• India
  • Oct 04
  • Kevin Savio Antony

Explainer - What are ‘classical languages’?

• The Union Cabinet approved conferring classical language status to Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese and Bengali languages.

• The primary states involved are Maharashtra (Marathi), Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh (Pali and Prakrit), West Bengal (Bengali) and Assam (Assamese), while the broader cultural and academic impact will extend nationally and internationally.

• The inclusion of Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese and Bengali in the classical language category will create significant employment opportunities, particularly in academic and research fields.

• Additionally, the preservation, documentation and digitisation of ancient texts of these languages will generate jobs in archiving, translation, publishing and digital media.

Recognition as classical language

• On October 12, 2004, the government of India decided to create a new category of languages as “classical languages”, declared Tamil a classical language and set criteria for according the status.

The criteria were:

i) High antiquity of its early texts or recorded history over a thousand years

ii) A body of ancient literature or texts which is considered a valuable heritage by generations of speakers

iii) Literary tradition must be original and not borrowed from another speech community.

• A Linguistic Experts Committee (LEC) was constituted under Sahitya Akademi by the Ministry of Culture in November 2004 to examine the proposed languages for the classical language status. The criteria were revised in November 2005.

The criteria in November 2005 were:

i) High antiquity of its early texts/recorded history over a period of 1,500-2,000 years.

ii) A body of ancient literature/texts, which is considered a valuable heritage by generations of speakers.

iii) Literary tradition must be original and not borrowed from another speech community.

iv) The classical language and literature being distinct from modern, there may also be a discontinuity between the classical language and its later forms or its offshoots.

• Sanskrit, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Odia were later given the classical language status.

• A proposal was received from the Maharashtra government in 2013, requesting classical language status to Marathi and it was forwarded to the LEC. The LEC recommended Marathi for classical language status. 

• During inter-ministerial consultations in 2017 on the draft note for Cabinet for conferring classical status to the Marathi language, the Home Ministry advised that the criteria be revised and made stricter.

• The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said an exercise may be conducted to find out how many other languages are likely to become eligible.

• Sahitya Akademi has been appointed as the nodal agency for the LEC.

• In the meantime, proposals were also received from Bihar, Assam and West Bengal to confer classical language status to Pali, Prakrit, Assamese and Bengali.

• Accordingly, the LEC, under Sahitya Akademi, in a meeting on July 25, 2024, unanimously revised the criteria. 

Revised criteria:

i) High antiquity of its early texts/recorded history over a period of 1,500- 2,000 years.

ii)  A body of ancient literature/texts, which is considered a heritage by generations of speakers.

iii) Knowledge texts, especially prose texts in addition to poetry, epigraphical and inscriptional evidence.

iv) The classical languages and literature could be distinct from its current form or could be discontinuous with later forms of its offshoots.

• The committee recommended Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese and Bengali languages fulfilling the revised criteria and be considered as classical languages.

Promoting classical languages

• The classical languages serve as a custodian of country’s profound and ancient cultural heritage, embodying the essence of each community’s historical and cultural milestone.

• The Education Ministry has taken various steps to promote classical languages. 

• Three central universities were established in 2020 through an Act of Parliament for the 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. 

• 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.

• 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 centers for promotion of classical languages.

Constitutional provisions related to languages

Eighth Schedule:

Objective: Promote Hindi and enrich Indian languages. 

Article 344(1): Calls for a commission, every five years, to ensure the progressive use of Hindi for official purposes. 

Article 351: Mandates the Union to promote Hindi as a medium of expression for India’s composite culture. 

Languages: Initially 14 languages were included, now 22, including Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, and others. 

Amendments: 

21st Amendment (1967): Added Sindhi. 

71st Amendment (1992): Added Konkani, Manipuri, and Nepali. 

92nd Amendment (2004): Added Bodo, Dogri, Maithili, and Santhali. 

Demands: 38 more languages are being considered for inclusion, e.g., Bhojpuri, Angika. 

Committees: The inclusion of more languages is under consideration based on recommendations from the Pahwa (1996) and Sitakant Mohapatra (2003) committees. 

Language of the Union:

Article 120: Governs the language used in Parliament. 

Article 210: Applies similar rules for State Legislatures. 

Article 343: Declares Hindi in Devanagari script as the official Union language. 

Regional Languages:

Article 345: States can adopt any official language. 

Article 346: Defines language for communication between states and with the Union. 

Article 347: Allows the President to recognize a language spoken by a section of a state’s population. 

Special Directives:

Article 29: Protects minority languages, granting citizens the right to preserve their language and culture. 

Article 350: Ensures individuals can submit grievances in any language used in the Union or State. 

Article 350A: Directs states to provide mother tongue instruction at the primary level for linguistic minorities. 

Article 350B: Establishes a Special Officer for linguistic minorities to ensure constitutional safeguards are upheld. 

(The author is a trainer for Civil Services aspirants.)

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