India is rich in languages. There are a quite a number of languages spoken in India. Some of these languages are accepted nationally while others are accepted as dialects of that particular region.
The Indian languages belong to four language families namely Indo-European, Dravidian, Austroasiatic (Austric) and Sino-Tibetan. Majority of India's population are using Indo-European and Dravidian languages. The former are spoken mainly in northern and central regions and the latter in southern India. Some ethnic groups in Assam and other parts of eastern India speak Austric languages. People in the northern Himalayan region and near the Burmese border speak Sino-Tibetan languages.
The written forms of language or scripts come from an ancient Indian script called Brahmi.
India has 22 officially recognised languages. But around 33 different languages and 2000 dialects have been identified in India. Hindi, in the Devanagari script is the official language of the Federal government of India. English is an associate official language. Sanskrit, the classical language of India, represents the highest achievement of the Indo-Aryan Languages. The beginning of Sanskrit literature may be traced back to Rig Vedic period. It is the oldest literary language of India, which is more than 5,000 years old and the basis of many modern Indian languages including Hindi and Urdu. Its earliest dialect form, Vedic was spoken by the Aryans. All the classical literature and the Indian epics have been written in Sanskrit.
List of languages recognized by the Indian Constitution
| Languages | Official Language of | Spoken by |
| Assamese | Assam | 15 million |
| Bengali | Tripura & West Bengal | 67 million |
| Bodo | Assam | |
| Dogri | Jammu and Kashmir | |
| Gujarati | Dadra and Nagar Haeli, Daman and Diu & Gujrat | 43 million |
| Hindi | Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Bihar, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh & Uttaranchal | 180 million |
| Kannada | Karnataka | 35 million |
| Kashmiri | ||
| Konkani | Goa | |
| Maithili | Bihar | 22 million |
| Malayalam | Kerala & Lakshadweep | 34 million |
| Manipuri (Meithei) | Manipur | |
| Marathi | Maharashtra | 65 million |
| Nepali | Sikkim | |
| Oriya | Orissa | 30 million |
| Punjabi | Punjab | 26 million |
| Sanskrit | ||
| Santhali | ||
| Sindhi | ||
| Tamil | Tamil Nadu & Pondicherry | 66 million |
| Telugu | Andhra Pradesh | 70 million |
| Urdu | Jammu and Kashmir | 46 million |
| Languages | Language of | Spoken by |
| Awadhi (sub-variety of Hindi) | 20 million | |
| Bhili | Bhil tribals | |
| Bhojpuri (sub-variety of Hindi) | Bihar | 23 million |
| Bundeli (sub-variety of Hindi) | ||
| Chhattisgarhi (sub-variety of Hindi) | Chhattisgarh | 11 million |
| Deccani | 11 million | |
| Gondi | Gond tribals | |
| Haryanvi (sub-variety of Hindi) | Haryana | 13 million |
| Hindustani (mixture of Hindi and Urdu) | Northern part of India | |
| Kanauji (sub-variety of Hindi) | Uttar Pradesh | |
| Kodava | Kodagu (Karnataka) | |
| Kutchi | Kutch (Gujarat) | |
| Magahi (sub-variety of Hindi) | southern Bihar | 11 million |
| Marwari (sub-variety of Hindi) | Rajasthan | 12 million |
| Portuguese | Partly in Goa, Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli | |
| Sikkimese | Sikkim | |
| Tibetan | Tibet (Kashmir) | 6 million |
| Tulu | Tulu people (Karnataka & Kerala) |
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