Why is it in the news?
- The Union Cabinet has officially granted classical language status to Marathi, Bengali, Assamese, Pali, and Prakrit.
About Classical Languages
- In 2004, the Government of India established a new category known as “classical languages.”
- Two years later, in 2006, the criteria for granting classical language status were defined. To date, six languages have received this designation.
Criteria for Classical Language Status
- To qualify for classical language status, a language must meet several criteria:
1) It should demonstrate a high antiquity, with early texts or a recorded history that spans between 1,500 and 2,000 years.
2) There must be a significant body of ancient literature that is regarded as valuable heritage by successive generations.
3) The language should also possess an original literary tradition that is not borrowed from another speech community.
4) The classical language and its literature should be distinct from modern forms, indicating a potential discontinuity between the classical language and its later variants or offshoots.
| About Inclusion of Bengali as Classical Language
· Bengali is classified as a Modern or New Indo-Aryan language within the Indo-European language family. The earliest appearances of Bengali alphabets and terms in literature date back to the 10th century AD. · However, a panel set up by the Bengal government has traced the language’s origins to about 2,500 years ago, with evidence of its written form existing as early as the 3rd to 4th century BCE. · Research shows that Bengali has retained its fundamental syntactic structure along with distinct morphological and phonological patterns throughout its evolution, at least since the 3rd century BCE. |
Benefits of Classical Language Designation
- These include financial assistance aimed at establishing a Centre of Excellence for the study of that language.
- Furthermore, the designation opens up opportunities for two major awards for scholars of notable distinction.
- Additionally, the University Grants Commission can be requested to set up professional chairs for classical language scholars, with an initial focus on central universities.
Recent Developments
- The Union Culture Ministry revised the criteria for classical language status following a meeting of the Linguistics Experts Committee, chaired by the Sahitya Akademi president, in July. This committee includes representatives from the Union Ministries of Home and Culture, along with linguistic experts.
| · The National Education Policy-2020 also emphasizes the preservation of literary works in languages such as Pali, Persian, and Prakrit.
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