Classical Languages

News

The Government has extended the classical language status to Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese, and Bengali. Languages already enjoying this status include Tamil, Sanskrit, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, and Odia. The formation of such languages was established in October 2004, with Tamil becoming the first language.

Criteria

• High antiquity and rich literary tradition recorded over a period of 1500-2000 years.
• A body of ancient literature/texts, which is considered a heritage by generations of speakers.
• Epigraphic and inscriptional evidence.
• Knowledge texts, especially prose texts, in addition to poetry.
• Classical languages and literature could be distinct from their current forms or could be discontinuous with later forms of their offshoots.

Significance of the Classical Language Tag

• Broader cultural and academic impact extending nationally and internationally.
• The Ministry of Education is taking steps like establishing three central universities for the promotion of Sanskrit, a Central Institute of Classical Tamil in 2008, and similar institutions for Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, and Odia.
• NEP 2020 calls for the inclusion of classical languages in school education.
• Knowledge-sharing avenues and research opportunities in these languages.
• Employment opportunities in the fields of academics and research.
• Digitization of manuscripts in these languages, documentation, and preservation not only conserve these languages but also create new jobs in archiving, translating, publishing, and digital media.
• Two important international awards yearly for scholars of eminence in the languages.
• Can request UGC to create professional chairs in central universities dedicated to classical languages.
• Boost for the preservation of heritage under UNESCO commitments.

Reference

For more details, visit: Indian Express.