How did linguistic states affect the use of standard Indo-Aryan languages in India?

The reorganization of India into linguistic states has significantly influenced the use of Indo-Aryan languages by reinforcing the status of specific standard dialects for official transactions, education, and media within those states.1

This administrative shift, which gained momentum following the States Reorganization Act of 1956, aimed to provide each major regional language with an administrative reflection. Consequently, languages such as Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, Odia, and Punjabi were adopted as official state languages.234

However, this process has had complex effects:

• Standardization: States have actively worked to evolve standardized technical vocabularies for their respective languages.1
• Dialectal Persistence: Despite the promotion of standard forms, dialectal diversity remains robust, leading to widespread bilingualism as speakers navigate between regional dialects and state-sanctioned standards.1
• Linguistic Agitation: The ongoing demand for further linguistic states—often driven by sociopolitical factors—continues to pose a risk of fragmentation.12
• Resistance to Hindi: Efforts to establish a single national language have faced resistance, particularly in southern India and among speakers of languages with deep literary traditions, who view the imposition of Hindi as a threat to their intellectual and cultural autonomy.1