Classical languages of India
The Indian Classical languages, or the Śāstrīya Bhāṣā or the Dhrupadī Bhāṣā or the Abhijāta Bhāṣā or the Śhāstrīya Bhāṣā or the Cemmoḻi, is an umbrella term for the languages of India having high antiquity, and valuable, original and distinct literary heritage. The Government of India declared in 2004 that languages that met certain strict criteria could be accorded the status of a classical language of India. It was instituted by the Ministry of Culture along with the Linguistic Experts' Committee. The committee was constituted by the Government of India to consider demands for the categorisation of languages as classical languages. In 2004, Tamil became the first language to be recognised as a classical language of India. As of 2024, 11 languages have been recognised as classical languages of India.
Criteria
In the year 2004, the tentative criteria for the age of antiquity of "classical language" was assumed to be at least 1000 years of existence.The Central Government has revised the criteria 3 times.
Criteria in 2004
The following criteria were set during the time Tamil was given the classical language status by the government of India:Criteria in 2005
The following criteria were set during the time Sanskrit was given the classical language status by the government of IndiaAfter classical language status was granted to Tamil in 2004, there were similar demands for other languages. Subsequently Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Odia were given the status.
Criteria in 2024
The following criteria were set by the Ministry of Culture:Assamese, Bengali, Marathi, Pali and Prakrit were given the classical language status in October 2024.
Upon dropping the criteria for "original literary tradition", the Linguistic Expert Committee justified their decision by stating the following:
Benefits
Academic opportunities
As per Government of India's Resolution No. 2-16/2004-US dated 1 November 2004, the benefits that will accrue to a language declared as a "Classical Language" are:- Two major international awards for scholars of eminence in Classical Indian Languages are awarded annually.
- A Centre of Excellence for Studies in Classical Languages is set up.
- The University Grants Commission will be requested to create, to start with at least in the Central Universities, a certain number of Professional Chairs for Classical Languages for scholars of eminence in Classical Indian Languages.
Job employment opportunities
Officially recognised classical languages
Demand from other languages
Meitei
, or Manipuri, is a language of Sino-Tibetan linguistic family, having a long literary tradition.Maithili
is an Eastern Indo-Aryan language with a literary tradition that traces its roots back to the 7th and 8th centuries. The earliest known example of Maithili can be found in the Mandar Hill Sen inscription from the 7th century, which provides evidence of its ancient lineage. Additionally, the Charyapada, a collection of Buddhist mystical songs from the 8th century, also reflects the early development of Maithili. The language is predominantly spoken in the Mithila region, encompassing parts of present-day Bihar, Jharkhand and Nepal. Maithili's rich literary heritage includes epic poetry, philosophical texts, and devotional songs, such as the works of the 14th-century poet Vidyapati. Though it has a distinct script, Tirhuta, Devanagari is commonly used today. Despite its profound historical and cultural significance, Maithili has yet to be recognised as a "classical language" by the Government of India, leading to ongoing demands for such recognition.Politics
Besides the literary achievements, the status of classical language is granted, sometimes influenced by the political parties of the states or union territories of the respective languages where these are spoken or are based in, or the national parties, advocating for the certain languages to be accorded the demanded status.| Languages declared as "classical" | Political parties | State/UT/National level parties | Notes/Ref. |
| Tamil | Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and UPA Government | Tamil Nadu and national | |
| Telugu | Telugu Desam Party and UPA Government | United Andhra and National | |
| Kannada | Bharatiya Janata Party and UPA Government | Karnataka and national | |
| Odia | UPA Government and Biju Janata Dal | National and Odisha | |
| Bengali | Trinamool Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party | West Bengal and national | |
| Bengali | Amra Bangali | Tripura | |
| Marathi | Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, Shiv Sena | Maharashtra | |
| Marathi | Bharatiya Janata Party, Indian National Congress | National |