Linguistic identities existed long before British colonization. In fact, language was one of the important factors in determining regional identities in India. Different regions of India like Gujarat in western India, Bengal in eastern India, and Andhra in southern India not only had their own distinct languages (Gujarati, Bengali, and Telugu, respectively) and their distinct writing systems, but often their own distinct castes or social groups as well (e.g. Kammas, Velamas, and Reddys in the Telugu country). Each of these regions were also frequently under the hegemony of a single dynasty, and even when they weren't, they were still conceptualized as a single region. For example, following the collapse of the Kakatiya dynasty in 1323 (which had united most of the Telugu-speaking lands, and whose rulers called themselves "Lords of Andhra") there was much chaos and infighting between various Telugu lords, but in spite of this political disunity there was still a conception of an "Andhra country" (Andhradesha) defined by common language and culture. This is clearly seen in records left by local Telugu lords, such as those at Srirangam by Mummadi Nayaka in 1358 and those at Annavarappadu by Kataya Vema Reddy in 1403. Both of these local lords conceptualized themselves as being rulers of the Andhra or Telugu country (despite in fact only ruling a portion of that country), because they saw that territory as a natural unit with a common identity.

The antiquity of languages themselves is a separate topic, but most of the languages that we see today in India had already emerged by the time of the Islamic conquests in India. In South India, it seems that the linguistic boundaries that we see today were already approximated over 2000 years ago, as Ashoka's edicts note the existence of Andhras, Pandyas, Cholas and Keralaputras in the southern part of the subcontinent, and the lands described by the ancient Tamil Sangam literature as part of the Tamil country (Tamilakam) overlaps almost perfectly with modern-day Tamil Nadu and Kerala (Malayalam diverged from Tamil relatively recently). In North India, linguistic identities developed later, as they evolved out of the various dialects of Prakrit spoken throughout the massive area extending from eastern Afghanistan to Assam. For example, the modern Bengali and Oriya languages are ultimately descended from the Magadhi dialect of Prakrit, and are attested by the 11th century.