97% of India’s 1.3 billion people speak one of the 22 Scheduled languages officially recognized by the Constitution. The remaining 3% speak one of the 92 minor languages as their mother tongue, which are registered as distinct languages, but not recognized under the Constitution (8th Schedule). Lastly, there are thousands of tribal languages that are spoken by less than 10,000 people and these are not even registered in the official census. Only two of the languages of Adivasi peoples are recognized by the Constitution, Bodo and Santhali.
A detailed list of minor and tribal languages is given below:
- Minor & Tribal Languages of India -1 (A)
- Minor & Tribal Languages of India -2 (B)
- Minor & Tribal Languages of India -3 (CD)
- Minor & Tribal Languages of India -4 (G)
- Minor & Tribal Languages of India -5 (HIJ)
- Minor & Tribal Languages of India -6 (K)
- Minor & Tribal Languages of India -7 (LM)
- Minor & Tribal Languages of India -8 (N)
- Minor & Tribal Languages of India -9 (OP)
- Minor & Tribal Languages of India -10 (RST)
- Minor & Tribal Languages of India -11 (U-Z)