The Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India lists the official languages of the
Republic of India. At the time when the Constitution was enacted, inclusion in this
list meant that the language was entitled to representation on the Official
Languages Commission, [1]  and that the language would be one of the bases that
would be drawn upon to enrich Hindi and English, the official languages of the
Union. [2]  The list has since, however, acquired further significance. 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. In addition, a
candidate appearing in an examination conducted for public service is entitled to
use any of these languages as the medium in which he or she answers the paper.
As per Articles 344(1) and 351 of the Indian Constitution, the eighth schedule
includes the recognition of the following 22 languages:

(1) Assamese (2) Bengali (3) Bodo (4) Dogri (5) Gujarati (6) Hindi (7) Kannada
(8) Kashmiri (9) Konkani (10) Maithili (11) Malayalam (12) Meitei (Manipuri)
(13) Marathi (14) Nepali (15) Odia (16) Punjabi (17) Sanskrit (18) Santhali
(19) Sindhi (20)Tamil (21) Telugu (22)Urdu
Of these languages, 14 were initially included in the Constitution. Subsequently, Sindhi
was added in 1967 by 21st constitutional amendment act; Konkani, Manipuri (Meitei)
and Nepali were added in 1992 by 71st Constitutional Amendment Act; and Bodo,
Dogri, Maithili and Santali were added in 2003 by 92nd Constitutional Amendment
Act. [6]  The name Oriya was replaced by Odia by 96th constitutional Amendment Act of

2011.

THE CONSTITUTION (TWENTY-FIRST AMENDMENT) ACT, 1967

Statement of Objects and Reasons appended to the Constitution
(Twenty-second Amendment) Bill, 1966 (Bill No. XXIV of 1966) which
was enacted as THE CONSTITUTION (Twenty-first Amendment) Act, 1967
STATEMENT OF OBJECTS AND REASONS
There have been persistent demands from the Sindhi-speaking people for the inclusion of
the Sindhi language in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution. Although at present Sindhi
is not a regional language in a well-defined area, it used to be the language of a province of
the undivided India and, but for partition, would have continued to be so.
The Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities has also recommended the inclusion of Sindhi
in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution.
On 4th November, 1966, it was announced that Government had decided to include the
Sindhi language in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution. The Bill seeks to give effect to
this decision.
NEW DELHI; Y. B. CHAVAN.
The 15th November, 1966.

THE CONSTITUTION (TWENTY-FIRST AMENDMENT) ACT, 1967
[10th April, 1967.]
An Act further to amend the Constitution of India.
BE it enacted by Parliament in the Eighteenth Year of the Republic of
India as follows:-
1.Short title.-This Act may be called the Constitution (Twenty-first Amendment) Act, 1967.

2. Amendment of Eighth Schedule.-In the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution,-
   (a) entries 12 to 14 shall be re-numbered as entries 13 to 15 respectively, and
   (b) before entry “13” as so re-numbered, the entry “12. Sindhi.” shall be inserted.