Classical Languages of India

Introduction

In India, the notion of Classical Language was codified into existence in 2004 in order to attract attention to the languages that have an old origin and have played an important role in the cultural and intellectual tradition of the country. These languages are the depositories of ancient knowledge, philosophy and traditions.

Criteria for Declaration

The Government of India bestows the status, on the basis of a Linguistic Experts Committee (LEC) in the Ministry of Culture on the recommendations of a Linguistic Experts Committee (LEC) (under the Ministry of Culture), according to certain criteria (last revised in 2024):

• Strong antiqueness of its early writings/documented history of a span of 1,500-2,000 years.
• A collection of ancient literature/texts, which is regarded as a good heritage by generations of the speakers.
• Texts of knowledge, particularly prose texts among other poetry, epigraphical, and inscriptional texts.
• The classical language and literature can be different to that of the modern or have a break with its subsequent descendants.

The Eleven Recognized Classical Languages

Initially, six languages were granted the status, and an additional five were added in October 2024, bringing the total to eleven.

Significance and Benefits of the Status

The tag of classical is not merely a symbol; it is of substantial help to the preservation and propagation of these languages.

• Financial Assistance: The government offers funds to support the research, documentation and promotion.
• Excelence Centres: Special centres and university chairs have been established to study the said languages including the Central Institute of Classical Tamil in Chennai and the Dravidian and Odia Centres of Excellence in the Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL) in Mysuru.
• Academic and Research Promotion: It creates opportunities of two large international prizes of distinguished scholars and professional chairs in central universities, and grants of research and digitisation of manuscripts.
• Cultural Preservation: It can assist in preserving ancient documents, inscriptions and knowledge systems so that they can be available to the future generations and that people are able to take pride in the linguistic diversity of India.

Key Contributions of Select Languages

• Tamil: Tamil is the oldest known and has a literary tradition is more than two thousand years old, including the secular Sangam literature and moral text such as the Tirukkural. It was very influential on cultures of South India and Southeast Asia.
• Sanskrit: Sanskrit is a language of the Vedas, the Upanishads and the great epics of India, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. It is considered the mother of other Indian languages. It influenced Indian philosophy, science, grammar (Panini Ashtadhyayi) and performing arts.
• Pali and Prakrit: The ancient languages played a key role in the sharing of the Buddhist and Jain faiths respectively. The whole body of Buddhist canon literature, the Tipitaka, is in Pali. Prakrit enjoyed a great popularity in Ashokan inscriptions and in classical Indian drama.

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