Tribes, Languages and Religions
Scheduled Tribes (ST)
- ST population: about 10.43 crore (8.6 percent) in 2011. There are over 700 notified STs.
- Highest ST population (numbers): Madhya Pradesh; highest share: Mizoram (about 94 percent), Nagaland, Meghalaya, Arunachal; UT: Lakshadweep (about 95 percent).
- Largest tribe: Gonds (central India), then Bhils (west), Santhals (Jharkhand, WB, Odisha).
- PVTGs (Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups): 75 groups. Examples: Great Andamanese, Jarawa, Onge, Sentinelese (Andaman), Toda (Nilgiris), Birhor (Jharkhand), Chenchu (Andhra, Telangana), Abujh Maria, Baiga (MP).
- Tribes of J&K: Gujjar and Bakarwal, Gaddi, Sippi, Balti, Brokpa (Drokpa), Changpa, Beda, Garra, Purigpa. Gujjars and Bakarwals are the most numerous.
| Region | Tribes |
|---|---|
| North-east | Naga, Khasi, Garo, Mizo, Apatani, Bodo |
| Central India | Gond, Baiga, Bhil, Oraon, Munda, Santhal, Ho |
| West | Bhil, Warli, Meena |
| South | Toda, Irular, Chenchu, Kurumba |
| Himalaya | Gujjar, Bakarwal, Gaddi, Bhotia, Lepcha, Monpa |
| Islands | Jarawa, Onge, Sentinelese, Shompen |
- Constitutional: Fifth Schedule (tribal areas in states other than the north-east), Sixth Schedule (autonomous councils in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram), Forest Rights Act 2006, PESA Act 1996. National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (Article 338A).
- Tribal Affairs Ministry (1999); Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan (2024); PM-JANMAN (2023) for PVTGs.
Languages
- The Eighth Schedule lists 22 languages (Bodo, Dogri, Maithili and Santhali were added by the 92nd Amendment in 2003; Konkani, Manipuri and Nepali in 1992).
- Census 2011 recorded 121 languages and 270 mother tongues (more than 10,000 speakers).
- Hindi is the most spoken (about 43.6 percent, 52.8 crore, with other mother tongues grouped under Hindi), followed by Bengali (8.0 percent), Marathi, Telugu, Tamil, Gujarati, Urdu.
- Language families: Indo-Aryan (about 75 percent), Dravidian (about 20 percent), Austroasiatic (Munda) and Sino-Tibetan.
- Classical languages (11 as of October 2024): Tamil (2004), Sanskrit (2005), Telugu and Kannada (2008), Malayalam (2013), Odia (2014), Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese, Bengali (2024).
- Official languages of J&K UT: Urdu, Hindi, English, Kashmiri and Dogri (Jammu and Kashmir Official Languages Act 2020). Ladakh: Ladakhi (Bhoti), Hindi, English (the UT uses Hindi and English).
- Kashmiri is in the Dardic group of Indo-Aryan, and Dogri is the Indo-Aryan language of Jammu. Kashmiri is the mother tongue of about 53 percent of J&K residents (2011).
- National Language: none designated; Hindi (Devanagari) and English are the Union official languages under Article 343.
Religions (Census 2011)
| Religion | Share |
|---|---|
| Hindu | 79.8 percent |
| Muslim | 14.2 percent |
| Christian | 2.3 percent |
| Sikh | 1.7 percent |
| Buddhist | 0.7 percent |
| Jain | 0.4 percent |
| Others and not stated | About 0.9 percent |
- Muslim-majority: Lakshadweep, J&K. Christian-majority: Nagaland, Mizoram, Meghalaya. Sikh-majority: Punjab. Buddhist-majority: Ladakh (Leh), Sikkim has a large Buddhist share but is Hindu-majority. Hindu-majority in most others.
- Jain population is the highest in Maharashtra and Rajasthan; Parsis are concentrated in Mumbai and Gujarat.
Keep practising
Notes are only half the work. Test yourself with questions and discuss doubts with other aspirants.
Prepared for exam revision from NCERT, standard geography textbooks, the Census of India 2011, the India State of Forest Report, IMD, Ministry of Agriculture and other official sources. Maps are schematic teaching maps, not Survey of India maps, and zone boundaries are approximate. Figures such as production, capacity, counts of parks and ports, and census status change, so check the latest official source before relying on them. Found a mistake? Tell us.