UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — What does Tulu’s new official language status mean?

Q1. Which of the following are correctly identified as languages presently included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India? 1. Bodo 2. Tulu 3. Santhali 4. Rajasthani Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

  1. Bodo
  2. Tulu
  3. Santhali
  4. Rajasthani
  • A. 1 and 2
  • B. 1 and 3
  • C. 2 and 4
  • D. 1, 3 and 4

Q2. Consider the following statements regarding the recognition of languages in India: 1. Inclusion of a language in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution requires an amendment of the Constitution passed by Parliament. 2. A State legislature may adopt as the official language of the State a language in use in that State even if that language does not figure in the Eighth Schedule. 3. The Eighth Schedule presently lists 22 languages, and Tulu figures in that list along with Konkani, Manipuri and Nepali. 4. Fixed objective criteria for inclusion of languages in the Eighth Schedule were successfully laid down by the Pahwa Committee of 1996 and are today applied by the Ministry of Home Affairs. Which of the above is/are NOT correct?

  1. Inclusion of a language in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution requires an amendment of the Constitution passed by Parliament.
  2. A State legislature may adopt as the official language of the State a language in use in that State even if that language does not figure in the Eighth Schedule.
  3. The Eighth Schedule presently lists 22 languages, and Tulu figures in that list along with Konkani, Manipuri and Nepali.
  4. Fixed objective criteria for inclusion of languages in the Eighth Schedule were successfully laid down by the Pahwa Committee of 1996 and are today applied by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
  • A. 1 and 2
  • B. 2 and 3
  • C. 3 and 4
  • D. 1 and 4

Q3. The Karnataka Official Language Act, 1963, which declared Kannada to be used for official purposes in the State, was enacted in pursuance of which one of the following provisions of the Constitution of India?

  • A. Article 343
  • B. Article 345
  • C. Article 347
  • D. Article 350A

Q4. The Kannada Language Comprehensive Development Act, 2022 (Karnataka Act No. 13 of 2023) took effect by repealing how many earlier Karnataka enactments dealing with official language use?

  • A. One
  • B. Two
  • C. Three
  • D. Four

Q5. The Karnataka Cabinet decision of September 2026 granting Tulu additional official language status was accompanied by an announced annual outlay of what amount for translation, training and language-usage purposes?

  • A. Rs 28 lakh
  • B. Rs 8.2 crore
  • C. Rs 82 lakh
  • D. Rs 82 crore

Q6. Under the Karnataka Cabinet's September 2026 order on Tulu, which one of the following districts is covered in its entirety, rather than only in part or not at all?

  • A. Kasaragod
  • B. Udupi
  • C. Uttara Kannada
  • D. Dakshina Kannada

Q7. Bhasha Samman, instituted in 1996 to honour contributions to unrecognised languages such as Tulu, is conferred by which one of the following bodies?

  • A. The Central Institute of Indian Languages, an institution under the Ministry of Education
  • B. The National Book Trust, India, an autonomous body under the Ministry of Education
  • C. The Sahitya Akademi, an autonomous organisation under the Ministry of Culture
  • D. The Kendriya Hindi Sansthan, an autonomous body under the Ministry of Education

Q8. Tulu was traditionally written in which one of the following scripts, before the Kannada script came into common use for writing it?

  • A. Vatteluttu
  • B. Tigalari
  • C. Grantha
  • D. Modi

Q9. Before the batch of languages granted Classical Language status in October 2024, which one of the following was the most recent language to receive that status?

  • A. Odia
  • B. Malayalam
  • C. Telugu
  • D. Kannada

Q10. Which one of the following correctly states a criterion for conferment of Classical Language status as revised by the Linguistics Experts Committee in July 2024?

  • A. The language must have been listed in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution for a continuous period of at least twenty-five years preceding the proposal
  • B. The language must show an unbroken literary continuity, its classical form being indistinguishable from the language spoken by its present-day users
  • C. The language must be returned as the mother tongue by at least five crore speakers in the most recent decennial Census of India
  • D. The language must show high antiquity of its early texts or recorded history over a period of 1500 to 2000 years

Q11. Consider the following statements regarding the expert committee constituted by the Karnataka government on the question of official language status for Tulu: 1. It was a six-member panel headed by K.M. Gayatri, a former Director of the Department of Kannada and Culture. 2. It examined the framework adopted by Andhra Pradesh for according second official language status to Urdu. 3. Its report advised the State government against granting second official language status to Tulu. 4. Tulu, for which the status was sought, is predominantly spoken in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts and in parts of Kasaragod district. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. It was a six-member panel headed by K.M. Gayatri, a former Director of the Department of Kannada and Culture.
  2. It examined the framework adopted by Andhra Pradesh for according second official language status to Urdu.
  3. Its report advised the State government against granting second official language status to Tulu.
  4. Tulu, for which the status was sought, is predominantly spoken in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts and in parts of Kasaragod district.
  • A. 1 and 3 only
  • B. 2 and 3
  • C. 1, 2 and 4
  • D. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Q12. Consider the following statements comparing the different forms of official recognition available to Indian languages: 1. The Sahitya Akademi confers its annual awards in 24 languages, namely the 22 languages of the Eighth Schedule together with English and Rajasthani, and Tulu is not among them. 2. Classical Language status is conferred by a decision of the Union Cabinet acting on expert committee advice, whereas the addition of a language to the Eighth Schedule requires an amendment of the Constitution. 3. Every language that presently holds Classical Language status is also listed in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The Sahitya Akademi confers its annual awards in 24 languages, namely the 22 languages of the Eighth Schedule together with English and Rajasthani, and Tulu is not among them.
  2. Classical Language status is conferred by a decision of the Union Cabinet acting on expert committee advice, whereas the addition of a language to the Eighth Schedule requires an amendment of the Constitution.
  3. Every language that presently holds Classical Language status is also listed in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3