Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India


The Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India lists the official languages of the Republic of India. At the time when the Constitution was enacted, inclusion in this list meant that the language was entitled to representation on the Official Languages Commission, and that the language would be one of the bases that would be drawn upon to enrich Hindi, the official language of the Union. The list has since, however, acquired further significance. The Government of India is now under an obligation to take measures for the development of these languages, such that "they grow rapidly in richness and become effective means of communicating modern knowledge." In addition, a candidate appearing in an examination conducted for public service is entitled to use any of these languages as the medium in which he or she answers the paper.
As per Articles 344 and 351 of the Indian Constitution, the eighth schedule includes the recognition of the following 22 languages:
  1. Assamese
  2. Bengali
  3. Bodo
  4. Dogri
  5. Gujarati
  6. Kannada
  7. Kashmiri
  8. Konkani
  9. Maithili
  10. Malayalam
  11. Manipuri
  12. Marathi
  13. Nepali
  14. Odia
  15. Punjabi
  16. Sanskrit
  17. Santali
  18. Sindhi
  19. Tamil
  20. Telugu
  21. Urdu
Of these languages, 14 were initially included in the Constitution. Subsequently, Sindhi was added in 1967 by 21st constitutional amendment act; Konkani, Manipuri and Nepali were added in 1992 by 71st Constitutional Amendment Act; and Bodo, Dogri, Maithili and Santali were added in 2004 by 92nd Constitutional Amendment Act.

Demand for more languages for inclusion in the Eighth Schedule

At present, as per the Ministry of Home Affairs, there are demands for inclusion of 38 more languages
in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution. These are:
  1. Angika
  2. Banjara
  3. Bazika
  4. Bhojpuri
  5. Bhoti
  6. Bhotia
  7. Bundelkhandi
  8. Chhattisgarhi
  9. Dhatki
  10. English
  11. Garhwali
  12. Gondi
  13. Gujjar/Gujjari
  14. Ho
  15. Kachchhi
  16. Kamtapuri
  17. Karbi
  18. Khasi
  19. Kodava
  20. Kok Borok
  21. Kumaoni
  22. Kurak
  23. Kurmali
  24. Lepcha
  25. Limbu
  26. Mizo
  27. Magahi
  28. Mundari
  29. Nagpuri
  30. Nicobarese
  31. Pahari
  32. Pali
  33. Rajasthani
  34. Sambalpuri/Kosali
  35. Shaurseni
  36. Siraiki
  37. Tenyidi
  38. Tulu