India is a land of hundreds of languages. India’s linguistic diversity is a vital aspect of its cultural identity, fostering unity in diversity. The Eighth Schedule of the Constitution recognizes 22 official languages. The Ministry of Culture, Government of India, has recognized 11 languages as the Classical Languages of India. In this list we present top 12 most spoken languages in India.
The Top 12 Most Spoken Languages in India
| SN | Language | Native Speakers as per 2011 Census | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Hindi | 322,230,097 | 26.61% |
| 2. | Bengali | 97,237,669 | 8.03% |
| 3. | Marathi | 83,026,680 | 6.86% |
| 4. | Telugu | 81,127,740 | 6.70% |
| 5. | Tamil | 69,026,881 | 5.70% |
| 6. | Gujarati | 55,492,554 | 4.58% |
| 7. | Urdu | 50,772,631 | 4.19% |
| 8. | Kannada | 43,706,512 | 3.61% |
| 9. | Odia | 37,521,324 | 3.10% |
| 10. | Malayalam | 34,838,819 | 2.88% |
| 11. | Punjabi | 33,124,726 | 2.74% |
| 12. | Assamese | 15,311,351 | 1.26% |
Compare these 12 most spoken languages in India with the 22 official languages in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution and the 11 Classical Languages of India. Questions might be asked in combination of the above articles.
Source(s):
1. https://censusindia.gov.in
