Hindi is the main language of more than 40 % of the population. It was therefore made India’s official language in 1965. English, which was associated with British rule, was retained as an option for official use because some non-Hindi speakers, particularly in Tamil Nadu, opposed the official use of Hindi. English is spoken by as many as 5 % of Indians, and various Dravidian languages are spoken by about 25 %. No single language other than Hindi, can claim speakers among even 10 % of Indians. Many Indians speak more than one language, particularly those who live in cities or near state borders, which were redrawn in 1956 in part to conform to linguistic boundaries. Because the languages of both northern and southern families are internally related, much like the Romance and Germanic languages of Europe, learning a second language is not difficult.