In News:

The Union Cabinet has approved to confer the status of Classical Language to Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese and Bengali languages.

Why is a language declared as Classical?

Designating a language as classical acknowledges its historical significance and its role in preserving Bharat’s rich cultural heritage. These languages have been crucial in transmitting ancient knowledge, philosophies, and values for millennia. Government recognition emphasizes their deep antiquity and literary traditions, enhancing their status and promoting efforts for their preservation and research, ensuring their relevance in the modern world.

What are the criteria for declaring a language as classical?

In 2004, the Government of India, for the first time, created a new category of languages known as Classical Languages. It set the following as criteria for the status of Classical Language:

• High antiquity of its early texts/ recorded history over a thousand years.
• A body of ancient literature/ texts, which is considered a valuable heritage by generation of speakers.
• The literary tradition must be original and not borrowed from another speech community.

This criterion was revised in 2005 and 2024 based on the recommendations of Linguistic Experts Committees (LEC) under Sahitya Akademi to examine the proposed languages for the status of Classical Language. Later the criteria were revised in 2024 as follows:

• High antiquity of its early texts/recorded history over a period of 1500- 2000 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 its current form or could be discontinuous with later forms of its offshoots.

The 2024 Linguistic Expert Committee also recommended the following languages to be fulfilling revised criteria to be considered as a Classical Language: Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese, Bengali

How many languages have been declared classical so far?

Languages                   Date of Recognition               Notification by                                 Source/Notification Date

Tamil                           October 12, 2004                    Ministry of Home Affairs                    October 12, 2004

Ministry of           Sanskrit                      November 25, 2005                 Ministry of Home Affairs                   November 25, 2005

Telugu                        October 31, 2008                     Ministry of Culture                            October 31, 2008

Kannada                    October 31, 2008                     Ministry of Culture                           October 31, 2008

Malayalam                August 8, 2013                         Ministry of Culture                           August 8, 2013

Odia                           March 1, 2014                          Ministry of Culture                          March 1, 2014

 Steps Taken by the Ministry of Education for Advancing Classical Languages:

• Establishment of Central Universities (2020): Three universities created to promote Sanskrit through an Act of Parliament.
• Central Institute of Classical Tamil:
  • Facilitates translation of ancient Tamil texts.
  • Promotes research and offers courses for students and scholars.
• Centres for Excellence:
  • Established for Classical Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, and Odia under the Central Institute of Indian Languages in Mysuru.
• Awards: Introduction of national and international awards to recognize achievements in Classical Languages.
• Additional Benefits:
  • National Awards for Classical Languages.
  • Establishment of university chairs.
  • Dedicated centers for promoting Classical Languages.