Official Language: Hindi
Madhya Pradesh is considered as the heartland of India, thanks to its
strategic positioning in Central India. With overwhelming natural beauty
and numerous heritage monuments bedecking its landscape, the state is
today counted amongst one of the most colorful states in the country.
The true spirit of India comes alive in its culture, which is a
praiseworthy concoction of cultures pertaining to various other states.
The cultural potpourri that the state witnesses even extends to its
languages.
Though Madhya Pradesh acted as the rocking cradle of many dynasties
across various phases of history, it is conspicuously Indo-Aryan in
nature. Most of the people here are followers of Hinduism and Hindi
is the main and official language of the state. Spoken by a chunk of
the population, Hindi also helps to unify the diversified cultural and
historical background of the people here. Apart from Hindi, many other
Indian languages and dialects are also prevalent all over the state.
Excluding standard Hindi, several regional variants also find place
amongst the people of the state. Some people consider them as dialects
of the Hindi language. Many others beg to differ and regard them as
distinct, but related languages. Among these major languages are Malvi
in Malwa, Nimadi in Nimar, Bundeli in Bundelkhand, and Bagheli in
Bagelkhand and the southeast region of the state. The Bagheli-speaking
people are mainly scattered in six districts of Madhya Pradesh (Rewa,
Satna, Sidhi, Shahdol, Umaria and Anuppur).
These offshoots of Hindi further have dialects of their own. Most of
the tribal people and aborigines speak languages that include Bhilodi
(Bhili), Gondi, and the isolate Kalto (Nahali). A substantial number of
people also speak Marathi, a legacy of Maratha rule in the state. Urdu,
Sindhi, Punjabi and Gujarati are some other dominant languages spoken in
Madhya Pradesh. There might be linguistic disparity as far as the
primary languages of the people in Madhya Pradesh are concerned, but the
state nevertheless exhibits a rich and strong unity, deemed as
exemplary.
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