Eighth Schedule of the Constitution
The Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India lists the official languages of the Republic of India.
The Government of India is now under an obligation to take measures for the development of these languages, such that "they grow rapidly in richness and become effective means of communicating modern knowledge.
As per Articles 344(1) and 351 of the Indian Constitution, the eighth schedule includes the recognition of the following 22 languages:
Eighth Schedule of the Constitution
1950: 14 were initially included in the Constitution.
1967: Sindhi was added by 21st Constitutional Amendment Act.
1992: Konkani, Manipuri (Meitei) and Nepali were added by 71st Constitutional Amendment Act.
2004: Bodo, Dogri, Maithili and Santali were added by 92nd Constitutional Amendment Act,2003.
2011: The spelling Oriya was replaced by Odia by 96th Constitutional Amendment Act.
Constitutional provisions
Article 344: Article 344(1) provides for the constitution of a Commission by the President on expiration of five years from the commencement of the Constitution.
Article 351: It provides for the spread of the Hindi language to develop it so that it may serve as a medium of expression for all the elements of the composite culture of India.
However, It can be noted that there is no fixed criteria for any language to be considered for inclusion in the Eighth Schedule.
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