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{{Short description|Officially mandated writing systems in India}}
{{Contains special characters}}
There are several '''official scripts of India''', which are either used officially by the Union government or by the state governments. The official languages of the Indian Union are Hindi and English, whereas the [[Devanagari script]] is used to write [[Hindi]] and the [[Latin script]] is used for English. Alongside, the [[Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India]] lists languages that are officially recognised by the Indian government.<ref name="Eight">{{cite web |title=Eighth Schedule |url=https://www.mea.gov.in/Images/pdf1/S8.pdf |access-date=5 December 2023 |publisher=[[Government of India]]}}</ref> However, the state legislatures are free to adopt by law any languages as official ones.<ref>{{Cite web |title=CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS {{!}} Department of Official Language {{!}} Ministry of Home Affairs {{!}} GoI |url=https://rajbhasha.gov.in/en/constitutional-provisions |access-date=2025-03-09 |website=rajbhasha.gov.in}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=India: Official Languages Act |url=https://www.uottawa.ca/about-us/official-languages-bilingualism-institute/clmc/international-perspective/canadian-bilingualism/india-official-languages-act#:~:text=Accordingly,%20in%201963%20the%20Federal,choose%20their%20own%20official%20languages. |access-date=2025-03-09 |website=About us |language=en}}</ref>

== Bengali–Assamese Script ==
The [[Bengali–Assamese script]] is the official script for the Bengali and Assamese language in West Bengal, Assam and Tripura.

== Devanagari Script ==
The [[Constitution of India]] says:
{{Blockquote|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.|Part XVII of the [[Indian Constitution]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Sequence of events with reference to official language of the Union |url=http://rajbhasha.nic.in/IIContent.aspx?t=enevents8|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110802071514/http://rajbhasha.nic.in/IIContent.aspx?t=enevents |archive-date=2 August 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref>}}
Being the official script for Hindi, Devanagari is officially used in the [[Union Government of India]] as well as several Indian states where Hindi is an official language, [[Bihar]], [[Chhattisgarh]], [[Haryana]], [[Himachal Pradesh]], [[Jharkhand]], [[Madhya Pradesh]], [[Mizoram]], [[Rajasthan]], [[Uttar Pradesh]] and [[Uttarakhand]], and the Indian union territories of [[Delhi]], [[Andaman and Nicobar Islands]] and [[Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nclm.nic.in/shared/linkimages/NCLM50thReport.pdf |title=Report of the Commissioner for linguistic minorities: 50th report (July 2012 to June 2013) |publisher=Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities, Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India |access-date=26 December 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160708012438/http://nclm.nic.in/shared/linkimages/NCLM50thReport.pdf |archive-date= 8 July 2016}}</ref>
[[Gujarat]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.indiacode.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/4501/1/officiallanguages.pdf |title=The Gujarat Official Languages Act, 1960 |publisher=indiacode.nic.in |year=1961 |access-date=21 December 2022 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Benedikter |first=Thomas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vpZv2GHM7VQC&pg=PA89 |title=Language Policy and Linguistic Minorities in India: An Appraisal of the Linguistic Rights of Minorities in India |publisher=LIT Verlag Münster |year=2009 |isbn=978-3-643-10231-7 |page=89 |access-date=13 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160425230812/https://books.google.com/books?id=vpZv2GHM7VQC&pg=PA89 |archive-date=25 April 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> and [[West Bengal]] also officially use Devanagari, as these two states recognise Hindi as an additional official language.<ref name="auto10">{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/1121211/jsp/bengal/story_16301872.jsp |title=Multi-lingual Bengal |date=11 December 2012 |newspaper=[[The Telegraph (Calcutta)|The Telegraph]] |access-date=25 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180325232340/https://www.telegraphindia.com/1121211/jsp/bengal/story_16301872.jsp |archive-date=25 March 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The [[Devanagari script]] ({{Script|Deva|देवनागरी}}, romanized: Devanāgarī) is the officially mandated script of the [[Bodo language]] in [[Assam]],<ref>{{cite web |title=The Assam Official Language Act, 1960 |url=https://www.indiacode.nic.in/handle/123456789/19560 |website=India Code |publisher=Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India |access-date=28 February 2024}}</ref> the [[Konkani language]] in [[Goa]],<ref name="GDDOLAct1987">{{cite web|url=http://www.daman.nic.in/acts-rules%5CHindi-department%5Cdocuments/Official%20Language%20Act.pdf|title=The Goa, Daman and Diu Official Language Act, 1987|date=19 December 1987|website=U.T. Administration of Daman & Diu|access-date=26 December 2014}}</ref> and Sanskrit in [[Himachal Pradesh]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The Himachal Pradesh Official Language Act, 1975 |url=https://www.indiacode.nic.in/handle/123456789/5711 |website=India Code |publisher=Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India}}</ref>

== Gujarati script ==
The [[Gujarati script]] is the official script for the Gujarati language in Gujarat.

== Gurmukhi Script ==
{{Distinguish||text=[[Shahmukhi]], the Punjabi script used in Punjab, Pakistan}}
The [[Gurmukhi script]] ({{langx|pa|{{script|Guru|ਗੁਰਮੁਖੀ}}}}) is the official script for the [[Punjabi language]] in [[Punjab, India|Punjab]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Punjab Official Languages Act, 1967 |url=https://www.bareactslive.com/Pun/PU449.HTM?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1 |access-date=2024-03-16 |website=www.bareactslive.com}}</ref> and [[Delhi]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://archive.org/details/2003Delhi8 |title=The Delhi Official Language Act, 2000 |language=English}}</ref>

== Kannada Script ==
The [[Kannada script]] is the official script for the Kannada language in Karnataka.

== Latin Script ==
The [[Latin script|Latin Script]] is the official script for the English language in [[Union Government of India]] and its states like Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

== Malayalam Script ==
The [[Malayalam script]] is the official script for the Malayalam language in Kerala.

== Meitei Script ==
The [[Meitei script]] ({{langx|mni|{{script|Mtei|[[ꯃꯩꯇꯩ ꯃꯌꯦꯛ]]}}|Meitei mayek}}) is the officially mandated script for the [[Meitei language]] of [[Manipur]],<ref>{{Cite web | title=The Manipur Official Language (Amendment) Act, 2021 | url=https://manipurgovtpress.nic.in/en/details_gazzete/?gazette=658 |access-date=2024-03-16 |website=manipurgovtpress.nic.in}}</ref> replacing the [[Bengali script]], albeit with some allowance for parallel use. It is also used in Assam for the Meitei language.

== Odia script ==
The [[Odia script]] is the official script for the Odia language in Odisha.

== Ol Chiki Script==
The [[Ol Chiki script]] (ᱚᱞ ᱪᱤᱠᱤ, Santali pronunciation: [ɔl tʃiki], ɔl 'writing', tʃiki 'symbol') is the official script for the Santali language in West Bengal, as well as in the neighboring state of Jharkhand.

== Perso-Arabic script ==
The Perso-Arabic script is the official script for [[Kashmiri language|Kashmiri]] and [[Urdu]] languages in Jammu and Kashmir.

== Telugu Script ==
The [[Telugu script]] ([[Telugu language|Telugu]]: తెలుగు లిపి, <small>[[Romanization of Telugu|romanized]]:</small> ''Telugu lipi'') is the official script for the [[Telugu language]] in [[Andhra Pradesh]], [[Telangana]] and [[Puducherry (union territory)|Union Territory Puducherry]].<ref name=":0" />

== Tamil Script ==
The [[Tamil script]] ({{Langx|ta|தமிழ் அரிச்சுவடி|Tamiḻ ariccuvaṭi}}) is the official script for the [[Tamil language]] in [[Tamil Nadu]]<ref>{{cite web |title=The Tamil Nadu Official Language Act, 1956 |url=http://www.lawsofindia.org/pdf/tamil_nadu/1956/1956TN39.pdf |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160216072926/http://www.lawsofindia.org/pdf/tamil_nadu/1956/1956TN39.pdf |archive-date=February 16, 2016 |access-date=2018-08-09}}</ref> and [[Puducherry (union territory)|Union Territory Puducherry]].<ref name=":0">{{cite web |title=The Pondicherry Official Languages Act, 1965 |url=http://www.lawsofindia.org/pdf/puducherry/1965/1965Pondicherry3.pdf |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140911084318/http://www.lawsofindia.org/pdf/puducherry/1965/1965Pondicherry3.pdf |archive-date=September 11, 2014 |access-date=2018-08-09}}</ref> Although there is no explicit legal provision defining the Tamil script as the official script, it is implicitly recognised as such since it is used in the formulation of laws and official documents.

== Tirhuta Script ==
The [[Tirhuta script|Tirhuta]] (also called Mithilakshar) script has historically been used for writing the [[Maithili language]] in [[Mithila (region)|mithila]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Aksharamukha |url=https://www.aksharamukha.com/describe/Tirhuta |access-date=2026-03-07 |website=www.aksharamukha.com}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Classical Languages of India]]
* [[Directorate of Language Planning and Implementation]]
* [[Official Languages Commission]]
* [[Part XVII of the Constitution of India]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{Cite web |title=Indic writing systems {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Indic-writing-systems |access-date=2023-01-26 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Writing systems of South Asia]]

Official scripts of India - Revision history

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