Which are India’s 5 new ‘classical languages’, what does the tag mean?

On October 12, 2004, Tamil became the archetypal Indian connection to person “classical” presumption owed to its precocious antiquity and affluent literate tradition.

In the pursuing month, the Ministry of Culture acceptable up a Linguistic Experts Committee (LEC) nether the Sahitya Akademi to analyse proposals for “classical language” presumption from assorted states and bodies.

On November 25, Sanskrit was declared a classical language. Subsequently, this presumption was conferred upon Telugu (2008), Kannada (2008), Malayalam (2013), and Odia (2014).

What are the latest criteria for “classical langues”

On July 25 this year, the LEC unanimously revised the criteria for classical status. The criteria present includes:

• High antiquity of aboriginal texts, and recorded past implicit a play of 1500- 2000 years;
• A assemblage of past literature/ texts, which is considered a practice by generations of speakers;
• Epigraphic and inscriptional evidence;
• Knowledge texts, particularly prose texts successful summation to poetry; and
• That classical languages and lit could beryllium chiseled from its existent signifier oregon could beryllium discontinuous with aboriginal forms of its offshoots.
• Following this, the committee recommended the summation of the 5 caller classical languages, the proposals for which had been with the Centre for immoderate years. This was approved by the Union Cabinet connected Thursday.

What is down the caller additions?

Marathi: With the authorities Assembly elections conscionable weeks away, the inclusion of Marathi comes implicit a decennary aft the authorities authorities archetypal forwarded the connection to the Centre successful 2013.

Modern Marathi descends from Maharashtri Prakrit, a Prakrit dialect utilized successful occidental India which was the authoritative connection of the Satvahanas. Some Marathi scholars person claimed that this was the archetypal among Prakrit languages, but this assertion is contested. The oldest grounds of Maharashtri Prakrit tin beryllium recovered successful a chromatic inscription successful Pune district, dated to the 1st period BCE. The earliest grounds of the much modern Marathi tin beryllium traced to a copper-plate inscription recovered successful Satara, dated to 739 CE.

Bengali & Assamese: The West Bengal and Assam authorities governments had besides sought “classical” presumption for their respective languages.

Both these languages tin find their root successful Magadhi Prakrit, a signifier of Prakrit fashionable successful East India, and the authoritative connection of the Magadha court. The nonstop day successful which they emerged is contested, with scholars putting guardant dates of root ranging from the 6th to the 12th centuries. They took connected a signifier which whitethorn beryllium recognisable contiguous good into the 2nd millennium CE. The legendary linguist Suniti Kumar Chatterji suggested that the Indo-Aryan vernacular apt differentiated itself successful Assam earlier Bengal.

Prakrit & Pali: There is nary azygous Prakrit language. Rather, the word refers to a radical of closely-related Indo-Aryan languages, whose defining diagnostic was that they were the connection of the masses  arsenic opposed to Sanskrit, which was restricted to the elites and precocious literature. Historian A L Basham wrote successful The Wonder that was India (1954): “By the clip of the Buddha the masses were speaking languages which were overmuch simpler than Sanskrit. These were the Prakrits, of which respective dialects person been attested.”

These vernaculars were frankincense besides the connection of fashionable heterodox religions that emerged successful the archetypal millennium BCE.

Jain agamas and the Gatha Saptashati are successful Ardhamagadhi, a Prakrit dialect which immoderate scholars see to beryllium its definitive form. This Prakrit frankincense continues to person resonance among the Jain community, and inactive sees usage successful the religion’s ritual practices.

Pali, apt a signifier of somewhat Sanskritised Magadhi Prakrit, was the connection of the Theravada Buddhist Canon — the Tipitakas. Considered to beryllium the connection of the Buddha himself, Pali survived successful places similar Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia, wherever the Theravada schoolhouse prospered.

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

Officials accidental that the broader taste and world interaction of this designation volition widen nationally and internationally.

The Ministry of Education takes steps to beforehand classical languages. Three Central Universities were established successful 2020 for the promotion of Sanskrit. The Central Institute of Classical Tamil was acceptable up successful 2008 to facilitate the translation of past Tamil texts, and connection courses successful Tamil. Similar Centres of Excellence person besides been acceptable up for the survey of Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, and Odia.

Officials told The Indian Express that the recently added classical languages volition beryllium promoted successful a akin fashion.

The National Education Policy besides calls for the inclusion of classical languages successful schoolhouse education. The Ministry of Culture (through the assorted academies), the Ministry of Education, and respective authorities governments, volition travel unneurotic for greater knowledge-sharing and probe successful these languages. Besides, manuscripts successful these languages volition beryllium digitised for greater entree to scholars, the officials said.