since its independence.
When the Constitution of India was constituted, the debate for choosing a National Language of India was held many times without any conclusion. Hence, the constituent assembly came to a conclusion to declare Hindi as the Official Language (as the majority of the population speaks Hindi) along with English. While 22 other languages were declared Official Languages under the Eight Schedule of the Constitution of India for various states.
What is the National language of India?
According to UNESCO, “Language spoken by a large part of the population of a country, which may or may not be the designated an official language (i.e. a language designated by law to be employed in the public domain).”
However, the diversity of languages of India, No language has been declared as the National Language of India by the Government of India. Therefore, there is no National language of India.
What is the Official Language of India?
As per the Constitution of India, there is no National Language of India. Article 343 of the Constitution of India, Hindi is declared the Official Language of India since 1951. Initially, English was added as the Official Language of India. 22 other languages were declared Official Languages of India as per the Eight Schedule of the Indian Constitution for various Non-Hindi Speaking states in India.
Official Language of India 2023 List
In the following table, the Official Languages of India 2023 list is given in detail. These 22 languages mentioned below have gained the status of Official Languages of India. The following list consists of the languages and states they are recognized in.
| No. | Language | Recognition in State |
| 1 | Assamese | Assam, Arunachal Pradesh |
| 2 | Bengali | West Bengal, Tripura |
| 3 | Bodo | Assam |
| 4 | Dogri | Official language of Jammu and Kashmir |
| 5 | Gujarati | Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Gujarat |
| 6 | Hindi | Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Bihar, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Mizoram, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal |
| 7 | Kannada | Karnataka |
| Kashmiri | Jammu and Kashmir | |
| 9 | Konkani | Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, and Kerala (The Konkan Coast) |
| 10 | Maithili | Bihar, Jharkhand |
| 11 | Malayalam | Kerala, Lakshadweep, Puducherry |
| 12 | Manipuri | Manipur |
| 13 | Marathi | Maharashtra, Goa, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu |
| 14 | Nepali | Sikkim and West Bengal |
| 15 | Odia | Official language of Orissa |
| 16 | Punjabi | Official language of Punjab and Chandigarh, 2nd official language of Delhi and Haryana |
| 17 | Sanskrit | Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand |
| 18 | Santali | Spoken by Santhal people mainly in the state of Jharkhand as well as in the states of Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram, Odisha, Tripura, West Bengal |
| 19 | Sindhi | Gujarat and Maharashtra, especially Ulhasnagar |
| 20 | Tamil | Tamil Nadu, Puducherry |
| 21 | Telugu | Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Puducherry |
| 22 | Urdu | Jammu and Kashmir, Telangana, Jharkhand, Delhi, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal |
List of official languages of states of India
In the following table, the official languages of India State-Wise is given in detail. You will find the name of the states, the official languages and additional languages spoken in the states respectively.
| No. | States | Official Language (s) | Additional Official Language (s) |
| 1. | Andhra Pradesh | Telugu, Urdu | English |
| 2. | Arunachal Pradesh | English | |
| 3. | Assam | Assamese, Bodo | Bengali in three districts of Barak Valley |
| 4. | Bihar | Hindi | Urdu |
| 5. | Chhattisgarh | Hindi | Chhattisgarhi |
| 6. | Goa | Konkani, English | Marathi |
| 7. | Gujarat | Gujarati | Hindi |
| 8. | Haryana | Hindi | English, Punjabi |
| 9. | Himachal Pradesh | Hindi | Sanskrit |
| 10. | Jharkhand | Hindi | Angika, Bengali, Bhojpuri, Bhumij, Ho, Kharia, Khortha, Kurmali, Kurukh, Magahi, Maithili, Mundari, Nagpuri, Odia, Santali, Urdu |
| 11. | Karnataka | Kannada | English |
| 12. | Kerala | Malayalam | English |
| 13. | Madhya Pradesh | Hindi | |
| 14. | Maharashtra | Marathi | |
| 15. | Manipur | Manipuri | English |
| 16. | Meghalaya | English | Khasi and Garo |
| 17. | Mizoram | Mizo, English | |
| 18. | Nagaland | English | |
| 19. | Odisha | Odia | |
| 20. | Punjab | Punjabi | |
| 21. | Rajasthan | Hindi | |
| 22. | Sikkim | English, Nepali, Sikkimese, Lepcha | Gurung, Limbu, Magar, Mukhia, Newari, Rai, Sherpa and Tamang |
| 23. | Tamil Nadu | Tamil | English |
| 24. | Telangana | Telugu | Urdu |
| 25. | Tripura | Bengali, English, Kokborok | |
| 26. | Uttar Pradesh | Hindi | Urdu |
| 27. | Uttarakhand | Hindi | Sanskrit |
| 28. | West Bengal | Bengali, English | Nepali in Darjeeling and Kurseong sub-divisions; Urdu, Hindi, Odia, Santali, Punjabi, Kamtapuri, Rajbanshi, Kurmali, Kurukh and Telugu in blocks, divisions or districts with a population greater than 10 per cent |
List of official languages of Union Territories of India
In the following table, the official languages of India Union Territory-Wise are given in detail. You will find the name of the Union Territories, the official languages and additional languages spoken in the Union Territories respectively.
| No. | Union Territory | Official Language (s) | Additional Official Language (s) |
| 1. | Andaman and Nicobar Islands | Hindi, English | |
| 2. | Chandigarh | English | |
| 3. | Dadra, Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu | Hindi, English | Gujarati |
| 4. | Delhi | Hindi, English | Urdu, Punjabi |
| 5. | Lakshadweep | English, Hindi | |
| 6. | Jammu and Kashmir | Kashmiri, Dogri, Hindi, Urdu, English | |
| 7. | Ladakh | Hindi, English | |
| 8. | Puducherry | Tamil, English, French, | Telugu in Yanam, Malayalam in Mahe |
