Q. No. 1. With reference to India, the terms 'Halbi, Ho and Kui' pertain to: (UPSC CSE Prelims, 2021)

(a) Dance forms of Northwest India

(b) Musical instruments

(c) Prehistoric cave paintings

(d) Tribal languages

Answer: (d)

Explanation:

  1. Halbi, Ho and Kui are languages spoken principally by tribal communities in central and eastern India. Their importance lies not only in tribal geography but also in showing that tribal languages of India belong to more than one language family.
  2. Halbi is an Indo-Aryan language used widely in the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh and adjoining Odisha and Maharashtra. It has functioned as a regional contact language among several communities.
  3. Ho belongs to the Munda branch of the Austroasiatic family and is concentrated especially in West Singhbhum and adjoining areas of Jharkhand and Odisha.
  4. Kui belongs to the Dravidian family and is spoken mainly by Kondh/Kandha communities in Odisha, particularly in and around Kandhamal and adjoining districts.
  5. Hence, option (d) is correct.


Q. No. 2. The most widely spoken language after Hindi in the Indian subcontinent is: (UPSC CSE Prelims, 1993)

(a) Urdu

(b) Bengali

(c) Telugu

(d) Tamil

Answer: (b)

Explanation:

  1. Census 2011 places Bengali second after Hindi among India's scheduled languages by mother-tongue speakers. Its principal Indian concentration is West Bengal, Tripura, Assam and adjoining areas; Bangladesh adds a very large speaker population in the wider subcontinent.
  2. Hindi accounts for 43.63% of India’s population, making it the most widely spoken Indo-Aryan language, followed by Bengali (8.03%), Marathi (6.86%), Telugu (6.70%), and Tamil (5.70%).
  3. Hence, option (b) is correct.


Q. No. 3. Which one of the following is the largest linguistic group of India? (Chhattisgarh PCS Prelims, 2015)

(a) Sino-Tibetan

(b) Indo-Aryan

(c) Austroasiatic

(d) Dravidian

(e) None of these

Answer: (b)

Explanation:

  1. A linguistic group is identified by genealogical relationship among languages, not merely by script or geographical adjacency. Indo-Aryan is the dominant Indian branch of the Indo-European language family.
  2. According to Census 2011, Indo-European (Indo-Aryan) languages are spoken by 78.07% of India’s population, followed by Dravidian (19.64%), Austroasiatic (1.11%), and Tibeto-Burman (1.01%) language families.
  3. Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Assamese, Odia, Urdu, Kashmiri, Sindhi, Konkani, Nepali and Maithili are among the major Indo-Aryan languages. Their speech areas cover most of the Indo-Gangetic plain, western India and large parts of central and eastern India.
  4. Hence, option (b) is correct.


Q. No. 4. Which one of the following languages belongs to the Austric group? (UPSC CSE Prelims, 1998)

(a) Marathi

(b) Ladakhi

(c) Khasi

(d) Tamil

Answer: (c)

Explanation:

  1. The term Austric is used in older Indian geography and anthropology texts as a broad label. In modern linguistic classification, Khasi is placed in the Khasic branch of the Austroasiatic family.
  2. Khasi is spoken mainly in the Khasi Hills of Meghalaya, with smaller populations in adjoining northeastern areas.
  3. According to Census 2011, in India, the Austro-Asiatic family is represented by the speakers belonging to the:
  4. Munda branch, which inhabits the central and eastern parts of the country mostly in Jharkhand, Odisha, and Madhya Pradesh.
  5. Mon-Khmer branch including the Khasi group of languages of Meghalaya and Nicobarese of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
  6. Hence, option (c) is correct.


Q. No. 5. Which of the following was given Classical Language status in 2014? (Uttarakhand PCS Prelims, 2016)

(a) Odia

(b) Gujarati

(c) Dogri

(d) Bengali

Answer: (a)

Explanation:

  1. Classical-language status is a Union-government recognition based on antiquity, an inherited corpus of literature and other linguistic criteria. It is separate from inclusion in the Eighth Schedule and from official-language status.
  2. Odia became the sixth Indian language to receive Classical Language status in 2014. 
  3. Chronology before 2024: Tamil - 2004; Sanskrit - 2005; Telugu and Kannada - 2008; Malayalam - 2013; Odia - 2014.
  4. Current Update: Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese and Bengali were approved for Classical Language status on 3 October 2024, taking the total to 11.
  5. Hence, option (a) is correct.


Q. No. 6. With reference to the languages in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, consider the following statements: 

1. The Constitution originally contained 14 scheduled languages.

2. Sindhi was added through the Twenty-first Constitutional Amendment.

3. Konkani, Manipuri and Nepali were added through the Seventy-first Constitutional Amendment.

4. Bodo, Dogri, Maithili and Santhali were added through the Ninety-second Constitutional Amendment.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 1, 2 and 3 only

(c) 2, 3 and 4 only

(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

Answer: (d)

Explanation:

  1. The Constitution originally included 14 languages in the Eighth Schedule. This forms the base from which later constitutional amendments expanded the list. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
  2. Sindhi was added by the 21st Constitutional Amendment Act of 1967. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
  3. Konkani, Manipuri and Nepali were added by the 71st Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992. Hence, statement 3 is correct.
  4. Bodo, Dogri, Maithili and Santhali were added by the 92nd Constitutional Amendment Act of 2003 which came into force in 2004. Hence, statement 4 is correct.
  5. The Eighth Schedule presently contains 22 languages. Inclusion does not automatically make a language the official language of every state or a classical language.
  6. Hence, option (d) is correct.


Q. No. 7. Consider the following statements regarding the official-language position in India:

1. Hindi in the Devanagari script is the official language of the Union.

2. English continues to be used for official purposes of the Union.

3. Hindi is declared the national language of India by the Constitution.

4. States may adopt one or more languages for their official purposes.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 1 and 2 only

(c) 1, 2 and 4 only

(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

Answer: (c)

Explanation:

  1. Article 343 provides that the official language of the Union is Hindi in the Devanagari script. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
  2. English continues to be used for official purposes of the Union under constitutional and statutory arrangements, particularly the Official Languages Act. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
  3. The Constitution does not declare Hindi, English or any other language to be the national language of India. Hence, statement 3 is incorrect.
  4. A state legislature may adopt one or more languages in use in the state, or Hindi, for the state's official purposes, subject to constitutional provisions. Hence, statement 4 is correct.
  5. Hence, option (c) is correct.


Q. No. 8. Consider the following pairs: 

1. Halbi - Indo-Aryan

2. Ho - Austroasiatic

3. Kui - Dravidian

4. Ladakhi - Sino-Tibetan

Which of the given pairs above is/are correct?

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 1, 3 and 4 only

(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

Answer: (d)

Explanation:

  1. Halbi is an Indo-Aryan language of the Bastar and adjoining region. Hence, pair 1 is correctly matched.
  2. Ho belongs to the Munda branch of Austroasiatic. Hence, pair 2 is correctly matched.
  3. Kui belongs to the Dravidian family and is associated mainly with Kondh communities of Odisha. Hence, pair 3 is correctly matched.
  4. Ladakhi belongs to the Tibetic branch of Sino-Tibetan. Hence, pair 4 is correctly matched.
  5. Hence, option (d) is correct.


Q. No.9. Consider the following statements about the geographical distribution of Indian language families: 

1. Nicobarese languages belong to Austroasiatic.

2. Gondi and Kurukh belong to Dravidian.

3. Khasi belongs to Indo-Aryan.

4. Bodo belongs to Sino-Tibetan/Tibeto-Burman.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 1, 2 and 4 only

(c) 2, 3 and 4 only

(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

Answer: (b)

Explanation:

  1. Nicobarese languages are Austroasiatic. They are not Austronesian merely because the islands lie toward Southeast Asia. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
  2. Gondi and Kurukh are Dravidian languages despite being concentrated mainly in central and eastern India. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
  3. Khasi is not Indo-Aryan; it belongs to the Khasic branch of Austroasiatic. Hence, statement 3 is incorrect.
  4. Bodo belongs to the Sino-Tibetan/Tibeto-Burman grouping and is concentrated principally in Assam and adjoining northeastern areas. Hence, statement 4 is correct.
  5. Hence, option B is correct.


Q. No. 10. According to Census 2011, which one of the following had the smallest number of mother-tongue speakers among the scheduled languages listed below? 

(a) Sanskrit

(b) Bodo

(c) Manipuri

(d) Dogri

Answer: (a)

Explanation:

  1. Census 2011 recorded a very small number of persons reporting Sanskrit as their mother tongue compared with the other scheduled languages in the options.
  2. Hence, option (a) is correct.


Q. No. 11. Arrange the following speech regions from west to east: 

(a) Awadhi - Brajbhasha - Maithili - Bhojpuri

(b) Brajbhasha - Awadhi - Bhojpuri - Maithili

(c) Maithili - Bhojpuri - Awadhi - Brajbhasha

(d) Bhojpuri - Maithili - Brajbhasha - Awadhi

Answer: (b)

Explanation:

  1. Brajbhasha is associated with the Mathura-Agra region of western Uttar Pradesh.
  2. Awadhi lies to its east in central Uttar Pradesh, broadly around the Awadh region.
  3. Bhojpuri extends farther east through eastern Uttar Pradesh and western Bihar.
  4. Maithili lies still farther east and northeast in the Mithila region of north Bihar and adjoining Nepal.
  5. Therefore, the correct west-to-east sequence is Brajbhasha - Awadhi - Bhojpuri - Maithili.
  6. Hence, option (b) is correct.