NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet gave its approval to grant classical language status to five Indian languages: Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese, and Bengali, announced union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday.
“PM Modi has always focused on Indian languages… Today, 5 languages Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese and Bengali have been approved as classical languages,” said Vaishnaw.He then added, “By now, we had Tamil, Sanskrit, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Odia were the notified classical languages… The government is taking many steps to conserve and promote the classical languages and to preserve the rich heritage of these languages..”
“The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved to confer the status of Classical Language to Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese and Bengali languages. The Classical Languages serve as a custodian of Bharat’s profound and ancient cultural heritage, embodying the essence of each community’s historical and cultural milestone,” said the government in a press release.
“The primary states involved are Maharashtra (Marathi), Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh (Pali and Prakrit), West Bengal (Bengali), and Assam (Assamese). The broader cultural and academic impact will extend nationally and internationally,” it added to its statement.
With this, the number of classical languages will nearly double from 6 to 11. The government first introduced the “Classical Languages” category on October 12, 2004, when Tamil was declared the first Classical Language, followed by Sanskrit in 2005.Other languages included Kannada and Telugu declared in 2008, Malayalam declared in 2013 while Odia given the tag in 2014.
The criteria for a classical language include an ancient history and literary tradition spanning 1500-2000 years, with a significant body of ancient texts that are still valued today. The language must have an independent and distinguished literary heritage, not derived from another language. Additionally, there may be a discontinuity between the classical language and its modern forms or offshoots, as the classical language and literature remain distinct from their later evolutions.
“The inclusion of languages as Classical Language will create significant employment opportunities, particularly in academic and research fields. Additionally, the preservation, documentation, and digitization of ancient texts of these languages will generate jobs in archiving, translation, publishing, and digital media,” said the cabinet in a statement.
Soon after the announcement, PM Modi said, ” Our Government cherishes and celebrates India’s rich history and culture. We have also been unwavering in our commitment to popularising regional languages. I am extremely glad the Cabinet has decided that Assamese, Bengali, Marathi, Pali and Prakrit will be conferred the status of Classical Languages! Each of them are beautiful languages, highlighting our vibrant diversity. Congratulations to everyone.”
Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma thanked PM Modi for the decision and said, “Thank you Hon’ble Prime Minister for this decision. Your love and affection for the Assamese language and culture is unparalleled and the people of Assam will be forever indebted to you for recognising our beautiful mother tongue as a Classical language.”
Maharashtra deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis reacted to inclusion of Marathi and said, “I express my gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the entire Union Cabinet that they accepted our longstanding demand that Marathi language should be given the status of a classical language. From today, our Marathi language will be known as an elite language. This is a day to be written in golden letters. Prime Minister Modi Ji, thank you very much. Even when I was the Chief Minister and even now, the Maharashtra Government, under the leadership of Chief Minister Shinde Ji, continuously followed up on this issue and made efforts and also gave a lot of evidence in this regard and today all those evidence has been accepted and the Marathi language has now become a classical language. On behalf of the 12 crore people of Maharashtra and Marathi people living across the world, I express my whole-hearted gratitude to Prime Minister Modi.”
Once a language is designated as a Classical language, the government offers several benefits to promote its study. These include two annual international awards for scholars excelling in classical Indian languages. Additionally, a Centre of Excellence is established for studies in the Classical Language, and the University Grants Commission is encouraged to create Professional Chairs in Central Universities to support and advance research and education in these languages.
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