Classical Language Status: West Bengal Advocates Official Recognition of Bengali Language

GS Paper I Art and Culture

Context:

Recently, the West Bengal Chief Minister asked the central government to officially list Bengali as a “classical language”.

Bengali is the 2nd most spoken language in India (after Hindi, as per the 2011 Census) and the 7th most spoken language globally.

Origin: The idea of Classical Languages of India was initially introduced in 2004.

Once a language is notified as a Classical language, the Ministry of Education provides certain benefits to promote it:
- Awards: Two major annual international awards for scholars of eminence in classical Indian languages.
- An Excellence Centre: Set up a Centre of Excellence for Studies in Classical Languages.
- Establishment of Professional Chairs: The University Grants Commission is requested to create, to start with at least in the Central Universities, a certain number of Professional Chairs for the Classical Languages so declared.

Guidelines for declaring a language as “Classical”: The Ministry of Culture provides the guidelines regarding Classical languages which include:
- An Ancient Record: High antiquity of its early texts/recorded history over a period of 1500-2000 years.
- A Valuable Heritage: A body of ancient literature/texts that is considered a valuable heritage by generations of speakers.
- Original Tradition: The literary tradition needs to be original and not borrowed from another speech community.
- Distinct from Modern: Classical language and literature are distinct from modern, but there may also be a discontinuity between the classical language and its later forms or offshoots.

Classical Languages in India: A Journey through Recognition, Significance, and Linguistic Heritage
- Currently six languages enjoy the ‘Classical’ status in India:
  - Tamil (2004), Sanskrit (2005), Kannada, Telugu (2008), Malayalam (2013), and Odia (2014).
- All the Classical Languages are listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution.
  - The Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution lists the official languages of India. Part XVII of the Indian constitution deals with the official languages in Articles 343 to 351.
Significance: Classical languages are made up of various alterations that have evolved over time and diverged over centuries and the golden age of Indian literature is characterized by the languages of this time.