Pariksha SaathiLesson 8 of 10 · Indian Art and Culture
Indian Languages, Scripts and Literature: Eighth Schedule, Brahmi and the Classics
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Language in the Constitution
Part XVII (Articles 343 to 351) deals with official language. Article 343 makes Hindi in the Devanagari script the official language of the Union, adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 14 September 1949, now observed as Hindi Diwas; Article 345 lets each state choose its own official language; Article 350A asks states to provide primary education in the mother tongue; and Article 351 directs the Union to develop Hindi. Census 2011 recorded Hindi as the mother tongue of 43.63 per cent of Indians, followed by Bengali at 8.03 per cent.
The Eighth Schedule
The Eighth Schedule began in 1950 with 14 languages: Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu. The 21st Amendment (1967) added Sindhi; the 71st Amendment (1992) added Konkani, Manipuri and Nepali; and the 92nd Amendment (2003) added Bodo, Dogri, Maithili and Santhali, bringing the total to 22. The 96th Amendment (2011) changed the spelling Oriya to Odia. The languages come from four families: Indo-Aryan, Dravidian, Austro-Asiatic (Santhali) and Tibeto-Burman (Bodo and Manipuri).
Classical languages
In 2004 the Government of India created a category of classical languages for languages with a long recorded history, an ancient body of literature regarded as a heritage, and an original literary tradition. Tamil was the first, declared in 2004, followed by Sanskrit in 2005, Telugu and Kannada in 2008, Malayalam in 2013 and Odia in 2014; more have been added since. Recognition brings international awards for eminent scholars, centres of excellence for study and professional chairs in universities.
Ancient scripts
The Indus script, mostly written right to left, is still undeciphered. Brahmi, written left to right, is the script of most Ashokan edicts and the parent of nearly all later Indian scripts, Devanagari, Bengali, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada among them; James Prinsep deciphered it in 1837. Kharosthi, written right to left and derived from Aramaic, was used in the north-west, as in Ashoka's edicts at Shahbazgarhi and Mansehra. The Maski edict in Karnataka, found in 1915, was the first to name Ashoka himself. Gurmukhi is credited to Guru Angad Dev, and Ol Chiki, the script of Santhali, was created by Raghunath Murmu in 1925.
Sanskrit literature
The Rigveda, oldest of the four Vedas, has 10 mandalas and 1,028 hymns; the Upanishads gave the motto Satyameva Jayate (Mundaka Upanishad). Valmiki's Ramayana is the adikavya, the first poem, and Ved Vyasa's Mahabharata has 18 parvas. Panini's Ashtadhyayi is the classic grammar, Kautilya's Arthashastra the classic of statecraft, and Vishnu Sharma's Panchatantra the classic of fables. Kalidasa wrote the plays Abhijnanashakuntalam, Malavikagnimitram and Vikramorvashiyam and the poems Meghadutam, Raghuvamsha, Kumarasambhava and Ritusamhara. Bhasa wrote Svapnavasavadattam, Shudraka Mrichchhakatika, Vishakhadatta Mudrarakshasa, Banabhatta the Harshacharita and Kadambari, King Harsha Ratnavali, Nagananda and Priyadarshika, Kalhana the Rajatarangini (12th century, a history of Kashmir) and Jayadeva the Gita Govinda.
Tamil literature
Sangam literature, linked by tradition with academies at Madurai under the Pandyas, includes the grammar Tolkappiyam and the anthologies Ettuthokai (Eight Anthologies) and Pattuppattu (Ten Idylls). Thiruvalluvar's Tirukkural has 1,330 couplets in three parts, on virtue, wealth and love. The twin epics are Ilango Adigal's Silappadikaram, the story of Kannagi and her anklet, and Sattanar's Manimekalai, a Buddhist sequel. The 12 Alvars sang of Vishnu (their hymns form the Nalayira Divya Prabandham) and the 63 Nayanars of Shiva; Kamban wrote the Tamil Ramayana in the Chola period.
Persian, Arabic and Hindi works
Amir Khusrau, called Tuti-i-Hind (parrot of India), wrote the Khazain-ul-Futuh on Alauddin Khalji's conquests; Ziauddin Barani wrote the Tarikh-i-Firoz Shahi; Al-Biruni's Kitab-ul-Hind and Ibn Battuta's Rihla are in Arabic. Babur wrote the Baburnama in Turki, which Abdul Rahim Khan-i-Khanan translated into Persian; Abul Fazl wrote the Akbarnama, whose third part is the Ain-i-Akbari; Badauni wrote the Muntakhab-ut-Tawarikh; and Dara Shikoh translated the Upanishads into Persian as Sirr-i-Akbar. In Hindi, Chand Bardai's Prithviraj Raso belongs to the heroic age; Kabir's verses are collected in the Bijak; Malik Muhammad Jayasi wrote Padmavat and Tulsidas the Ramcharitmanas in Awadhi; Surdas wrote the Sursagar and Bihari the Satsai in Braj.
Key facts
- Eighth Schedule growth: 14 languages (1950) + Sindhi (21st Amendment, 1967) + Konkani, Manipuri, Nepali (71st, 1992) + Bodo, Dogri, Maithili, Santhali (92nd, 2003) = 22.
- Article 343: Hindi in Devanagari is the official language of the Union; adopted on 14 September 1949, marked as Hindi Diwas. Article 350A: primary education in the mother tongue.
- Census 2011: Hindi was the mother tongue of 43.63 per cent of Indians, Bengali second at 8.03 per cent.
- Classical language category created in 2004; Tamil was the first (2004), then Sanskrit (2005); benefits include scholar awards and centres of excellence.
- Brahmi: left to right, parent of most Indian scripts, deciphered by James Prinsep in 1837; Kharosthi: right to left, Aramaic-derived, north-west (Shahbazgarhi, Mansehra).
- Kalidasa: Abhijnanashakuntalam, Malavikagnimitram, Vikramorvashiyam (plays); Meghadutam, Raghuvamsha, Kumarasambhava, Ritusamhara (poems).
- Author-work pairs: Shudraka - Mrichchhakatika; Vishakhadatta - Mudrarakshasa; Banabhatta - Harshacharita; Kalhana - Rajatarangini; Jayadeva - Gita Govinda.
- Tamil: Tolkappiyam (grammar), Tirukkural (1,330 couplets, Thiruvalluvar), Silappadikaram (Ilango Adigal), Manimekalai (Sattanar), Kamba Ramayanam (Kamban).
- Language traps: Baburnama in Turki; Kitab-ul-Hind (Al-Biruni) and Rihla (Ibn Battuta) in Arabic; Akbarnama and Ain-i-Akbari (Abul Fazl) in Persian.
- Hindi classics: Prithviraj Raso (Chand Bardai), Bijak (Kabir), Padmavat (Jayasi, Awadhi), Ramcharitmanas (Tulsidas, Awadhi), Sursagar (Surdas, Braj), Satsai (Bihari, Braj).
Quick revision
Part XVII, Articles 343-351; Hindi Diwas 14 Sept (1949); Eighth Schedule 14 (1950), Sindhi 21st Amdt 1967, Konkani-Manipuri-Nepali 71st 1992, Bodo-Dogri-Maithili-Santhali 92nd 2003 = 22; classical languages from 2004, Tamil first; Brahmi left-right, Prinsep 1837; Kharosthi right-left; Rigveda 10 mandalas 1,028 hymns; Kalidasa; Rajatarangini (Kalhana); Tirukkural 1,330 couplets; Khusrau Tuti-i-Hind; Baburnama Turki; Ramcharitmanas Awadhi.