The Central government during the Union Cabinet meeting on Thursday approved to confer the status of classical language to Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese, and Bengali languages. With this addition, the number of languages that have the classical status will nearly double from six to 11.
The languages that earlier had the tag of classical status were Tamil, Sanskrit, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Odia. Notably, Tamil was granted the status in 2004 and the last language to get it was Odia, in 2014.
Various steps taken to promote classical languages
In the meantime, the Ministry of Education has taken various steps to promote classical languages. Three Central Universities were established in 2020 through an Act of Parliament for promotion of Sanskrit language. The Central Institute of Classical Tamil was set up to facilitate the translation of ancient Tamil texts, promote research, and offer courses for university students and language scholars of Tamil.
To further enhance the study and preservation of classical languages, the Centres for Excellence for studies in classical Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, and Odia were established under the auspices of the Central Institute of Indian Languages in Mysuru.
In addition to these initiatives, several national and international awards have been instituted to recognise and encourage achievements in the field of classical languages. Benefits extended to classical languages by the Ministry of Education include national awards for classical languages, chairs in universities, and centres for promotion of classical languages.
What are the criteria for granting Classical Status to languages
- High antiquity of the language's early texts/recorded history over a period of 1,500-2,000 years.
- A body of ancient literature/texts, which is considered a heritage by generations of speakers.
- Knowledge texts, especially prose texts in addition to poetry, epigraphical and Inscriptional evidence.
- The classical languages and literature could be distinct from their current form or could be discontinuous with later forms of their offshoots.
Benefits of Conferring classical status to languages
- Conferring Classical Language status to languages like Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese, and Bengali will promote these languages, their cultural preservation, academic research, and the overall recognition of linguistic heritage.
- It will enhance awareness of the language.
- Conferring classical status will strengthen the linguistic identity of speakers, fostering pride in their language’s contribution to national and global culture.
- It will ensure that ancient literary texts, manuscripts, and works are conserved. Digitization of ancient manuscripts will make them accessible for future generations of scholars.
- It will trigger establishment of dedicated research institutions, translation efforts, and publication of texts.
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