Literature & Language is a complex conceptual framework and an academic discipline in India, distinct from a single act or institution. The traditional Indian concept for literature is Sahitya (Sa+Hit), which is rooted in a non-dualistic worldview and aims to establish the welfare (hit) of all humanity and society, along with Dharma. The history of Indian literature is ancient, beginning with the oral literature of the Sanskrit Rig Veda, a collection dating to the period 1500–1200 BCE. A significant change occurred with the advent of the British era, where English literature was introduced in the nineteenth century by colonial academics with the agenda of creating a disciplined workforce.
The mechanism of this concept is its ideological unity, which persists despite India's vast linguistic diversity, drawing from a shared civilizational consciousness found in the Vedas and epics. This field connects directly to the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India, which officially recognizes 22 languages. Furthermore, the Sahitya Akademi, India's highest literary body, recognizes 24 literary languages. The discipline is also connected to the Bhakti movement, which significantly formatted Indian literature by using different languages to express a pan-Indian consciousness. India is home to five major language families, including Indo-Aryan and Dravidian. A recent change occurred in 2004 when the Sahitya Akademi prescribed four criteria for a language to be accepted as a classical language. The academic study of this field is institutionalized, with departments like the Department of Indian Languages & Literary Studies established at Delhi University in 1961.