🗞️ Why in News The Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education has approved five Centres of Excellence (CoEs) for studies in Classical Assamese, Bengali, Marathi, Pali and Prakrit, the five languages that received classical status in October 2024. The approval was conveyed by an Office Memorandum of 1 October 2026 and announced on 3 October. India now recognises 11 classical languages.
The Five Centres
| Classical language | Host institution | State |
|---|---|---|
| Assamese | Tezpur University (a Central University) | Assam |
| Bengali | Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan (Central University, founded by Rabindranath Tagore in 1921) | West Bengal |
| Marathi | Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute (deemed university), Pune | Maharashtra |
| Pali | Central University of Odisha, Koraput | Odisha |
| Prakrit | Central University of Gujarat, Gandhinagar | Gujarat |
Four areas of work, per the Ministry: advanced academic research and scholarship; documentation, preservation and digitisation of linguistic and literary resources (manuscripts, textual criticism, archives); wider dissemination of each language’s knowledge traditions, including translation; and strengthening regional ecosystems of higher education in classical languages.
How a Language Becomes “Classical”
| Stage | Detail |
|---|---|
| Category created | 12 October 2004, with Tamil the first |
| Criteria (2004, revised 2005) | High antiquity of early texts (1,500 to 2,000 years); a body of ancient literature valued as heritage; an original literary tradition not borrowed from another speech community; a classical language and literature distinct from its modern form |
| Criteria revised, 2024 | The Linguistic Experts Committee (under the Sahitya Akademi, Ministry of Culture) added knowledge texts, especially prose, and epigraphic and inscriptional evidence; the classical language “could be distinct from its current form or could be discontinuous with later forms of its offshoots”; the Union Cabinet applied the revised criteria on 3 October 2024 |
| Nodal ministry | The Union government confers the status on the Ministry of Culture’s proposal; the Ministry of Education funds study through the Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL), Mysuru, and the universities |
The eleven, in order of recognition:
| Year | Language(s) |
|---|---|
| 2004 | Tamil |
| 2005 | Sanskrit |
| 2008 | Telugu, Kannada |
| 2013 | Malayalam |
| 2014 | Odia |
| 3 October 2024 (Union Cabinet) | Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese, Bengali |
Existing institutions. The Central Institute of Classical Tamil (Chennai, 2008); the Central Sanskrit University, Delhi, and two other Sanskrit universities; Centres of Excellence for Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam and Odia at CIIL, Mysuru. The new centres extend this model to the 2024 additions, placing each centre in a university in the language’s home State, as with Tamil’s institute in Chennai.
Benefits of the status. Two annual international awards for eminent scholars; a Centre of Excellence; professional chairs in Central Universities under the University Grants Commission (UGC).
Pali and Prakrit: Why They Are Different
Pali and Prakrit have no present-day native speech community.
- Pali is the language of the Theravada Buddhist canon (Tipitaka) and of the Milinda Panha; it links India to Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand and Cambodia.
- Prakrit covers a family of Middle Indo-Aryan languages: Ardhamagadhi (Jain Agamas), Shauraseni (Jain Digambara texts, drama), Maharashtri (Hala’s Gaha Sattasai), Magadhi. Most of Ashoka’s edicts are in Prakrit in Brahmi script.
- Hosting Pali in Odisha (Dhauli and Jaugada edicts, the Kalinga war) and Prakrit in Gujarat (Girnar edict; Jain scholarship) has historical logic.
Analysis
1. From status to scholarship. Classical status is largely symbolic until it funds chairs, critical editions and digitisation. The CoEs turn the 2024 decision into institutional capacity.
2. Decentralised model. Placing centres in Tezpur, Santiniketan, Pune, Koraput and Gandhinagar builds regional research ecosystems rather than concentrating them in Mysuru.
3. Politics of recognition. Demands for classical status remain for languages such as Maithili, Tulu and others; the 2024 criteria revision, which added knowledge texts and epigraphic evidence while keeping the clause that the classical form may be distinct from or discontinuous with the modern language, invites further claims.
4. Links to the NEP. The National Education Policy, 2020 (Chapter 22) calls for classical languages to be taught in schools and for institutes for Pali, Persian and Prakrit, and for translation and interpretation institutes (IITI).
UPSC Relevance
GS Paper 1. Indian culture: salient aspects of literature from ancient to modern times. GS Paper 2. Government policies on education and culture.
A question worth preparing. “Classical status should preserve a language’s heritage, not become a badge of regional pride.” Discuss with reference to the criteria revised in 2024 and the new Centres of Excellence for classical languages. (150 words)
📌 Facts Corner, Knowledgepedia
Prelims, statement-ready facts:
- Five CoEs approved (OM 1 October 2026, announced 3 October): Assamese at Tezpur University, Bengali at Visva-Bharati, Marathi at Deccan College, Pune.
- The other two CoEs: Pali at the Central University of Odisha (Koraput), Prakrit at the Central University of Gujarat (Gandhinagar).
- India has 11 classical languages: Tamil (2004), Sanskrit (2005), Telugu and Kannada (2008), Malayalam (2013), Odia (2014), plus five from 2024.
- Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese and Bengali became classical languages by Union Cabinet decision on 3 October 2024.
- Criteria revised in 2024 by the Linguistic Experts Committee (under the Sahitya Akademi): antiquity of 1,500 to 2,000 years; applied by the Cabinet on 3 October 2024.
- The 2024 criteria also count knowledge texts, especially prose, and epigraphic evidence; the classical form may be discontinuous with the modern language.
- The Ministry of Culture is the nodal ministry for classical status; the Ministry of Education runs the Centres of Excellence.
- CIIL, Mysuru hosts the Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam and Odia centres; Tamil has the Central Institute of Classical Tamil, Chennai (2008).
- Pali: Theravada canon (Tipitaka); Prakrit: Ardhamagadhi (Jain Agamas), Maharashtri (Gaha Sattasai); most Ashokan edicts are in Prakrit.
Prelims, the traps:
- Classical status is separate from the Eighth Schedule (22 languages): Pali and Prakrit are classical but not scheduled.
- Tamil was the first classical language (2004), not Sanskrit (2005).
Mains, arguments and keywords:
- Heritage preservation; digitisation of manuscripts; critical editions; regional research ecosystems; recognition politics; NEP 2020 Chapter 22.
Interview, be ready for:
- “Should a living language with millions of speakers be called classical?” Yes if its early literature meets the criteria; the label honours the tradition, not the speaker count.
Sources: PIB, Ministry of Education, 3 October 2026, PIB backgrounder on classical languages, October 2024, EastMojo on the Office Memorandum
Source: Classical Languages Centres of Excellence: Pali, Prakrit, 11 Languages — Ujiyari.com | Free UPSC & State PCS Current Affairs
