The rich diversity in Indian culture is instigated by the multifarious languages spoken in the country. The Indian Language data showcases 122 different languages spoken by the number of people in each district of India. The data is presented in the form of a geospatial heatmap highlighting the relationship between languages spoken and population in each district of India. The intensity of the color relates to the greater or lesser value of the indicator in each district. The darker tone of red color indicates a greater number of people speaking the language, while a lighter tone indicates fewer people speaking the same language. For instance, let us have a look at the geospatial heatmap for Hindi, the official language of India. The visualization shows a district-wise as well as the regional demarcation of the number of people speaking Hindi.
The district Raipur in Chhattisgarh, with over 7.2 million Hindi-speaking people, grabs the spotlight, followed by Jaipur district in Rajasthan with about 6.2 million Hindi-speaking people, and Durg district of Chhattisgarh with over 6.1 million Hindi-speaking people. Further, major cities in the central and northern regions, such as Delhi, Allahabad, Lucknow, and Patna, showcase a larger number of people speaking Hindi. Regionally, the central region of the Indian map depicts the highest concentration of Hindi-speaking people, followed by the western and northern regions of India, respectively. The Eastern and Southern regions of India house the least concentration of Hindi-speaking population, illustrated by the light pink tone in the visualization.
Moreover, a clearer distinction in spoken languages can be observed by a state-wise overview of the visualization. Apart from Hindi, certain regional languages are also common in North India. For instance, Bhotia language in Kargil and Leh (Ladakh), Dogri language in Jammu, Kathua, and Udhampur districts of Jammu & Kashmir, and Punjabi language in Ludhiana, Amritsar, Gurdaspur, among other districts of Punjab. Additionally, there is a widespread concentration of Urdu-speaking populations in districts of Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka. Interestingly, the density of English-speaking persons is fairly low, with the highest number of English speakers reported in Mumbai Suburban (53, 975), Thane (20,071), and Bangalore (17,144).
Spanning through the southern region, in Andhra Pradesh, Telugu is the most spoken language with the highest concentration of over 5 million Telugu-speaking population in East Godavari, followed by Guntur district having over 4.2 million Telugu-speakers. Similarly, the highest number of Tamil-speakers are seen in Tamil Nadu, where Chennai district hits the list with over 3.6 million Tamil speaking persons, Kancheepuram district with about 3.6 million Tamil speaking persons, and Villupuram district with 3.3 million Tamil-speaking persons. Malayalam- speaking population is majorly located in Kerala, with the highest number of over 4 million persons in Mallapuram district, 3.2 million persons in Thiruvananthapuram, and 3.1 million speakers in Ernakulam district. In Karnataka, the highest number of Kannada-speaking populace is located in Bangalore with over 4.2 million persons, followed by Belgaum with over 3.2 million persons, and Mysore with 2.4 million persons speaking the language.
The Marathi language is vastly spoken in the districts of Maharashtra. Pune district shelters more than 7.3 million persons speaking Marathi, Thane houses 5.5 million, Nashik covers over 4.4 million, followed by Mumbai with 3.2 million Marathi speakers. Ahmedabad district in Gujarat covers the highest proportion of Gujarati speaking population with over 5.3 million speakers, followed by Rajkot, Surat, and Vadodara districts covering 3.66, 3.65, and 3.59 million Gujarati- speakers, respectively.
In the South-east, Odia-speaking population is found in Orissa and adjoining districts of West Bengal. Ganjam District aces the highest number of Odia-speakers, over 3.2 million, followed by Cuttack district with over 2.3 million Odia-speakers. Bengali is majorly spoken in West Bengal, where North Twenty Four Parganas district, with over 8.9 million Bengali speaking people, has the highest number of Bengali-speakers, followed by South Twenty Four Parganas with more than 6.9 million people speaking Bengali. Bengali is also prominent in north-eastern districts such as West Tripura, Cachar, Kachar, Nagaon, Baksa, and Barpeta. The Assamese language is spoken by most residents of the Nagaon district (over 1.7 million), followed by those of Dhubri district (over 1.2 million) and Kamrup district (over 1.1 million). Other languages prominently observed in North-eastern districts are Garo, Khasi, Nagamese, Kokborok, Nepali, Karbi, Apatani, Galo, Adi, Nyishi, and Mizo.
To sum up, Indian languages are as vast and widespread as the country’s diverse population. While Hindi is the official language of the country, the debate to pick any one language as the national language of India is a blind alley. Thus, marked by the diversity of Indian culture and traditions, understanding the heterogeneity of Indian languages makes it a crucial factor for businesses and enterprises planning to invest in the country.