Languages with official status in India
Official languages of the Union -- List of official languages by states and territories
Table:
No.

State

Official language(s)

Additional official language(s)

1.
Andhra Pradesh
Telugu[55]

2.
Arunachal Pradesh
English[56]

3.
Assam
Assamese[57]
Bengali in three districts of Barak Valley,[58] Bodo in Bodoland Territorial Council areas

4.
Bihar
Hindi[59]
Urdu[59]

5.
Chhattisgarh
Hindi[60]

6.
Goa
Konkani, English[61]
Marathi[62]: 27 [63]

7.
Gujarat
Gujarati[64]
Hindi[64]

8.
Haryana
Hindi[65]
English,[62] Punjabi[66]

9.
Himachal Pradesh
Hindi[67]
Sanskrit[68]

10.
Jharkhand
Hindi[56]
Bengali, Bhojpuri, Ho, Kharia, Khortha, Kurmali, Kurukh, Magahi, Maithili, Mundari, Nagpuri, Odia, Santali, Urdu[69]

11.
Karnataka
Kannada
English

12.
Kerala
Malayalam
English

13.
Madhya Pradesh
Hindi[70]

14.
Maharashtra
Marathi[71]

15.
Manipur
Manipuri[72]
English

16.
Meghalaya
English[73]
Khasi and Garo[74]

17.
Mizoram
Mizo
English, Hindi

18.
Nagaland
English

19.
Odisha
Odia[75]

20.
Punjab
Punjabi[62]

Using the accompanying table as well as the supporting text provided at the end.

Provide an answer to this question: What is the official language of the state formed on 1 November 1956 ? Output only the correct answer as {"answer": "YOUR ANSWER"}. Use only the information given.

Andhra Pradesh ( /ˌɑːndrə prəˈdɛʃ/ ) ( pronunciation ( help·info ) ) is one of the 28 states of India , situated in the south-eastern part of the country . It is the eight-largest state in India , covering an area of 162,975 km2 ( 62,925 sq mi ) . As per the 2011 census , it is the tenth-most populous state , with 49,386,799 inhabitants . The largest city in Andhra Pradesh is Visakhapatnam . Telugu , one of the classical languages of India , is the major and official language of Andhra Pradesh . The north-western portion of Andhra Pradesh was separated to form the new state of Telangana on 2 June 2014 , and Hyderabad , the longtime capital of Andhra Pradesh , was transferred to Telangana as part of the division . However , in accordance with the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act , 2014 , Hyderabad was to remain the acting capital of both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana states for a period of time not exceeding ten years . Andhra Pradesh has a coastline of 974 km ( 605 mi ) - the second-longest coastline among the states of India , after Gujarat - with jurisdiction over almost 15,000 km2 of territorial waters . The state is bordered by Telangana in the north-west , Chhattisgarh and Odisha in the north-east , Karnataka in the west , Tamil Nadu in the south , and to the east lies the Bay of Bengal . The small enclave of Yanam , a district of Puducherry , lies to the south of Kakinada in the Godavari delta on the eastern side of the state . The state is made up of the two major regions of Rayalaseema , in the inland southwestern part of the state , and Coastal Andhra to the east and northeast , bordering the Bay of Bengal . The state comprises thirteen districts in total , nine of which are located in Coastal Andhra and four in Rayalaseema .
Telugu ( English : /ˈtɛlʊɡuː/ ; తెలుగు [ teluɡu ] ) is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and the Union Territory of Puducherry ( Yanam ) by the Telugu people . It stands alongside Hindi and English as one of the few languages with primary official language status in more than one Indian state . Telugu is also a linguistic minority in the states of Orissa , Karnataka , Tamil Nadu , Kerala , Chattisgarh , Jarkandh and Maharashtra . It is one of six languages designated a classical language of India by the country 's government . Telugu ranks 4th among the languages with the highest number of native speakers in India , with 6.7 percent at the 2011 census , and fifteenth in the Ethnologue list of most widely-spoken languages worldwide . It is the most widely spoken member of the Dravidian language family , and one of the twenty-two scheduled languages of the Republic of India . It is also the fastest growing language in the United States , where there is a large Telugu-speaking community . Roughly 10,000 pre-colonial inscriptions exist in the Telugu language .
Arunachal Pradesh ( /ˌɑːrəˌnɑːtʃəl prəˈdɛʃ/ , literally land of dawn-lit mountains ) is the northeasternmost state of India . It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south . It shares international borders with Bhutan in the west , Myanmar in the east , and China in the north , with which the border is the McMahon Line . Itanagar is the state capital . A major part of the state is claimed by both China and Taiwan , both referring to it as South Tibet . During the 1962 Sino-Indian war , Chinese forces temporarily crossed the McMahon line . Land of the Dawn-Lit Mountains is the sobriquet for the state in Sanskrit ; it is also known as the Orchid State of India or the Paradise of the Botanists . Geographically , it is the largest of the Seven Sister States of Northeast India .
Indian English is the regional variant of the English language spoken in the Republic of India , and among the Indian diaspora elsewhere in the world . The Constitution of India has mandated Hindi in the Devanagari script to be the official language of the Indian union ; English is an additional official language for government work along with Hindi . English is also the sole official language of the Judiciary of India , unless a state Governor or legislature has mandated the use of regional language , or Presidential approval has been given for the use of regional languages in courts .
Assam ( /ˈæsæm/ , Assamese : [ ɔxɔm ] ( listen ) ) is a state in northeastern India , situated south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys . Assam covers an area of 78,438 km2 ( 30,285 sq mi ) . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north ; Nagaland and Manipur to the east ; Meghalaya , Tripura , Mizoram and Bangladesh to the south ; and West Bengal to the west via the Siliguri Corridor , a 22 kilometres ( 14 mi ) strip of land that connects the state to the rest of India . Assam is known for Assam tea and Assam silk . The state was the first site for oil drilling in Asia . Assam is home to the one-horned Indian rhinoceros , along with the wild water buffalo , pygmy hog , tiger and various species of Asiatic birds , and provides one of the last wild habitats for the Asian elephant . The Assamese economy is aided by wildlife tourism to Kaziranga National Park and Manas National Park , which are World Heritage Sites . Sal tree forests are found in the state which , as a result of abundant rainfall , look green all year round . Assam receives more rainfall than most parts of India ; this rain feeds the Brahmaputra River , whose tributaries and oxbow lakes provide the region with a hydro-geomorphic environment .
Assamese ( /ˌæsəˈmiːz/ ) , also Asamiya ( /ɔxomia/ অসমীয়া ) , is an Eastern Indo-Aryan language spoken mainly in the Indian state of Assam , where it is an official language . It is the easternmost Indo-European language , spoken by over 15 million speakers , and serves as a lingua franca in the region . Nefamese is an Assamese-based pidgin used in Arunachal Pradesh and Nagamese , an Assamese-based Creole language is widely used in Nagaland . The Kamtapuri language of Rangpur division of Bangladesh and Cooch Behar and Jalpaiguri districts of India are linguistically closer to Assamese , though the speakers identify with the Bengali culture and the literary language . In the past , it was the court language of the Ahom kingdom from the 17th century . Along with other Eastern Indo-Aryan languages , Assamese evolved at least before 7th century CE from the middle Indo-Aryan Magadhi Prakrit , which developed from dialects similar to , but in some ways more archaic than Vedic Sanskrit . Its sister languages include Angika , Bengali , Bishnupriya Manipuri , Chakma , Chittagonian , Hajong , Rajbangsi , Maithili , Rohingya and Sylheti . It is written in the Assamese alphabet , an abugida system , from left to right , with many typographic ligatures .
Bengali ( /bɛŋˈɡɔːli/ ) , also known by its endonym Bangla ( বাংলা [ ˈbaŋla ] ) , is an Indo-Aryan language primarily spoken by the Bengalis in South Asia , specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent , presently divided between Bangladesh and the Indian states of West Bengal , Tripura , Assam 's Barak Valley . It is the official and most widely spoken language of Bangladesh and second most widely spoken of the 22 scheduled languages of India , behind Hindi . With approximately 228 million native speakers and another 37 million as second language speakers , Bengali is the fifth most-spoken native language and the seventh most spoken language by total number of speakers in the world . The official and de facto national language of Bangladesh is Modern Standard Bengali ( Literary Bengali ) . It serves as the lingua franca of the nation , with 98% of Bangladeshis being fluent in Bengali as their first language . Within India , Bengali is the official language of the states of West Bengal , Tripura and the Barak Valley region of the state of Assam . It is the most widely spoken language in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal , and is spoken by significant populations in other states including in Arunachal Pradesh , Delhi , Chhattisgarh , Jharkhand , Meghalaya , Mizoram , Nagaland and Uttarakhand . Bengali is also spoken by the significant global Bengali diaspora ( Bangladeshi diaspora and Indian Bengalis ) communities in Pakistan , the United Kingdom , the United States , and the Middle East . Bengali has developed over the course of more than 1,300 years . Bengali literature , with its millennium-old literary history , has extensively developed since the Bengali Renaissance and is one of the most prolific and diverse literary traditions in Asia . The Bengali language movement from 1948 to 1956 demanding Bengali to be an official language of Pakistan fostered Bengali nationalism in East Bengal leading to the emergence of Bangladesh in 1971 . In 1999 , UNESCO recognised 21 February as International Mother Language Day in recognition of the language movement .
The Barak Valley is located in the southern region of the Indian state of Assam . The main city of the valley is Silchar . The region is named after the Barak river . The Barak valley mainly consists of three administrative districts of Assam - namely Cachar , Karimganj , and Hailakandi . Among these three districts , Cachar and Hailakandi belonged to the Kachari Kingdom before the British Raj , whereas Karimganj and belonged to the Sylhet district of then Assam province , which was then separated from Sylhet after the 1947 referendum ; with the rest of Sylhet falling under East Pakistan ( now Bangladesh ) and Karimganj under India .
Bodo ( बर'/बड़ [ bɔɽo ] ) , Boro or Mech , is the Sino-Tibetan language spoken primarily by the Bodo people of Northeast India , Nepal and Bengal . It is official language of the Bodoland Autonomous region and co-official language of the state of Assam in India It is also one of the 22 scheduled languages that is given a special constitutional status in India . Since 1963 , the language has been written using the Devanagari script . It was formerly written using Latin and Assamese script . Some scholars have suggested that the language used to have its own now lost script known as Deodhai .
The Bodoland Territorial Council ( BTC ) is an autonomous district council for the Bodoland Territorial Region of Assam state in India . It was established on 10 of February 2003 . The BTC has 46 executive members each looking after a specific area of control called somisthi . The area under the BTC jurisdiction is officially called the Bodoland Territorial Area Districts ( BTAD ) . The region falls within the geographical map of the least developed region in India . The agro-based economy is the only source of livelihood of the people . Industrialisation and other employment opportunities are scant . The Bodoland Territorial Council is Headed by Hagrama Mahilary as the Chief Executive Member and Kampa Borgoyari as Deputy Chief Executive Member . The BTAD consists of four contiguous districts - Kokrajhar , Baksa , Udalguri and Chirang - carved out of seven existing districts - Kokrajhar , Bongaigaon , Barpeta , Nalbari , Kamrup , Darrang and Sonitpur - an area of 8,822 km² ( 11% of Assam land area i.e 78,438 km² ) comprising various protected tribal belts and blocks in Assam . Its establishment was under the Amended Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India .
Bihar ( /bɪˈhɑːr/ ; Hindi pronunciation : [ bɪˈɦaːr ] ( listen ) ) is a state in eastern India . It is the third-largest state by population and twelfth-largest by territory , with an area of 94,163 km2 ( 36,357 sq mi ) . It is contiguous with Uttar Pradesh to its west , Nepal to the north , the northern part of West Bengal to the east , and with Jharkhand to the south . The Bihar plain is split by the river Ganges , which flows from west to east . Three main cultural regions converge in the state : Magadh , Mithila , and Bhojpur . On 15 November 2000 , southern Bihar was ceded to form the new state of Jharkhand . Only 11.3% of the population of Bihar lives in urban areas , which is the lowest in India after Himachal Pradesh . Additionally , almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25 , giving Bihar the highest proportion of young people of any Indian state . In ancient and classical India , the area that is now Bihar was considered a centre of power , learning , and culture . From Magadha arose India 's first empire , the Maurya empire , as well as one of the world 's most widely adhered-to religions : Buddhism . Magadha empires , notably under the Maurya and Gupta dynasties , unified large parts of South Asia under a central rule . Another region of Bihar is Mithila which was an early centre of learning and the centre of the Videha kingdom .
Hindi ( Devanagari : हिन्दी , IAST/ISO 15919 : Hindī ) or Modern Standard Hindi ( Devanagari : मानक हिन्दी , IAST/ISO 15919 : Mānak Hindī ) , is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in India and across the Indian subcontinent . Modern Hindi is the standardised and Sanskritised register of the Hindustani language , which itself is based primarily on the Khariboli dialect of Delhi and other nearby areas of Northern India . Hindi , written in the Devanagari script , is one of the two official languages of the Government of India , along with the English language . It is one of the 22 scheduled languages of the Republic of India . Hindi is the lingua franca of the Hindi belt and to a lesser extent other parts of India ( usually in a simplified or pidginised variety such as Bazaar Hindustani or Haflong Hindi ) . Outside India , several other languages are recognised officially as Hindi but do not refer to the Standard Hindi language described here and instead descend from other dialects , such as Awadhi and Bhojpuri . Such languages include Fiji Hindi , which is official in Fiji , and Caribbean Hindustani , which is spoken in Trinidad and Tobago , Guyana , and Suriname . Apart from the script and formal vocabulary , spoken Hindi is mutually intelligible with standard Urdu , another recognised register of Hindustani as both share a common colloquial base . As a linguistic variety , Hindi is the fourth most-spoken first language in the world , after Mandarin , Spanish and English . Hindi alongside Urdu as Hindustani is the third most-spoken language in the world , after Mandarin and English .
Urdu ( /ˈʊərduː/ ; Urdu : اُردُو , ALA-LC : Urdū , [ ˈʊrduː ] ( listen ) ) - also known as Lashkari ( لشکری , Laškarī , [ ləʃkəri : ] ) - or Modern Standard Urdu is a Persianised standard register of the Hindustani language . Urdu is the official national language , and lingua franca , of Pakistan . In India , it is one of 22 constitutionally recognised official languages , having official status in the five states of Telangana , Uttar Pradesh , Bihar , Jharkhand and West Bengal , as well as the national capital territory of Delhi . As both registers are composed of the same Indo-Aryan vocabulary base , colloquial Urdu is largely mutually intelligible with colloquial Hindi , with the two registers being grouped together as Hindustani or Hindi-Urdu . With respect to literary vocabulary , however , formal Urdu draws heavily from Persian vocabulary and requires knowledge of some simple Persian grammatical structures , while formal Hindi heavily draws from Sanskrit for its formal and technical vocabulary . Later , Urdu became the official language of government in northern and northwest British India , along with English , from 1837 onwards in place of Persian , which had been used by various Indo-Islamic empires as their language of government . Religious , social , and political factors arose during the colonial period that advocated for a distinction between Urdu and Hindi , leading to the Hindi-Urdu controversy . According to Nationalencyklopedin 's 2010 estimates , Urdu is the 21st most spoken first language in the world , with approximately 66 million who speak it as their native language . According to Ethnologue 's 2018 estimates , Urdu , is the 11th most widely spoken language in the world , with 170 million total speakers , including those who speak it as a second language . If grouped along with Hindi , Hindustani would be the 3rd most spoken language in the world , with approximately 329.1 million native speakers , and 697.4 million total speakers of both Urdu and Hindi .
Chhattisgarh ( Chhattīsgaṛh , Hindi pronunciation : [ /ˈtʃʰət̪ːisgəɽʱ/ ] , translation : Thirty-Six Forts ) is one of the 28 states of India , located in the centre-east of the country . It is the ninth-largest state in India , with an area of 135,192 km2 ( 52,198 sq mi ) . With a 2011 population of 25.5 million , Chhattisgarh is the 16th-most populated state in the country . A resource-rich state , it is a source of electricity and steel for the country , accounting for 15% of the total steel produced as well as large contributor of coal . Chhattisgarh is one of the fastest-developing states in India . The state was formed on 1 November 2000 by partitioning ten Chhattisgarhi and six Gondi-speaking southeastern districts of Madhya Pradesh . The capital city is Raipur . Chhattisgarh borders the states of Madhya Pradesh in the northwest , Uttar Pradesh in the north , Jharkhand in northeast , Maharashtra in the southwest , Telangana and Andhra Pradesh in the south , and Odisha in the southeast . Currently the state comprises 30 districts . The Gross State Domestic Product ( GSDP ) of Chhattisgarh is ₹3.63 lakh crore ( US $ 51 billion ) and the per capita GSDP ₹102,762 ( US $ 1,400 )
Goa ( /ˈɡoʊə/ ( listen ) ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the region known as the Konkan , and geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats . It is surrounded by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the east and south , with the Arabian Sea forming its western coast . It is India 's smallest state by area and the fourth-smallest by population . Goa has the highest GDP per capita among all Indian states , two and a half times that of the country . It was ranked the best-placed state by the Eleventh Finance Commission for its infrastructure and ranked on top for the best quality of life in India by the National Commission on Population based on the 12 Indicators . Panaji is the state 's capital , while Vasco da Gama is its largest city . The historic city of Margao still exhibits the cultural influence of the Portuguese , who first landed in the early 16th century as merchants and conquered it soon thereafter . Goa was a former state of the Portuguese Empire . The Portuguese overseas territory of Portuguese India existed for about 450 years until it was annexed by India in 1961 . Goa is visited by large numbers of international and domestic tourists each year for its white sand beaches , nightlife , places of worship and World Heritage-listed architecture . It has rich flora and fauna , owing to its location on the Western Ghats range , a biodiversity hotspot .
Konkani [ note 4 ] ( Kōṅkaṇī ) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by Konkani people ( Maharashtra & Goa ) along the western coast of India . It is one of the 22 scheduled languages mentioned in the 8th schedule of the Indian Constitution and the official language of the Indian state of Goa . The first Konkani inscription is dated 1187 A.D . It is a minority language in Karnataka , Maharashtra , Kerala , Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu . Konkani is a member of the southern Indo-Aryan language group . It retains elements of Vedic structures and shows similarities with both western and eastern Indo-Aryan languages . There are many fractured Konkani dialects , most of which are not mutually intelligible with one another .
Marathi ( English : /məˈrɑːti/ ; मराठी Marāṭhī ; Marathi : [ məˈɾaʈʰi ] ( listen ) ) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken predominantly by around 83.1 million Marathi people of Maharashtra , India . It is the official language and co-official language in the Maharashtra and Goa states of Western India , respectively , and is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India . With 83.1 million speakers in 2019 , Marathi ranks 10th in the list of most spoken languages in the world . Marathi has the third largest number of native speakers in India , after Hindi and Bengali . The language has some of the oldest literature of all modern Indian languages , dating back to around 600 AD . The major dialects of Marathi are Standard Marathi and the Varhadi dialect . Koli and Malvani Konkani have been heavily influenced by Marathi varieties . Marathi distinguishes inclusive and exclusive forms of 'we ' and possesses a three-way gender system that features the neuter in addition to the masculine and the feminine . In its phonology , it contrasts apico-alveolar with alveopalatal affricates and alveolar with retroflex laterals ( [ l ] and [ ɭ ] ( Marathi letters ल and ळ respectively ) .
Gujarat ( /ˌɡʊdʒəˈrɑːt/ , Gujarati : [ ˈɡudʒəɾɑt ] ( listen ) ) is a state on the western coast of India with a coastline of 1,600 km ( 990 mi ) - most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula - and a population in excess of 60 million . It is the fifth largest Indian state by area and the ninth largest state by population . Gujarat is bordered by Rajasthan to the northeast , Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu to the south , Maharashtra to the southeast , Madhya Pradesh to the east , and the Arabian Sea and the Pakistani province of Sindh to the west . Its capital city is Gandhinagar , while its largest city is Ahmedabad . The Gujarati-speaking people of India are indigenous to the state . The economy of Gujarat is the fifth-largest state economy in India with ₹13.14 lakh crore ( US $ 180 billion ) in GDP and a per capita GDP of ₹174,000 ( US $ 2,400 ) . Gujarat ranks fifteenth among Indian states in human development index . The state encompasses some sites of the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation , such as Lothal , Dholavira and Gola Dhoro . Lothal is believed to be one of the world 's first seaports . Gujarat 's coastal cities , chiefly Bharuch and Khambhat , served as ports and trading centres in the Maurya and Gupta empires , and during the succession of royal Saka dynasties from the Western Satraps era . Along with Bihar and Nagaland , Gujarat is one of the three Indian states to prohibit the sale of alcohol . Gir Forest National Park in Gujarat is home of the only wild population of the Asiatic lion in the world .
Gujarati ( /ˌɡʊdʒəˈrɑːti/ ; ગુજરાતી gujarātī [ ɡudʒəˈɾɑtiː ] ) is an Indo-Aryan language native to the Indian state of Gujarat and spoken predominantly by the Gujarati people . Gujarati is part of the greater Indo-European language family . Gujarati is descended from Old Gujarati ( circa 1100-1500 AD ) . In India , it is the official language in the state of Gujarat , as well as an official language in the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu . As of 2011 , Gujarati is the 6th most widely spoken language in India by number of native speakers , spoken by 55.5 million speakers which amounts to about 4.5% of the total Indian population . It is the 26th most widely spoken language in the world by number of native speakers as of 2007 . The Gujarati language is more than 700 years old and is spoken by more than 55 million people worldwide . Outside of Gujarat , Gujarati is spoken in many other parts of South Asia by Gujarati migrants , especially in Mumbai and Pakistan ( mainly in Karachi ) . Gujarati is also widely spoken in many countries outside South Asia by the Gujarati diaspora . In North America , Gujarati is one of the fastest growing and most widely spoken Indian languages in the United States and Canada . In Europe , Gujaratis form the second largest of the British South Asian speech communities , and Gujarati is the fourth most commonly spoken language in the U.K. 's capital London . Gujarati is also spoken in Southeast Africa , particularly in Kenya , Uganda , Tanzania , Zambia , and South Africa .
Haryana ( Hindi pronunciation : [ ɦərɪˈjaːɳaː ] ) is one of the 28 states in India , located in northern part of the country . It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 November 1966 on linguistic as well as on cultural basis . It is ranked 22nd in terms of area with less than 1.4% ( 44,212 km2 ( 17,070 sq mi ) ) of India 's land area . Chandigarh is the state capital , Faridabad in National Capital Region is the most populous city of the state and Gurugram is a leading financial hub of NCR with major Fortune 500 companies located in it . Haryana has 6 administrative divisions , 22 districts , 72 sub-divisions , 93 revenue tehsils , 50 sub-tehsils , 140 community development blocks , 154 cities and towns , 6,848 villages and 6222 villages panchayats . As the largest recipient of investment per capita since 2000 in India , and among one of the wealthiest and most economically developed regions in South Asia , Haryana has the fifth highest per capita income among Indian states and UTs at ₹226,644 ( US $ 3,200 ) against the national average of ₹125,397 ( US $ 1,800 ) for year 2018-19 . Haryana 's 2019-20 estimated state GSDP of US $ 110 billion ( 52% services , 34% industries and 14% agriculture ) is growing at 12.96% 2012-17 CAGR and placed on the 13th position behind only much bigger states , is also boosted by 30 SEZs ( mainly along DMIC , ADKIC and DWPE in NCR ) , 7% national agricultural exports , 65% of national Basmati rice export , 67% cars , 60% motorbikes , 50% tractors and 50% refrigerators produced in India . Faridabad has been described as eighth fastest growing city in the world and third most in India by City Mayors Foundation survey . In services , Gurugram ranks number 1 in India in IT growth rate and existing technology infrastructure , and number 2 in startup ecosystem , innovation and livability ( Nov 2016 ) . Haryana has the seventh highest ranking among Indian states in human development index . Among the world 's oldest and largest ancient civilisations , the Indus Valley Civilization sites at Rakhigarhi village in Hisar district and Bhirrana in Fatehabad district are 9,000 years old . Rich in history , monuments , heritage , flora and fauna , human resources and tourism with well developed economy , national highways and state roads , it is bordered by Himachal Pradesh to the north-east , by river Yamuna along its eastern border with Uttar Pradesh , by Rajasthan to the west and south , and Ghaggar-Hakra River flows along its northern border with Punjab .
Hindi ( Devanagari : हिन्दी , IAST/ISO 15919 : Hindī ) or Modern Standard Hindi ( Devanagari : मानक हिन्दी , IAST/ISO 15919 : Mānak Hindī ) , is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in India and across the Indian subcontinent . Modern Hindi is the standardised and Sanskritised register of the Hindustani language , which itself is based primarily on the Khariboli dialect of Delhi and other nearby areas of Northern India . Hindi , written in the Devanagari script , is one of the two official languages of the Government of India , along with the English language . It is one of the 22 scheduled languages of the Republic of India . Hindi is the lingua franca of the Hindi belt and to a lesser extent other parts of India ( usually in a simplified or pidginised variety such as Bazaar Hindustani or Haflong Hindi ) . Outside India , several other languages are recognised officially as Hindi but do not refer to the Standard Hindi language described here and instead descend from other dialects , such as Awadhi and Bhojpuri . Such languages include Fiji Hindi , which is official in Fiji , and Caribbean Hindustani , which is spoken in Trinidad and Tobago , Guyana , and Suriname . Apart from the script and formal vocabulary , spoken Hindi is mutually intelligible with standard Urdu , another recognised register of Hindustani as both share a common colloquial base . As a linguistic variety , Hindi is the fourth most-spoken first language in the world , after Mandarin , Spanish and English . Hindi alongside Urdu as Hindustani is the third most-spoken language in the world , after Mandarin and English .
Punjabi ( English : /pʌnˈdʒɑːbi/ ; Punjabi : [ pənˈdʒaːbːi ] , ਪੰਜਾਬੀ , پن٘جابی ) is an Indo-Aryan language with more than 125 million native speakers in the Indian subcontinent and around the world . It is the native language of the Punjabi people , an ethnolinguistic group of the cultural region of Punjab , which encompasses northwest India and eastern Pakistan . Punjabi is the most widely spoken language in Pakistan , the 11th most widely spoken language in India and the third most-spoken native language in the Indian subcontinent . It is also the fifth most-spoken native language in Canada after English , French , Mandarin and Cantonese . Punjabi is unusual among Indo-European languages in its use of lexical tone ; see § Tone below for examples . Gurmukhi is the official script for the language in Punjab , India while Shahmukhi is used in Punjab , Pakistan ; other national and local scripts have also been in use historically and currently , as discussed in § Writing systems .
Himachal Pradesh ( Hindi : [ ɦɪˈmaːtʃəl pɾəˈdeːʃ ] ( listen ) ; lit . snow-laden province ) is a state in the northern part of India . Situated in the Western Himalayas , it is bordered by union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh on the north , Punjab state on the west , Haryana state on the southwest , Uttarakhand state on the southeast , and Tibet region on the east . At its southernmost point , it also touches the state of Uttar Pradesh . The predominantly mountainous region comprising the present day Himachal Pradesh has been inhabited since pre-historic times having witnessed multiple waves of human migration from other areas . Through its history , the region was mostly ruled by local kingdoms some of which accepted suzerainty of larger empires . Prior to India 's independence from the British , Himachal comprised the hilly regions of Punjab Province of British India . After independence , many of the hilly territories were organised as the Chief Commissioner 's province of Himachal Pradesh which later became a union territory . In 1966 , hilly areas of neighbouring Punjab state were merged into Himachal and it was ultimately granted full statehood in 1971 . Himachal Pradesh is spread across valleys with many perennial rivers flowing through them . Almost 90% of the state 's population lives in rural areas . Agriculture , horticulture , hydropower and tourism are important constituents of the state 's economy .
Sanskrit ( English : /ˈsænskrɪt/ ; Sanskrit : संस्कृत , romanized : saṃskṛta , IPA : [ ˈsɐ̃skr̩tɐ ] ( listen ) ) is a language of ancient India with a 3,500-year history . It is the primary liturgical language of Hinduism and the predominant language of most works of Hindu philosophy as well as some of the principal texts of Buddhism and Jainism . Sanskrit , in its variants and numerous dialects , was the lingua franca of ancient and medieval India . In the early 1st millennium CE , along with Buddhism and Hinduism , Sanskrit migrated to Southeast Asia , parts of East Asia and Central Asia , emerging as a language of high culture and of local ruling elites in these regions . Sanskrit is an Old Indo-Aryan language . As one of the oldest documented members of the Indo-European family of languages , [ note 1 ] [ note 2 ] Sanskrit holds a prominent position in Indo-European studies . It is related to Greek and Latin , as well as Hittite , Luwian , Old Avestan and many other living and extinct languages with historical significance to Europe , West Asia , Central Asia and South Asia . It traces its linguistic ancestry to the Proto-Indo-Aryan language , Proto-Indo-Iranian and the Proto-Indo-European languages . Sanskrit is traceable to the 2nd millennium BCE in a form known as Vedic Sanskrit , with the Rigveda as the earliest-known composition . A more refined and standardized grammatical form called Classical Sanskrit emerged in the mid-1st millennium BCE with the Aṣṭādhyāyī treatise of Pāṇini . Sanskrit , though not necessarily Classical Sanskrit , is the root language of many Prakrit languages . Examples include numerous , modern , North Indian , subcontinental daughter languages such as Hindi , Marathi , Bengali , Punjabi , Gujarati , Sindhi , Kashmiri , Kumaoni , Garhwali , Urdu , Dogri , Maithili , Konkani , Assamese , Odia , and Nepali .
Jharkhand ( lit . Bushland or The land of forest ) is a state in eastern India . The state shares its border with the states of Bihar to the north , Uttar Pradesh to the northwest , Chhattisgarh to the west , Odisha to the south and West Bengal to the east . It has an area of 79,710 km2 ( 30,778 sq mi ) . It is the 15th largest state by area , and the 14th largest by population . Hindi is the official language of the state . The city of Ranchi is its capital and Dumka its sub capital . The state is known for its waterfalls , hills and holy places ; Baidyanath Dham , Parasnath and Rajrappa are major religious sites . The region has been inhabited since the Mesolithic-Chalcolithic period , as shown by several ancient cave paintings . Even evidence of use of iron started in this region as early as 1400 BCE . The region was under the rule of many sovereign and autonomous ruling dynasties including Maurya , Gupta , Gauda , Pala , Nagvanshi , Khayaravala , Ramgarh Raj , Raksel , Chero and Kharagdiha Zamindari estates . In the 16th century Mughal influence reached the region , and it finally came under the East India Company in the 18th century .
Bhojpuri ( /ˌboʊdʒˈpʊəri/ ; भोजपुरी ( help·info ) ) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in northern-eastern India and the Terai region of Nepal . It is chiefly spoken in western Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh . Sociolinguistically , Bhojpuri is considered one of several Hindi dialects . The language is an official language of Nepal [ citation needed ] and a minority language in Guyana , Trinidad and Tobago , Suriname , South Africa , and Mauritius . Fiji Hindi , an official language of Fiji , is a variant of Awadhi and Bhojpuri . Caribbean Hindustani , another variant of Awadhi and Bhojpuri , is spoken by the Indo-Caribbean people . It has experienced lexical influence from Caribbean English in Trinidad and Tobago and in Guyana . In Suriname , languages that have lexically influenced it include Sranan Tongo Creole , Surinamese Dutch , and English . Another dialect is spoken in Mauritius ; its use is declining , and As of 2000 [ update ] it is spoken by about 5% of the country 's population .
Ho ( 𑢹𑣉𑣉 𑣎𑣋𑣜 , IPA : /hoː ʤʌgʌr/ ) is a Munda language of the Austroasiatic language family spoken primarily in India by about 1.04 million people ( 0.103% of India 's population ) per the 2001 census . Ho is a tribal language . It is spoken by the Ho , Munda , Kolha and Kol tribal communities of Odisha , Jharkhand , Bihar , Chhattisgarh , West Bengal , Assam and is written with the Warang Citi script . Devanagari , Latin script , Odia script and Telugu script are sometimes used , although native speakers are said to prefer a Ho script . The latter script was invented by Ott Guru Kol Lako Bodra . The name Ho is derived from the native word 𑣙𑣉𑣉 ( IPA : /hoː/ ) which means Human being .
The Kharia language ( IPA : [ kʰaɽija ] or IPA : [ kʰeɽija ] ) is a Munda language that is primarily spoken by the Kharia people of eastern India .
Khortha ( also romanized as Kortha or Khotta ) is a language which is considered dialect of Magahi language spoken in the Indian state of Jharkhand , mainly in 16 districts of two divisions : North Chotanagpur and Santhal Pargana . The 13 districts are Hazaribagh , Koderma , Giridih , Bokaro , Dhanbad , Chatra , Ramgarh , Deoghar , Dumka , Sahebganj , Pakur , Godda , and Jamtara . Khortha is not only spoken by the Sadaans , it is also used by the Adivasis as a link . [ citation needed ] It is most spoken language of Jharkhand , and considered a dialect of Magahi by linguists , Grierson has called this as eastern Magahi .
Kurmali ( Devanagari : कुर्माली , कुरमाली , Bengali : কুর্মালী , কুড়মালি , Odia : କୁଡ଼ମାଲି / କୁର୍ମାଲି , kur ( a ) mālī ) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in eastern India . Kurmali is generally linked to the Kudumi Mahato ( also known as Kurmi , Mahanta or Mohanta ) community of Jharkhand , Odisha , and West Bengal . Kurmali is also spoken by the Kudumi people of Assam , and was brought to the tea gardens from Bihar , Odisha and West Bengal . Intellectuals claim that Kurmali may be the nearest form of language used in Charyapada . As a trade dialect , it is known as Panchpargania ( Bengali : পঞ্চপরগনিয়া ) , for the five districts of the region it covers , or Tamaria . Kurmali is a traditional language of Kurmi community .
Kurukh ( /ˈkʊrʊx/ ; also Kurux and Oraon or Uranw ; Devanagari : कुड़ुख़ ) is a Dravidian language spoken by nearly two million Oraon and Kisan tribes of Jharkhand , Madhya Pradesh , Chhattisgarh , Odisha , Bihar and West Bengal in India , as well as by 65,000 in northern Bangladesh , 28,600 a dialect called Uranw in Nepal and about 5,000 in Bhutan . Some Kurukh speakers are in South India . It is most closely related to Brahui and Malto ( Paharia ) . The language is marked as being in a vulnerable state in UNESCO 's list of endangered languages . The Kisan dialect has 206,100 speakers as of 2011 .
The Magahi language , also known as Magadhi , is a language spoken in Bihar , Jharkhand and West Bengal states of eastern India . Magadhi Prakrit was the ancestor of Magadhi , from which the latter 's name derives . It has a very rich and old tradition of folk songs and stories . It is spoken in seven districts of Bihar ( Gaya , Patna , Jehanabad , Aurangabad , Nalanda , Sheikhpura , Nawada , Lakhisarai , Arwal ) , seven districts of Jharkhand ( Hazaribag , Chatra , Koderma , Jamtara , Bokaro , Dhanbad , Giridih ) and in West Bengal 's Malda district . There are around 20,700,000 speakers of Magahi language including Khortha which is considered dialect of Magahi . Magahi or Magadhi language derived from the ancient Magadhi Prakrit , which was created in the ancient kingdom of Magadha , the core of which was the area south of the Ganges and east of Son River . It is believed to be the language spoken by Gautama Buddha . It was the official language of the Mauryan court , in which the edicts of Ashoka were composed . The name Magahi is directly derived from the name Magadhi Prakrit , and educated speakers of Magahi prefer to call it Magadhi rather than Magahi . Though the number of speakers in Magahi is large , it has not been constitutionally recognised in India . In Bihar Hindi is the language used for educational and official matters . Magadhi was legally absorbed under Hindi in the 1961 Census .
Maithili ( /ˈmaɪtɪli/ ; Maithilī ) is an Indo-Aryan language native to the Indian subcontinent , mainly spoken in India and Nepal . In India , it is spoken in the states of Bihar and Jharkhand and is one of the 22 recognised Indian languages . In Nepal , it is spoken in the eastern Terai and is the second most prevalent language of Nepal . It is also one of the 122 recognized Nepalese languages . Tirhuta was formerly the primary script for written Maithili . Less commonly , it was also written in the local variant of Kaithi . Today it is written in the Devanagari script .
Mundari ( Muɳɖa ) is a Munda language of the Austroasiatic language family spoken by the Munda people in eastern Indian state of Jharkhand , Odisha and West Bengal . It is closely related to Santali . Mundari Bani , a script specifically to write Mundari , was invented by Rohidas Singh Nag . It has also been written in the Devanagari , Odia , Bengali , and Latin writing systems .
Sadri ( Nagpuri ) is an Eastern Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Indian states of Jharkhand , Bihar , Chhattisgarh and Odisha . It is sometimes considered a Hindi dialect . It is native language of the Sadan . In addition to native speakers , it is also used as lingua franca by many tribal groups such as Kharia , Munda and Kurukh , and a number of speakers of these tribal groups have adopted it as their first language . It is also used as a lingua franca among Tea-garden community of Assam , West Bengal and Bangladesh . According to the 2011 Census , there were approximately 5,130,000 native speakers of the Nagpuri language , including 19,100 identifying as Gawari , 4,350,000 as Sadan/Sadri and 763,000 as Nagpuria .
Odia ( ଓଡ଼ିଆ Oṛiā ( help·info ) ; formerly romanized as Oriya ) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Indian state of Odisha . It is the official language in Odisha ( formerly known as Orissa ) where native speakers make up 82% of the population , also spoken in parts of West Bengal , Jharkhand , Chhattisgarh , and Andhra Pradesh . Odia is one of the many official languages of India ; it is the official language of Odisha and the second official language of Jharkhand . The language is also spoken by a sizeable population of at least 1 million people in Chhattisgarh . Odia is the sixth Indian language to be designated a Classical Language in India , on the basis of having a long literary history and not having borrowed extensively from other languages . The earliest known inscription in Odia dates back to the 10th century AD .
Santali ( Ol Chiki : ᱥᱟᱱᱛᱟᱲᱤ ) , also known as Santhali , is the most widely spoken language of the Munda subfamily of the Austroasiatic languages , related to Ho and Mundari , spoken mainly in the Indian states of Assam , Bihar , Jharkhand , Mizoram , Odisha , Tripura and West Bengal . It is a recognised regional language of India per the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution . It is spoken by around 7.6 million people in India , Bangladesh , Bhutan and Nepal , making it the third most-spoken Austroasiatic language after Vietnamese and Khmer . Santali was a mainly oral language until the development of Ol Chiki by Pandit Raghunath Murmu in 1925 . Ol Chiki is alphabetic , sharing none of the syllabic properties of the other Indic scripts , and is now widely used to write Santali in India .
Karnataka ( Karnāṭaka , Kannada pronunciation : [ kɐnaːʈɐka ] ) is a state in the south western region of India . It was formed on 1 November 1956 , with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act . Originally known as the State of Mysore , it was renamed Karnataka in 1973 . The state corresponds to the Carnatic region . The capital and largest city is Bangalore . Karnataka is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west , Goa to the northwest , Maharashtra to the north , Telangana to the northeast , Andhra Pradesh to the east , Tamil Nadu to the southeast , and Kerala to the south . The state covers an area of 191,976 square kilometres ( 74,122 sq mi ) , or 5.83 percent of the total geographical area of India . It is the sixth largest Indian state by area . With 61,130,704 inhabitants at the 2011 census , Karnataka is the eighth largest state by population , comprising 30 districts . Kannada , one of the classical languages of India , is the most widely spoken and official language of the state . Other languages spoken include Urdu , Konkani , Marathi , Tulu , Tamil , Telugu , Malayalam , Kodava and Beary . Karnataka also contains some of the only villages in India where Sanskrit is primarily spoken .
Kannada ( /ˈkɑːnədə , ˈkæn-/ ; ಕನ್ನಡ , [ ˈkɐnnɐɖaː ] ) , also known as Kanarese , is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by people of Karnataka in southwestern India , and by significant linguistic minorities in the states of Maharashtra , Andhra Pradesh , Tamil Nadu , Telangana , Kerala and abroad . The language has roughly 44 million native speakers , who are called Kannadigas . Kannada is also spoken as a second and third language by over 12.9 million non-Kannada speakers in Karnataka , which adds up to 56 million speakers . It is one of the scheduled languages of India and the official and administrative language of the state of Karnataka . The Kannada language is written using the Kannada script , which evolved from the 5th-century Kadamba script . Kannada is attested epigraphically for about one and a half millennia , and literary Old Kannada flourished in the 6th-century Ganga dynasty and during the 9th-century Rashtrakuta Dynasty . Kannada has an unbroken literary history of over a thousand years . Kannada literature has been presented with 8 Jnanapith awards , the most for any Dravidian language and the second highest for any Indian language . Based on the recommendations of the Committee of Linguistic Experts , appointed by the ministry of culture , the government of India designated Kannada a classical language of India . In July 2011 , a center for the study of classical Kannada was established as part of the Central Institute of Indian Languages at Mysore to facilitate research related to the language .
Kerala ( /ˈkɛrələ/ ( listen ) ) is a state on the southwestern Malabar Coast of India . It was formed on 1 November 1956 , following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act , by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile states of Travancore-Cochin and Madras . Spread over 38,863 km2 ( 15,005 sq mi ) , Kerala is the twenty-third largest Indian state by area . It is bordered by Karnataka to the north and northeast , Tamil Nadu to the east and south , and the Lakshadweep Sea to the west . With 33,387,677 inhabitants as per the 2011 Census , Kerala is the thirteenth-largest Indian state by population . It is divided into 14 districts with the capital being Thiruvananthapuram . Malayalam is the most widely spoken language and is also the official language of the state . The Chera Dynasty was the first prominent kingdom based in Kerala . The Ay kingdom in the deep south and the Ezhimala kingdom in the north formed the other kingdoms in the early years of the Common Era ( CE or AD ) . The region had been a prominent spice exporter since 3000 BCE . The region 's prominence in trade was noted in the works of Pliny as well as the Periplus around 100 CE . In the 15th century , the spice trade attracted Portuguese traders to Kerala , and paved the way for European colonisation of India .
Malayalam ( /ˌmələˈjɑːləm/ ; Malayalam : മലയാളം , Malayāḷam ? [ mələjaːɭəm ] ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry ( Mahé district ) by the Malayali people . It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India spoken by nearly 2.88% of Indians . Malayalam has official language status in the state of Kerala and in the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry ( Mahé ) and is spoken by 37 million people worldwide . Malayalam is also spoken by linguistic minorities in the neighbouring states ; with significant number of speakers in the Nilgiris , Kanyakumari , and Coimbatore districts of Tamil Nadu , and Kodagu and Dakshina Kannada districts of Karnataka . Due to Malayali expatriates in the Persian Gulf , the language is also widely spoken in Gulf countries . The origin of Malayalam remains a matter of dispute among scholars . One view holds that Malayalam and modern Tamil are offshoots of Middle Tamil and separated from it sometime after the c. 7th century AD . A second view argues for the development of the two languages out of Proto-Dravidian or Proto-Tamil-Malayalam in the prehistoric era . Designated a Classical Language in India in 2013 , it developed into the current form mainly by the influence of the poet Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan in the 16th century . The oldest documents written purely in Malayalam and still surviving are the Vazhappalli Copper plates from 832 AD and Tharisapalli Copper plates from 849 AD . The earliest script used to write Malayalam was the Vatteluttu alphabet , and later the Kolezhuttu , which derived from it .
Madhya Pradesh ( MP ; /ˌmʌdjə prəˈdɛʃ/ , Hindi : [ ˈmədʱjə pɾəˈdeːʃ ] ( listen ) ; meaning Central Province ) is a state in central India . Its capital is Bhopal , and the largest city is Indore , with Jabalpur , Gwalior , and Ujjain being the other major cities . Madhya Pradesh is the second largest Indian state by area and the fifth largest state by population with over 75 million residents . It borders the states of Uttar Pradesh to the northeast , Chhattisgarh to the southeast , Maharashtra to the south , Gujarat to the west , and Rajasthan to the northwest . Before 2000 , when Chhattisgarh was a part of Madhya Pradesh , Madhya Pradesh was the largest state in India and the distance between the two furthest points inside the state , Singoli and Konta , was 1500 km . The area covered by the present-day Madhya Pradesh includes the area of the ancient Avanti Mahajanapada , whose capital Ujjain ( also known as Avantika ) arose as a major city during the second wave of Indian urbanisation in the sixth century BCE . Subsequently , the region was ruled by the major dynasties of India . By the early 18th century , the region was divided into several small kingdoms which were captured by the British and incorporated into Central Provinces and Berar and the Central India Agency . After India 's independence , Madhya Pradesh state was created with Nagpur as its capital : this state included the southern parts of the present-day Madhya Pradesh and northeastern portion of today 's Maharashtra . In 1956 , this state was reorganised and its parts were combined with the states of Madhya Bharat , Vindhya Pradesh and Bhopal to form the new Madhya Pradesh state , the Marathi-speaking Vidarbha region was removed and merged with the then Bombay State . This state was the largest in India by area until 2000 , when its southeastern Chhattisgarh region was made as a separate state . The economy of Madhya Pradesh is the tenth-largest state economy in India with ₹8.09 lakh crore ( US $ 110 billion ) in gross domestic product and a per capita GDP of ₹90,000 ( US $ 1,300 ) .
Maharashtra ( /mɑːhəˈrɑːʃtrə/ ; Marathi : [ məharaːʂʈrə ] ( listen ) , abbr . MH ) is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau . It is the second-most populous state and third-largest state by area . Spread over 307,713 km2 ( 118,809 sq mi ) , it is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west , the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south , Telangana to the southeast and Chhattisgarh to the east , Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh to the north , and the Indian union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu to the north west . It is also the world 's third-most populous subnational entity . Maharashtra was formed by merging the western and south-western parts of the Bombay State , Berar and Vidarbha , and the north-western parts of the Hyderabad State and splitting Saurashtra ( in present-day Gujarat ) by the States Reorganisation Act . It has over 112 million inhabitants and its capital , Mumbai , has a population around 18 million making it the most populous urban area in India . Nagpur hosts the winter session of the state legislature . Pune is known as the 'Oxford of the East ' due to the presence of several well-known educational institutions . Nashik is known as the 'Wine Capital of India ' as it has the largest number of wineries and vineyards in the country . The Godavari and the Krishna are the two major rivers in the state . The Narmada and Tapi Rivers flow near the border between Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat .
Manipur ( /ˈmʌnɪpʊər/ ( listen ) ) is a state in northeastern India , with the city of Imphal as its capital . It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north , Mizoram to the south , and Assam to the west ; Myanmar ( Sagaing Region and Chin State ) lies to its east . The state covers an area of 22,327 square kilometres ( 8,621 sq mi ) and has a population of almost 3 million , including the Meitei , who are the majority group in the state , the Pangals or the Pangans ( Manipuri Muslims ) , Naga tribes , Kuki/Zo tribes and other communities , who speak a variety of Sino-Tibetan languages . Manipur has been at the crossroads of Asian economic and cultural exchange for more than 2,500 years . It has long connected the Indian subcontinent and Central Asia to Southeast Asia , China ( or East Asia ) , Siberia ( Russia ) , Micronesia and Polynesia , enabling migration of people , cultures , and religions . During the days of the British Indian Empire , the Kingdom of Manipur was one of the princely states . Between 1917 and 1939 , some people of Manipur pressed the princely rulers for democracy . By the late 1930s , the princely state of Manipur negotiated with the British administration its preference to continue to be part of the Indian Empire , rather than part of Burma , which was being separated from India . These negotiations were cut short with the outbreak of World War II in 1939 . On 11 August 1947 , Maharaja Budhachandra signed an Instrument of Accession , joining India . Later , on 21 September 1949 , he signed a Merger Agreement , merging the kingdom into India , which led to its becoming a Part C State . This merger was later disputed by groups in Manipur , as having been completed without consensus and under duress .
Meitei , or Meetei ( also Manipuri /mənɪˈpʊri/ ; Meitheilon , Meeteilon , Meeʁteilon , from Meithei + -lon 'language ' ; Kathe ) is a Sino-Tibetan language and the predominant language and lingua franca in the southeastern Himalayan state of Manipur , in northeastern India . It is the one of the official languages of the Government of India . Meitei is the most spoken Sino-Tibetan language of India and the most spoken language in Northeast India after Bengali and Assamese . In the 2011 census of India , there were 1.8 million native speakers of Meitei . However , there are around 200,000 native speakers of Meitei abroad . Meiteilon is also spoken in the Northeast Indian states of Assam and Tripura and in Bangladesh and Burma ( now Myanmar ) . It is currently classified as a vulnerable language by UNESCO . Meiteilon is a tonal language whose exact classification within Sino-Tibetan remains unclear . It has lexical resemblances to Kuki and Tangkhul Naga . It has been recognised ( under the name Manipuri ) by the Indian Union and has been included in the list of scheduled languages ( included in the 8th schedule by the 71st amendment of the constitution in 1992 ) . Meiteilon is taught as a subject up to the post-graduate level ( Ph.D. ) in some universities of India , apart from being a medium of instruction up to the undergraduate level in Manipur . Education in government schools is provided in Meiteilon through the eighth standard .
Meghalaya ( UK : /meɪˈɡɑːləjə/ , US : /ˌmeɪɡəˈleɪə/ ) is a hilly state in northeastern India . The name means the abode of clouds in Sanskrit . The population of Meghalaya as of 2016 is estimated to be 3,211,474 . Meghalaya covers an area of approximately 22,430 square kilometres , with a length to breadth ratio of about 3:1 . The state is bounded to the south by the Bangladeshi divisions of Mymensingh and Sylhet , to the west by the Bangladeshi division of Rangpur , and to the north and east by India 's State of Assam . The capital of Meghalaya is Shillong . During the British rule of India , the British imperial authorities nicknamed it the Scotland of the East . Meghalaya was previously part of Assam , but on 21 January 1972 , the districts of Khasi , Garo and Jaintia hills became the new state of Meghalaya . English is the official language of Meghalaya . Unlike many Indian states , Meghalaya has historically followed a matrilineal system where the lineage and inheritance are traced through women ; the youngest daughter inherits all wealth and she also takes care of her parents . The state is the wettest region of India , recording an average of 12,000 mm ( 470 in ) of rain a year . About 70% of the state is forested .
Khasi ( Ka Ktien Khasi ) is an Austroasiatic language spoken primarily in Meghalaya state in India by the Khasi people . It is also spoken by a sizeable population in Assam and Bangladesh . Khasi is part of the Austroasiatic language family , and is related to Khmer , Vietnamese and Mon languages of Southeast Asia , and the Munda and Nicobarese branches of that family , which are spoken in east-central India and in the Nicobar Islands , respectively . Although most of the 1.6 million Khasi speakers are found in Meghalaya , the language is also spoken by a number of people in the hill districts of Assam bordering with Meghalaya and by a sizeable population of people living in Bangladesh , close to the Indian border . Khasi has been an associate official language of some districts within Meghalaya since 2005 , and as of May 2012 , was no longer considered endangered by UNESCO . There are demands to include this language to the Eighth schedule to the constitution of India . Khasi is rich in folklore and folktale , and behind most of the names of hills , mountains , rivers , waterfalls , birds , flowers , and animals there is a story . [ citation needed ]
Garo , or A·chik ( the name in Garo ) , is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken in India in the Garo Hills districts of Meghalaya , some parts of Assam , and in small pockets in Tripura . It is also spoken in certain areas of the neighbouring Bangladesh . According to the 2001 census , there are about 889,000 Garo speakers in India alone ; another 130,000 are found in Bangladesh .
Mizoram ( English : /mɪˈzɔːrəm/ ( listen ) ) is a state in northeastern India , with Aizawl as its capital city . The name is derived from Mizo , the name of the native inhabitants , and Ram , which means land , and thus Mizoram means land of the Mizos . Within the northeast region , it is the southernmost landlocked state , sharing borders with three of the Seven Sister States , namely Tripura , Assam and Manipur . The state also shares a 722-kilometre border with the neighbouring countries of Bangladesh and Myanmar . Like several other northeastern states of India , Mizoram was previously part of Assam until 1972 , when it was carved out as a Union Territory . It became the 23rd state of India , a step above Union Territory , on 20 February 1987 , with the Fifty-Third Amendment of the Indian Constitution , 1986 . Mizoram 's population was 1,091,014 , according to a 2011 census . It is the 2nd least populous state in the country . Mizoram covers an area of approximately 21,087 square kilometres . About 91% of the state is forested . About 95% of the current population is of diverse tribal origins who settled in the state , mostly from Southeast Asia , over waves of migration starting about the 16th century but mainly in the 18th century . This is the highest concentration of tribal people among all states of India , and they are currently protected under Indian constitution as a Scheduled Tribe .
The Mizo language , or Mizo ṭawng , is a language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan family of languages , spoken natively by the Mizo people in the Mizoram state of India and Chin State in Burma . The language is also known as Duhlian , a colonial term , as the Duhlian people were the first among the Mizos to be encountered by the British in the course of their colonial expansion . The Mizo language is mainly based on Lusei dialect but it has also derived many words from its surrounding Mizo sub-tribes and sub-clan . Now , Mizo language or Mizo ṭawng is the lingua franca of Mizoram and its surrounding areas and to a lesser extent of Burma and Bangladesh and in India in some parts of Assam , Tripura and Manipur . Many poetic language is derived from Pawi , Paite , and Hmar , and most known ancient poems considered to be Mizo are actually in Pawi . [ clarification needed ] Mizo is the official language of Mizoram , along with English , and there have been efforts to have it included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India .
Nagaland /ˈnɑːɡəlænd/ is a state in northeastern India . It borders the state of Assam to the west , Arunachal Pradesh and Assam to the north , Myanmar to the east , and Manipur to the south . The state capital is Kohima , and the largest city is Dimapur . It has an area of 16,579 square kilometres ( 6,401 sq mi ) with a population of 1,980,602 per the 2011 Census of India , making it one of the smallest states of India . Nagaland is one of three states in India where the population is mostly Christian . Nagaland became the 16th state of India on 1 December 1963 . The state has experienced insurgency , as well as an inter-ethnic conflict , since the 1950s . The violence and insecurity have limited Nagaland 's economic development . Agriculture is the most important economic activity , covering over 70% of the state 's economy . Other significant economic activity includes forestry , tourism , insurance , real estate , and miscellaneous cottage industries . The state is mostly mountainous except those areas bordering Assam valley which comprises 9% of the total area of the state . Mount Saramati is the highest peak at 3,840 metres and its range forms a natural barrier between Nagaland and Myanmar .
Odisha ( /əˈdɪsə/ , /ɒˈrɪsə , ɔː- , oʊ-/ ; , pronounced [ oɽɪˈsaː ] ( listen ) ; is an Indian state located on the eastern coast of India . It neighbors the states of West Bengal and Jharkhand to the north , Chhattisgarh to the west and Andhra Pradesh to the south . Odisha has a coastline of 485 kilometres ( 301 mi ) along the Bay of Bengal . It is the 8th largest state by area , and the 11th largest by population . The state has the third largest population of Scheduled Tribes in India . The ancient kingdom of Kalinga , which was invaded by the Mauryan emperor Ashoka in 261 BCE resulting in the Kalinga War , coincides with the borders of modern-day Odisha . The modern state of Odisha was established on 1 April 1936 , as a province in British India , and consisted of Odia-speaking regions . 1 April is celebrated as Utkala Dibasa . The region is also known as Utkala and is mentioned in India 's national anthem , Jana Gana Mana . Cuttack was made the capital of the region by Anantavarman Chodaganga in c. 1135 , after which the city was used as the capital by many rulers , through the British era until 1948 . Thereafter , Bhubaneswar became the capital of Odisha . The economy of Odisha is the 16th-largest state economy in India with ₹4.16 lakh crore ( US $ 58 billion ) in gross domestic product and a per capita GDP of ₹93,000 ( US $ 1,300 ) .
Punjab ( /pʌnˈdʒɑːb/ ( listen ) , Punjabi : [ pənˈdʒaːb ] ) is a state in northern India . Forming part of the larger Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent , the state is bordered by the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir to the north , and the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the east , Haryana to the south and southeast , and Rajasthan to the southwest . It is bordered by the Pakistani province of Punjab to the west . The state covers an area of 50,362 square kilometres , 1.53% of India 's total geographical area . It is the 20th-largest Indian state by area . With 27,704,236 inhabitants at the 2011 census , Punjab is the 16th-largest state by population , comprising 22 districts . Punjabi is the most widely spoken and official language of the state . The main ethnic group are the Punjabis , with Sikhs ( 58% ) and Hindus ( 38% ) . The state capital is Chandigarh , a Union Territory and also the capital of the neighbouring state of Haryana . The five tributary rivers of the Indus River from which the region took its name are Sutlej , Ravi , Beas , Chenab and Jhelum Rivers ; Sutlej , Ravi and Beas are part of the Indian Punjab . The history of Punjab has witnessed the migration and settlement of innumerable races , forming a melting pot of Punjabi civilisation . The first traces of human habitation in India were found in the Punjab region .