The official language of the Republic of India is Hindi. And that English could be also used for official purposes. The individual states can legislate their own official languages, depending on their linguistic demographics. For example, the state of Karnataka has Kannada as its sole official language, while the state of Jammu and Kashmir has Kashmiri, Urdu and Dogri as its official languages.
The following table lists the languages spoken in various state:
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West Bengal, Assam, Jharkhand, Tripura (list) |
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the “Hindi belt“, Northern India |
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Konkan (Goa, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Kerala) |
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Manipuri (also Meitei or Meithei) |
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Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Goa (list) |
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Santal tribals of the Chota Nagpur Plateau (comprising the states of Bihar, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa) |
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Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Pondicherry, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra (list) |
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Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Orissa (list) |
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Jammu and Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh |
Hindi is an official language of the states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and the National Capital, the Territory of Delhi. Bengali is the official language of West Bengal, Tripura and certain other parts of the North-east. Marathi is the official language of Maharashtra. Punjabi is the official language of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh,Haryana, and the National Capital, the Territory of Delhi. Gujarati is the official language of Gujarat. Tamil is the official language of Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Malayalam is the official language of Kerala and Lakshadweep. Kannada is the official language of Karnataka. Telugu is the official language of Andhra Pradesh. Oriya is the official language of Orissa;Oriya is spoken also in parts of West Bengal, Chattishgarh and Jharakhand. Assamese is the official language of Assam; it is spoken widely in many of the seven northeastern states. English is the co-official language of the Indian Union, and each of the several states mentioned above may also have another co-official language.
