Languages provide a window into the rich cultural diversity that we have in India. These languages also are a unique way of mapping trends across the country. According to the Schedule VIII of the Constitution of India, twenty-two languages

were accorded the status of official languages, including English and Hindi.

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Since the independence of India in 1947, certain languages have received considerably higher political patronage which has allowed them to survive or thrive. This is due to myriad political and social movements across the country. For instance, the Sangh Parivar’s patronage and mission of spreading the Hindi language, and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s ideology of promoting the Tamil language come to mind. Speakers of the dominant language groups also function as vote banks to key national and regional political parties. These factors may have allowed these languages to grow.

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However, in a country as diverse as India, many languages have not enjoyed political patronage because of relative electoral and political insignificance. This has led to over 200 languages to be classified as endangered or vulnerable. There is an urgent need to document these languages and map the demography of their speakers to revitalize the rich cultural heritage of these groups, many of which are indigenous or tribal. They are being swept away in the vast juggernaut of Indian Imperialism.

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This data journalism project is an initial attempt to document the geographical spread of these endangered languages in India.