Classical Language Status

The Centre is considering making changes in the criteria for the status of Classical Language based on a report by the Linguistics Expert Committee of the Union Culture Ministry submitted in 2023.

• The new set of criteria will be officially notified by a gazette notification after it is approved by the Union Cabinet.
• The Linguistics Expert Committee: It comprises representatives of the Union Ministries of Home, Culture and four to five linguistic experts at any given time. 
  • It is chaired by the president of the Sahitya Akademi.

Classical Languages

• A classical language is one that has its own literature and a significant and ancient corpus of written script.
• Present status: India recognises six classical languages ie.  Tamil, Sanskrit (2005), Kannada (2008), Telugu (2008), Malayalam (2013), and Odia (2014). It was in 2014 that the government last granted the special tag.
  • Tamil was the first language in India to be accorded classical language status in 2004.
  • All the Classical Languages are listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
• Criteria for designating the Classical Language Status: The Ministry of Culture offers rules that must be followed in order to be classified as a classical language in India.
  • Ancient origin: The language should have high antiquity of its early texts/recorded history over a period of 1,500-2,000 years.
  • Literary heritage: The language should contain a body of ancient literature or texts that is considered a valuable heritage by generations of speakers.
  • Originality: The literary tradition should be original and not borrowed from another speech community.
  • Discontinuity from modern avatars: The said language and literature should be distinct from its modern format with a marked discontinuity between the classical language and its later forms or its offshoots.
• Benefits of the Special Status: Once a language is notified as a classical language, certain benefits are provided by the Education Ministry to promote it, 
  • The HRD ministry conducts 2 major annual international awards for scholars of eminence in the said languages. 
  • A centre of excellence for studies in the classical language is set up
  • University Grants Commission is requested to create a certain number of Professional Chairs in Central universities for the languages that get the classical tag.
  • The University Grant Commission (UGC) also awards research projects for promoting these languages. 

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