Sanskrit Fifth Most Used Language In Rajya Sabha In 2019-20; Use Of Regional Languages Rises In The Upper House

The Rajya Sabha secretariat's data has revealed that Sanskrit was the fifth most used language during the Upper House’s proceedings held during 2019-20 with Hindi, Telugu, Urdu and Tamil being the first four most used languages respectively, reports Hindustan Times.

The secretariat’s data has also revealed that the use of regional languages in the Rajya Sabha increased by five times per sitting in the year 2020 compared to the 14-year-long period between 2004-17.

Also, between 2018 and 2020, four languages - Dogri, Kashmiri, Konkani and Santhali - were used in the Rajya Sabha for the first time. Also, during this span, another six languages - Assamese, Bodo, Gujarati, Maithili, Manipuri and Nepali - were used after a long gap.

It should be noted that Rajya Sabha’s Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu regularly urges the Upper House’s members to speak in their mother tongue in the spirit of the federal nature of the House.

Interestingly, back in July 2018, while announcing the availability of simultaneous interpretation facilities in all the 22 scheduled languages, Naidu had himself spoken in 10 languages in the House.