"Five Centres of Excellence Approved for Classical Languages"
Classical Language
a language formally recognised by the Indian government for having 1,500 to 2,000 years of textual antiquity and an original, independent literary tradition.
Centre of Excellence for Studies in Classical Languages
a dedicated institutional body set up for each classical language to support research, digitisation, and dissemination of its literary heritage.
India created the 'Classical Language' category in 2004 to formally recognise languages with deep antiquity and an independent literary tradition. The criteria require early texts showing antiquity of 1,500 to 2,000 years, a body of ancient literature valued continuously by generations of speakers, and a literary tradition that is original rather than borrowed from another speech community. This is why a modern Indo-Aryan language such as Gujarati has never qualified. Its literary tradition is not judged sufficiently independent under these criteria. Dravidian languages such as Kannada and Telugu, each with a continuous, self-standing textual tradition stretching over a thousand years, have qualified.
Tamil was the first language granted classical status in 2004. Sanskrit followed in 2005. Telugu and Kannada were added in 2008, Malayalam in 2013, and Odia in 2014. In October 2024, the government widened this list sharply. It granted classical status together to Assamese, Bengali, Marathi, Pali, and Prakrit, taking the total number of recognised classical languages to eleven. This was the largest single expansion of the category since it was created.
Classical language status is not merely symbolic. It carries three specific institutional benefits. First, two major international awards are given annually to eminent scholars of classical Indian languages. Second, a dedicated Centre of Excellence for Studies in Classical Languages is set up for each recognised language. Third, the government requests the University Grants Commission (UGC) to create professional chairs for classical-language scholars, beginning with Central Universities.
The Centre of Excellence model is the primary institutional mechanism through which classical language recognition is translated into sustained scholarly work. Each Centre is designed to work along four broad lines. It serves as a dedicated platform for advanced research and scholarly engagement. It supports documentation, preservation, and digitisation of textual material. It widens access to and dissemination of the language's literary and knowledge traditions. It also strengthens the regional ecosystem for higher education and research connected to that language.
The Department of Higher Education under the Ministry of Education is the nodal body responsible for approving and overseeing these Centres. The Centres approved now are specifically for the five languages added in October 2024. …
Which one of the following was given classical language status recently?
Consider the following languages:
1.Gujarati
2.Kannada
3.Telugu
Which of the above has/have been declared as 'Classical Language/Languages' by the Government?
Consider the following pairs of Classical Languages of India and the year in which they were granted classical status:
1.Tamil — 2004
2.Sanskrit — 2008
3.Kannada — 2008
4.Odia — 2013
How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?
Consider the following statements regarding Classical Language status in India:
1.Tamil was the first language to be granted classical status, in 2004.
2.In 2024, five more languages were granted classical status, raising the total to eleven.
3.Classical language status is conferred by the University Grants Commission.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
With reference to the Centres of Excellence recently approved for studies in Classical Languages, consider the following pairs:
1.Classical Pali — Odisha
2.Classical Prakrit — Gujarat
3.Classical Marathi — Maharashtra
Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?
Which of the following is a criterion used by the Government of India to classify a language as a 'Classical Language'?
Consider the following statements about the recently approved Centres of Excellence for Classical Languages:
1.They will focus on academic research, preservation and digitisation, and wider dissemination of the respective language's heritage.
2.They have been approved by the Ministry of Culture.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
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