Introduction 

• The Constitution of India, 1950 (COI) consists of 12 Schedules. 
• The Eighth Schedule of the Constitution consists of 22 languages.  

Constitutional Provisions Related to Eighth Schedule 

• The Constitutional provisions relating to the Eighth Schedule occur in Articles 344 (1) and Article 351 of the COI.  
• Article 344 (1) provides that the President shall at the expiration of five years from the commencement of this Constitution and thereafter at the expiration of ten years from such commencement, by order constitute a Commission which shall consist of a Chairman and such other members representing the different languages specified in the Eighth Schedule as the President may appoint, and the order shall define the procedure to be followed by the Commission.  
• As per Article 344 (2) It shall be the duty of the Commission to make recommendations to the President as to: 
  • The progressive use of the Hindi language for the official purposes of the Union. 
  • Restrictions on the use of the English language for all or any of the official purposes of the Union. 
  • The language to be used for all or any of the purposes mentioned in article 348. 
  • The form of numerals to be used for any one or more specified purposes of the Union. 
  • Any other matter referred to the Commission by the President as regards the official language of the Union and the language for communication between the Union and a State or between one State and another and their use. 
• Article 351 of the Constitution provides that it shall be the duty of the Union  
  • To promote 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. 
  • To secure its enrichment by assimilating without interfering with its genius, the forms, style and expressions used in Hindustani and in the other languages of India specified in the Eighth Schedule, and by drawing, wherever necessary or desirable, for its vocabulary, primarily, on Sanskrit and secondarily on other languages. 
  • It would thus appear that the Eighth Schedule was intended to promote the progressing use of Hindi and for the enrichment and promotion of that language. 

Eighth Schedule  

• The Eighth Schedule consists of 22 languages: 
• (1) Assamese, (2) Bengali, (3) Gujarati, (4) Hindi, (5) Kannada, (6) Kashmiri, (7) Konkani, (8) Malayalam, (9) Manipuri, (10) Marathi, (11) Nepali, (12) Oriya, (13) Punjabi, (14) Sanskrit, (15) Sindhi, (16) Tamil, (17) Telugu, (18) Urdu (19) Bodo, (20) Santhali, (21) Maithili and (22) Dogri 
• Of these 14 were initially included in the Constitution. 
• Sindhi language was added in 1967. Thereafter three more languages i.e. Konkani, Manipuri and Nepali were included in 1992. 
• Subsequently, Bodo, Dogri, Maithali and Santhali were added in 2004. 

Procedure for Inclusion of Languages in Eighth Schedule 

• A Committee was set up in September 2003 under the Chairmanship of Shri Sitakant Mohapatra to evolve a set of objective criteria for inclusion of more languages in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution. 
• The Committee submitted it’s report in 2004. 
• The report of the Committee is under consideration in consultation with the concerned Minorities/Departments of the Central Government. 
• A decision on the pending demand for inclusion of languages in the Eighth Schedule will be taken, inter alia, in the light of the recommendations of the Committee and Government’s decision thereon.  

Latest Developments 

• Ripudaman Singh v. Union of India (2023):  
  • In July 2023 the Supreme Court dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking inclusion of “Rajasthani” language in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. 
  • The Court held that this is a matter of policy and not something for which mandamus can be issued. 
  • A bench comprising Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, Justice PS Narsimha and Justice Manoj Misra held that it was not within the Court’s authority to mandate the inclusion of any language in the Eighth Schedule. 
  • A division bench of Justice Patel and Justice Shanker of the Delhi High Court dismissed the PIL filed to include the Indian Sign Language in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.  
  • It was held by the Court that there are adequate provisions under the Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 to recognize, preserve and promote Indian Sign Language.

Conclusion 

The Eighth Schedule of the Constitution contains 22 languages. This Schedule is to be read with Article 344 (1) and Article 351 of the Constitution.