Besides English and Hindi (Urdu), which languages are the third & fourth most important (useful) in India? Thanks!
3rd & 4th most useful language in India
3rd: Bengali, because it is the second most spoken native language in India, and also has an enormous number of speakers in neighbouring Bangladesh
4th: Tamil, because it is spoken by a large number of people who are unlikely to speak either Hindi or English, and it is a politically and culturally important language for southern India and parts of Sri Lanka, as well as a large diaspora around the world
Marathi and Telugu both have more native speakers than Tamil - but many Marathis speak either Hindi or English, or both, and you just don't hear as much about Telugu as Tamil, it seems to carry less weight.
4th: Tamil, because it is spoken by a large number of people who are unlikely to speak either Hindi or English, and it is a politically and culturally important language for southern India and parts of Sri Lanka, as well as a large diaspora around the world
Marathi and Telugu both have more native speakers than Tamil - but many Marathis speak either Hindi or English, or both, and you just don't hear as much about Telugu as Tamil, it seems to carry less weight.