One official language, several recognised regional languages
The Indian Constitution establishes no "national language": Hindi and English are the two official languages of the Union, while 22 further languages are listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution and serve as official languages in the states where they predominate. Hindi, the mother tongue of about 44% of the population, is concentrated in the north and centre of the country; the southern states (Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana) use Dravidian languages unrelated to Hindi and are often reluctant to see it spread. In all, the 2011 census recorded 121 languages and more than 19,500 declared dialects.
Hindi
Official language of the Union (in Devanagari script) and the most widely spoken mother tongue in the country, but the Constitution recognises no "national language".
English
Co-official language of the Union "as a subsidiary" since 1967, with no time limit, alongside Hindi.
Bengali
Official language of West Bengal and Tripura; the country's second most common mother tongue.
Marathi
Official language of Maharashtra.
Telugu
Official language of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
Tamil
Official language of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry; one of the oldest classical languages still in use.
Gujarati
Official language of Gujarat.
Urdu
Official or co-official language in several northern states, notably Jammu and Kashmir.
Kannada
Official language of Karnataka.
Malayalam
Official language of Kerala.
Punjabi
Official language of Punjab and the liturgical language of Sikhism.