Which one of the following is the largest linguistic group of India ?

The linguistic landscape of India is dominated by four major language families: Indo-Aryan, Dravidian, Austric, and Sino-Tibetan [3]. According to the 2011 Census data, the Indo-Aryan language family (a branch of the Indo-European family) is the largest linguistic group in India, spoken by approximately 74% of the population. This group includes major languages such as Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Gujarati, and Punjabi [2]. The Dravidian family is the second-largest group, accounting for about 20-25% of the population, primarily in South India. The Austric (Austroasiatic) and Sino-Tibetan families represent much smaller percentages, with the Austric group comprising only about 1.11% of the total population. Hindi, the principal language of the Indo-Aryan family, is spoken by over 40% of the country's total population [2].

Sources

1. [3] INDIA PEOPLE AND ECONOMY, TEXTBOOK IN GEOGRAPHY FOR CLASS XII (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 1: Population: Distribution, Density, Growth and Composition > Linguistic Classification > p. 9
2. [2] Geography of India ,Majid Husain, (McGrawHill 9th ed.) > Chapter 16: India–Political Aspects > Geographical Bases of India Federalism > p. 8