Eighth Schedule
The 22 languages officially recognised by the Constitution. · Articles 344(1) and 351
Lists the languages given official constitutional recognition — relevant to the composition of the Official Languages Commission and to the development/promotion of these languages as India's linguistic heritage. English and Hindi (in Devanagari script) are the official languages of Union government business, governed separately under Part XVII, not by this Schedule.
- Started with 14 languages in 1950; grew to 22 through later amendments (most recently the 92nd Amendment, 2003, which added Bodo, Dogri, Maithili and Santali).
- Being added to this list is a genuine, ongoing political and cultural process — several other languages have long-pending demands for inclusion.
The 22 Scheduled Languages
- Assamese
- Bengali
- Bodo
- Dogri
- Gujarati
- Hindi
- Kannada
- Kashmiri
- Konkani
- Maithili
- Malayalam
- Manipuri (Meitei)
- Marathi
- Nepali
- Odia
- Punjabi
- Sanskrit
- Santali
- Sindhi
- Tamil
- Telugu
- Urdu
If you've ever noticed the array of languages printed on an Indian banknote, this Schedule is exactly that list — it's also relevant to language-based reservations and promotion schemes.
Adhikar is an independent citizen-awareness platform, not a Government of India website. This is a plain-English explanation for general information, not legal advice — always check the bare Constitution text (legislative.gov.in) or a qualified advocate before relying on this for an actual legal situation.