UNESCO chooses a theme for each International Mother Language Day, and sponsors related events at its Paris headquarters. In 2008, the International Year of Languages began on International Mother Language Day. It is celebrated in Chile, Russia, the Philippines, Egypt and Canada.
As part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Digital India initiative, digitized content will be made available in the country's 22 scheduled languages and extended to India's other 234 recognized languages. Digitization began in June 2016 through the Bharatavani Project at the Central Institute of Indian Languages in Mysore, and by February 2017 content in 60 Indian languages had been made available free of charge.
The Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL) is an Indian research and teaching institute based in Hootaglli,Mysore, part of the Language Bureau of the Ministry of Education. It was founded on 17 July 1969.
The Central Institute of Indian Languages has seven centres:
- Centre for Classical Languages
- Centre for Tribal, Minor, Endangered Languages and Languages Policy
- Centre for Lexicography, Folklore, Literature and Translation Studies
- Centre for Literacy Studies
- Centre for Testing & Evaluation
- Centre for Materials Production, Publications and Sales
- Centre for Information in Indian Languages
There are various official languages in India at the state/territory level. However, there is no national language in India. Article 343(1) of the Indian constitution specifically mentions that, "The official language of the Union shall be Hindi in Devanagari script. The form of numerals to be used for the official purposes of the Union shall be the international form of Indian numerals." The business in Indian parliament can only be transacted in Hindi or in English. English is allowed to be used in official purposes such as parliamentary proceedings, judiciary, communications between the Central Government and a State Government. States within India have the liberty and powers to specify their own official language(s) through legislation. In addition to the official languages, the constitution recognizes 22 regional languages, which include Hindi but not English, as scheduled languages, that is not to be confused with the official status of the Union. Hindi and English are the only two languages mentioned on the Indian passport. States can specify their own official language(s) through legislation. The section of the Constitution of India dealing with official languages, therefore, includes detailed provisions which deal not just with the languages used for the official purposes of the union, but also with the languages that are to be used for the official purposes of each state and union territory in the country, and the languages that are to be used for communication between the union and the states.
The official languages of British India were English, Urdu and Hindi, with English being used for purposes at the central level. The Indian constitution adopted in 1950 envisaged that English would be phased out in favour of Hindi, over a fifteen-year period, but gave Parliament the power to, by law, provide for the continued use of English even thereafter. Plans to make Hindi the sole official language of the Republic were met with resistance in many parts of the country. English and Hindi continue to be used today, in combination with others (at the central level and in some states) official languages. The legal framework governing the use of languages for official purpose currently is the Official Languages Act, 1963, the Official Language Rules, 1976, and various state laws, as well as rules and regulations made by the central government and the states.
The Eighth Schedule to the Indian Constitution contains a list of 22 scheduled languages. The table below lists the 22 scheduled languages of the Republic of India set out in the Eighth Schedule as of May 2008, together with the regions where they are widely spoken and used as the state's official language. However, states are not mandated to choose their official languages from the scheduled languages. Sindhi is not official in any states or union territories even though it is official in the Eighth Schedule.
