Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution

The Eighth Schedule is a list in the Indian Constitution that names the languages officially recognised for certain constitutional purposes. Today it has 22 languages. When the Constitution came into force in 1950, the list had 14 languages. Languages can be added only through a constitutional amendment passed by Parliament. Being on this list gives a language prestige and some real uses, such as being represented on the Official Language Commission and being allowed as a medium for some national exams.

Why does it exist?

India has hundreds of languages. When the Constitution was written, Hindi was chosen as the official language of the Union, with English continuing for official purposes. Speakers of other major languages wanted their languages respected too. The Eighth Schedule gave formal recognition to the major languages. It also linked them to the growth of Hindi: Hindi was to grow by drawing on these languages.

Which articles of the Constitution use it?

Only two articles directly refer to the Eighth Schedule:

• Article 344(1): The President shall set up an Official Language Commission, with a Chairman and members representing the different Eighth Schedule languages. Its job is to suggest steps for the greater use of Hindi for the Union's official work and limits on English. The first such commission was set up on 7 June 1955 under B. G. Kher. Article 344(4) also provides for a Committee of Parliament on Official Language of 30 members (20 from Lok Sabha and 10 from Rajya Sabha).
• Article 351: It is the Union's duty to promote and develop Hindi. Hindi should draw on the forms and expressions of Hindustani and of the other Eighth Schedule languages, and mainly on Sanskrit for its vocabulary.

Articles 343 to 351 together form Part XVII of the Constitution, which deals with official language.

How did the list grow from 14 to 22?

• Original 14 (1950): Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya (now Odia), Punjabi, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu.
• 21st Amendment Act, 1967: added Sindhi (15).
• 71st Amendment Act, 1992: added Konkani, Manipuri and Nepali (18).
• 92nd Amendment Act, 2003: added Bodo, Dogri, Maithili and Santhali (22).
• 96th Amendment Act, 2011: did not add a language. It changed the name "Oriya" to "Odia".

What is the use of being on the list?

• Representation on the Official Language Commission under Article 344.
• Candidates in exams like the UPSC Civil Services (Mains) can write answers in English or any Eighth Schedule language, and can choose the literature of these languages as an optional subject.
• The Sahitya Akademi gives its awards in the Eighth Schedule languages and some others.
• It brings recognition and government support for the language's growth.

Is there a fixed rule for adding a language?

No. Two committees tried to set objective criteria:

• Pahwa Committee (1996), set up by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
• Sitakant Mohapatra Committee (2003), which reported in 2004.

Neither effort led to fixed criteria. The government's position is that languages and dialects keep changing with social and economic developments, so it is hard to fix one rule to separate a language from a dialect. As per the Ministry of Home Affairs, demands for adding about 38 more languages are pending. These include Bhojpuri, Rajasthani, Tulu, Khasi, Kodava and Bhoti.

India's position and examples

The Ministry of Home Affairs (through its Department of Official Language) handles requests to add languages. Some states have their own languages that are official in the state under Article 345 but not on the Eighth Schedule. For example, Mizo is an official language of Mizoram, and Tulu speakers in Karnataka and Kerala have long demanded inclusion.

Commonly confused concepts

• Eighth Schedule language vs official language: The Union's official language is Hindi in Devanagari script (Article 343), with English also continuing. The other 21 Eighth Schedule languages are not official languages of the Union. A state may adopt any language as its official language under Article 345.
• Eighth Schedule vs classical status: The Eighth Schedule is part of the Constitution and needs an amendment to change. Classical status is an executive decision with mainly academic benefits. Pali and Prakrit are classical languages but are not in the Eighth Schedule. Many Eighth Schedule languages (like Hindi, Gujarati, Punjabi) are not classical.
• Sanskrit: It is in both lists: it was in the original Eighth Schedule (1950) and became classical in 2005.
• Article 344 Commission vs Committee: The Commission (Article 344(1)) is appointed by the President. The Committee of Parliament on Official Language (Article 344(4)) has 30 MPs and examines the Commission's recommendations.

Issues, criticism and the way forward

• No fixed criteria: Without clear rules, decisions to add languages can look driven by politics rather than by language facts. Many groups with large numbers of speakers wait for decades.
• Language vs dialect: Some languages like Bhojpuri or Rajasthani are counted under Hindi in the Census. Supporters say they are separate languages; others fear adding them may weaken Hindi's numbers.
• Unequal support: Smaller and tribal languages outside the list get little support, even though many are endangered.
• Way forward: Experts suggest clear, transparent criteria, regular review of pending demands, and support for all endangered languages, whether or not they are on the list.

Concepts to Know

• Schedule (in the Constitution): A list or table attached at the end of the Constitution that gives details for some articles. The Constitution now has 12 Schedules.
• Constitutional amendment: A formal change to the text of the Constitution passed by Parliament under Article 368.
• Dialect: A local form of a language, with its own words and accent, but usually understood by speakers of the main language.
• Devanagari: The script (way of writing) used for Hindi, Marathi, Sanskrit, Nepali and some other languages.