how many major languages are there in india
Languages of India According to Census of India of 2001, India has 122 major languages and 1599 other languages. However, figures from other sources vary, primarily due to differences in definition of the terms "language" and "dialect". The 2001 Census recorded 30 languages which were spoken by more than a million native speakers and 122 which were spoken by more than 10,000 people.[13] Two contact languages have played an important role in the history of India: Persian[14] and English.[15] Persian was the court language during the Mughal period in India. It reigned as an administrative language for several centuries until the era of British colonisation.[16] English continues to be an important language in India. It is used in higher education and in some areas of the Indian government. Hindi, the most widely spoken language in a large region of India today, serves as the lingua franca across much of North and Central India.[17] However, there have been anti-Hindi agitations in South India, most notably in the states of Tamil Nadu.[18] There is also opposition in non-Hindi belt states towards imposition of Hindi in these areas.[19][20]
Ethnic groups of Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh is a state in the southern part of India. It was created on November 1, 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act. Andhra Pradesh is bordered by the Bay of Bengal to the east, Karnataka to the west, Maharashtra to the north-west, Orissa to the north-east, Chhattisgarh to the north and Tamil Nadu to the south. The state covers an area of 106,195 sq mi (275,045 km²), or 5.83% of the total geographical area of India. It comprises 23 districts. Telugu is the primary official language of Andhra Pradesh and spoken as a native language by about 83.88% of the people. Other ethnic minorities in the state as of 2001 are Urdu people (8.63%), Tamil people (1.01%), Kannada people (0.80%), Marathi people (0.70%) and Odia people (0.44%).[citation needed]