Nepali is an Indo-Aryan language of the sub-branch of Eastern Pahari. It is the official language at the federal level in Nepal and one of the 22 scheduled languages of India due to the Nepalese community in the Northeast. It is spoken throughout Nepal and by about a quarter of the population in Bhutan. In India, Nepali has official status in the state of Sikkim and in the Darjeeling District and Kalimpong district of West Bengal. It has a significant number of speakers in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram and Uttarakhand. It is also spoken in Myanmar and by the Nepali diaspora in the Middle East and worldwide. The origin of modern Nepali language is believed to be from Sinja valley of Jumla.
