Current Affair 1:

News:

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has lauded the Cabinet Decision to confer Classical Language status to Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese and Bengali languages.

This nearly doubles the number of languages with this status, from six to 11. The other six classical languages -- Tamil, Sanskrit, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, and Odia.

In India, the Ministry of Culture is responsible for granting "Classical Language" status to languages. The process involves recommendations from expert committees, and once a language meets specific criteria, the Ministry of Culture accords the status.

When this all started?

In 2004, the Indian government recognised the importance of preserving these ancient languages by designating those that meet specific criteria as "Classical Languages."

Tamil was the first language to receive classical status in 2004. Sanskrit was declared a classical language on November 25, 2005. Subsequently, classical language status was conferred upon Telugu (2008), Kannada (2008), Malayalam (2013), and Odia (2014).

Benefits:

Languages recognised as 'classical' receive several benefits from the government to promote their study and preservation.

1. For instance, two international awards are given annually to scholars who have made significant contributions to the research, teaching or promotion of classical Indian languages.
2. The government also establishes Centers of Excellence for advanced research on each classical language.
3. Apart from that, the University Grants Commission (UGC) supports the creation of Professional Chairs in central universities and research institutions, focusing on the classical languages of India.

What will the ‘classical’ tag mean for these languages?

The Ministry of Education takes steps to promote classical languages.

1. Three Central Universities were established in 2020 for the promotion of Sanskrit.
2. The Central Institute of Classical Tamil was set up in 2008 to facilitate the translation of ancient Tamil texts, and offer courses in Tamil.
3. Similar Centres of Excellence have also been set up for the study of Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, and Odia.
4. The National Education Policy also calls for the inclusion of classical languages in school education.
5. The Ministry of Culture (through the various academies), the Ministry of Education, and respective state governments, will come together for greater knowledge-sharing and research in these languages.
6. Besides, manuscripts in these languages will be digitized for greater access to scholars

 

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