Context: With many languages seeking classical status, the Central government has decided to change the criteria for classical status to any language.
About classical language
- The term ‘Indian classical languages,’ or Shastriya Bhasha, encompasses languages in India with a rich history, significant antiquity, and a distinct literary heritage.
- India has six classical languages as of now: Tamil, Sanskrit, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Odia. The government last granted the special tag to Odia in 2014.
- The Indian government established criteria for conferring the status of a ‘Classical Language,’ a decision implemented by the Ministry of Culture in collaboration with the Linguistic Experts’ Committee. This committee, formed by the government, evaluates requests for classifying languages as Classical Languages.
- All the Classical Languages are listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
To be recognized as a ‘Classical Language,’ a language must satisfy the following criteria:
- Demonstrated high antiquity of its early texts or a recorded history spanning 1500–2000 years.
- Possession of a body of ancient literature or texts considered valuable heritage by successive generations of speakers.
- Originality of the literary tradition, not borrowed from another speech community.
- Distinctiveness between the classical language and literature from its modern counterparts, potentially involving a discontinuity.
Benefits of Classical Status:
- Two major international awards annually for distinguished scholars in Classical Indian Languages.
- Establishment of a ‘Centre of Excellence for Studies in Classical Languages.’
- Requesting the University Grants Commission to initiate, initially in Central Universities, a designated number of Professional Chairs for Classical Languages for eminent scholars in Classical Indian Languages.
Practice Question:
Q. With reference to the classical language, consider the following statements:
1.One of the criteria for obtaining official classical language status is the continuity between its classical form and modern literature.
2. The Parliament of India has the power to establish the criteria for conferring the status of a classical language.
3. All the classical languages are listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
How many of the above statements is/are correct?
(a) Only one
(b) Only two
(c) All three
(d) None
Answer: (a)
Explanation:
Statement 1 is incorrect: Distinctiveness between the classical language and literature from its modern counterparts, potentially involving a discontinuity is an important criteria for obtaining official classical language status.
Statement 2 is incorrect: The Indian government established criteria for conferring the status of a ‘Classical Language,’ a decision implemented by the Ministry of Culture in collaboration with the Linguistic Experts’ Committee. This committee, formed by the government, evaluates requests for classifying languages as Classical Languages.
Statement 3 is correct: All the Classical Languages are listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
PYQ (2015)
Q. Which one of the following was given classical language status recently?
(a) Odia
(b) Konkani
(c) Bhojpuri
(d) Assamese
Answer: (a)