-121 Languages has been Reported in the Country
New Delhi : As per the Census of India 2011, (Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India), a total of 121 languages has been reported in the country. Several of these languages have their own distinct scripts, while others are written in shared or regional scripts. This information was given by Union Minister for Culture and Tourism Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.
He said that the Ministry of Education through Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL), Mysuru, under the Scheme for Protection and Preservation of Endangered Languages of India (SPPEL), works on protection, preservation and documentation of all the mother tongues/languages of India spoken by less than 10,000 people which are called endangered languages. In the first phase of the scheme, 117 endangered languages/mother tongues have been chosen from all over India for study and documentation, details of which may be found at Annexure.
He said that the Ministry of Culture through Sahitya Akademi promotes literary dialogue and publication through awards, translations, and events in 24 recognized languages and many tribal and unrecognized languages. It also creates special programs and centers for documentation and preservation of oral and tribal literature, such as the Centre for Oral and Tribal Literature, and awards the Bhasha Samman to scholars working in less-recognized languages.