The Indian classical languages are the languages of India perceived as having high antiquity, and valuable, original and distinct literary heritage.[1] Some classical languages of India are recognised by the Ministry of Culture of the Union Government of India, while some are separately recognised by the National Education Policy, specifically the 2020 edition, which is often referred to as the "New Education Policy". Certain classical languages are cited in the academic and scholarly writings and publications, independent of any governmental or institutional recognition. The Government of India declared in 2004 that languages meeting strict criteria could be accorded the status of a classical language of India.[2] 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.[2]

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:[3]

  • High Antiquity of its early texts/ recorded history over a thousand years.
  • A body of ancient literature/ texts, which is considered a valuable heritage by generation of speakers.
  • The literary tradition must be original and not borrowed from another speech community.[3]

Criteria in 2005

The following criteria were set during the time Sanskrit was given the classical language status by the government of India

  • High antiquity of its early texts/recorded history over a period of 1500–2000 years.
  • body of ancient literature/texts, which is considered a valuable heritage by generations of speakers.
  • The literary tradition be original and not borrowed from another speech community.
  • The classical language and literature being distinct from modern, there may also be a discontinuity between the classical language and its later forms or its offshoots.[3]

After classical language status was granted to Tamil in 2004, there were similar demands for other languages.[4] Subsequently Telugu (2008), Kannada (2008), Malayalam (2013) and Odia (2014) were given the status.[3]

Criteria in 2024

The following criteria were set by the Ministry of Culture:[3]

i. High antiquity of its early texts/recorded history over a period of 1500–2000 years.

ii. A body of ancient literature/texts, which is considered a heritage by generations of speakers.

iii. Knowledge texts, especially prose texts in addition to poetry, epigraphical and inscriptional evidence.

iv. The Classical Languages and literature could be distinct from its current form or could be discontinuous with later forms of its offshoots.[3]

Assamese, Bengali, Marathi, Pali and Prakrit were given the classical language status in October 2024.[3][5]

Upon dropping the criteria for "original literary tradition", the Linguistic Expert Committee justified their decision by stating the following:[5]

“We discussed it in detail and understood that it was a very difficult thing to prove or disprove as all ancient languages borrowed from each other, but recreated the texts in their own way. On the contrary, archaeological, historical and numismatic evidence are tangible things”

— Linguistic Expert Committee[5]

Benefits

Academic opportunities

As per Government of India's Resolution No. 2-16/2004-US (Akademies) dated 1 November 2004, the benefits that will accrue to a language declared as a "Classical Language" are:[6]

  1. Two major international awards for scholars of eminence in Classical Indian Languages are awarded annually.
  2. A Centre of Excellence for Studies in Classical Languages is set up.
  3. 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.[6]

Job employment opportunities

The recognition of these classical languages will give job employment opportunities, especially in academic and research areas. Moreover, the preservation, documentation, and digitisation of ancient texts of these languages will provide employment opportunities to people in archiving, translation, publishing, and digital media.[3]

Recognition by the Ministry of Culture

Language Earliest attestation Language family Language branch Date recognised
Tamil ~300 BCE (written)[7][8][9][10][11] Dravidian South Dravidian 12 October 2004[12]
Sanskrit ~1500 BCE (oral); 100 CE (written)[a][13][14] Indo-European Indo-Aryan 25 November 2005[12]
Kannada 450 CE (written)[15] Dravidian South Dravidian 31 October 2008[16]
Telugu 575 CE (written)[17][18] South-Central Dravidian
Malayalam 849 (written) CE[19][20] South Dravidian 23 May 2013[21]
Odia c. 8th and 12th centuries CE through the Vajrayana Buddhist mystical composition of the Charyapada, which is regarded as the earliest known "common" written specimen of Bengali, Odia, and Assamese languages[22][23][24][25] Indo-European Eastern Indo-Aryan 20 February 2014[6]
Assamese 3 October 2024[3]
Bengali
Marathi Between 500 and 700 CE (old Marathi)[26][27][28][29] Southern Indo-Aryan
Pali Between ~300 and 100 BCE (oral)[30] Middle Indo-Aryan
Prakrit Between 500 and 100 BCE (written)[31]

Recognition by the Education Policy

The New Education Policy,[b] also known as the National Education Policy 2020, had given recognition of Farsi (Persian language), owing to its huge long-established cultural heritage and influence on the traditional Indian culture, despite being originated from outside India,[c] simultaneously with two ancient Indian languages, namely, Prakrit and Pali,[d] as "classical language of India". Certain sources explicitly mention it as "Classical languages of India", while some sources write only "Classical language", without highlighting it as either "Indian" or not. In 2024, the classical language designation was internationally announced by S. Jaishankar, the then External Affairs Minister of India, in a Tehran-based bilateral meeting between India and Iran.[32][33][34][35]

Language(s) Earliest establishment Language family Language branch Date recognised
Farsi/Persian language Already long-established in Iran (Ancient Persia) in antiquity, but significantly introduced to the Indian subcontinent,[c] in the 7th century CE by the Parsis.[34] It was widespreadly introduced in the 11th century,[c] during the invasion of Mahmud of Ghazni (conquering portions of Northwest India, including the Punjab, as a part of the Ghaznavid Empire) and the early Delhi Sultanate era[36][37][38] Indo European Indo Iranian January 2024[32][33][34][35]
Pali[d] c. 1st century BCE[30] Indo Aryan
Prakrit[d] c. 3rd century BCE[31]

Demand from other languages

Meitei

Meitei, or Manipuri, is a language of the Sino-Tibetan linguistic family, having a long literary tradition.[39][40]

Maithili

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.[41] Additionally, the Charyapada, a collection of Buddhist mystical songs from the 8th century, also reflects the early development of Maithili.[42] 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.[43][44]

Classical Language Literary Awards

In January 2026, the Government of Tamil Nadu announced the first edition of the annual "Semmozhi Illakiya Virudhu" (transl. Classical Language Literary Award), for the best works in the 7 languages, namely Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Odiya, Bengali and Marathi, carrying a cash prize of 7 lakh INR each.[45][46][47][48][49]

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.[50]

Languages declared as "classical" Political parties (involved in advocacy) State/UT/National level parties Notes/Ref.
Tamil Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and UPA Government Tamil Nadu and national [50][51]
Telugu Telugu Desam Party and
UPA Government		 United Andhra and National [50]
Kannada Bharatiya Janata Party and UPA Government Karnataka and national [50]
Odia UPA Government and Biju Janata Dal National and Odisha [50]
Bengali Trinamool Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party West Bengal and national [52]
Bengali Amra Bangali Tripura [53]
Marathi Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, Shiv Sena Maharashtra [54][55]
Marathi Bharatiya Janata Party, Indian National Congress National [54][56][57]

Court cases against classical status

A lawyer from the Madras High Court legally challenged against the official classical status of Malayalam and Odia, in 2015.[58] There was a long legal proceeding for almost one year. Later, the Madras High Court disposed the case against the mentioned languages' status of being officially "classical" in 2016.[59][60][61]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Originally orally transmitted. Not attested in writing until the 1st century BCE, when it was written in the Brahmi script, and later in various Brahmic scripts.
  2. ↑ Certain sources mention it as "New Education Policy" with all letters capitalized, instead of directly mentioning the National Education Policy 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 The establishment of Persian language in India coincided with or preceded the rise of certain native Indo-Aryan languages (from their regional Prakrit ancestors), which are recognised as "classical" in modern times.
  4. 1 2 3 Prakrit and Pali were again given "classical language" recognition by the Ministry of Culture (India) later in 2024.

References

  1. ↑ "Reviving classical languages – Latest News & Updates at Daily News & Analysis". Dnaindia.com. 13 August 2015. Archived from the original on 21 September 2024. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  2. 1 2 "India sets up classical languages". BBC. 17 September 2004. Archived from the original on 4 March 2007. Retrieved 1 May 2007.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Cabinet approves conferring status of Classical Language to Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese and Bengali languages". Press Information Bureau.
  4. ↑ "Clamour grows for Marathi to be given classical language status". The Times of India. 16 April 2018. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 29 December 2024.
  5. 1 2 3 Chakrabarty, Sreeparna (6 October 2024). "Five languages got classical status after 'original literary tradition' norm was dropped". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
  6. 1 2 3 "Classical Status to Odiya Language". Press Information Bureau, Government of India. 14 August 2013. Archived from the original on 11 March 2023. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  7. ↑ Definitive Editions of Ancient Tamil Works
  8. ↑ Abraham, S.A. (2003), "Chera, Chola, Pandya: Using Archaeological Evidence to Identify the Tamil Kingdoms of Early Historic South India" (PDF), Asian Perspectives, 42 (2): 207, doi:10.1353/asi.2003.0031, hdl:10125/17189, S2CID 153420843
  9. ↑ Zvelebil 1992, p. 12: "...the most acceptable periodisation which has so far been suggested for the development of Tamil writing seems to me to be that of A Chidambaranatha Chettiar (1907–1967): 1. Sangam Literature – 200BC to AD 200; 2. Post Sangam literature – AD 200 – AD 600; 3. Early Medieval literature – AD 600 to AD 1200; 4. Later Medieval literature – AD 1200 to AD 1800; 5. Pre-Modern literature – AD 1800 to 1900"
  10. ↑ Maloney, C. (1970), "The Beginnings of Civilization in South India", The Journal of Asian Studies, 29 (3): 603–616, doi:10.2307/2943246, JSTOR 2943246, S2CID 162291987 at p. 610
  11. ↑ Subramaniam, T.S. (29 August 2011), "Palani excavation triggers fresh debate", The Hindu, Chennai, India
  12. 1 2 "Notification" (PDF). 25 November 2005. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  13. ↑ Jain, Dhanesh (2007). "Sociolinguistics of the Indo-Aryan languages". In George Cardona; Dhanesh Jain (eds.). The Indo-Aryan Languages. Routledge. pp. 47–66, 51. ISBN 978-1-135-79711-9. In the history of Indo-Aryan, writing was a later development and its adoption has been slow even in modern times. The first written word comes to us through Asokan inscriptions dating back to the third century BC. Originally, Brahmi was used to write Prakrit (MIA); for Sanskrit (OIA) it was used only four centuries later (Masica 1991: 135). The MIA traditions of Buddhist and Jain texts show greater regard for the written word than the OIA Brahminical tradition, though writing was available to Old Indo-Aryans.
  14. ↑ Salomon, Richard (2007). "The Writing Systems of the Indo-Aryan Languages". In George Cardona; Dhanesh Jain (eds.). The Indo-Aryan Languages. Routledge. pp. 67–102. ISBN 978-1-135-79711-9. Although in modern usage Sanskrit is most commonly written or printed in Nagari, in theory, it can be represented by virtually any of the main Brahmi-based scripts, and in practice it often is. Thus scripts such as Gujarati, Bangla, and Oriya, as well as the major south Indian scripts, traditionally have been and often still are used in their proper territories for writing Sanskrit. Sanskrit, in other words, is not inherently linked to any particular script, although it does have a special historical connection with Nagari.
  15. ↑ "Kannada language | History, Script & Dialects | Britannica". www.britannica.com. 10 October 2023. Archived from the original on 2 January 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  16. ↑ "Declaration of Telugu and Kannada as classical languages". Press Information Bureau. Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Government of India. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2008.
  17. ↑ The Hindu News: Telugu is 2,400 years old, says ASI Archived 3 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine "The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has joined the Andhra Pradesh Official Languages Commission to say that early forms of the Telugu language and its script indeed existed 2,400 years ago"
  18. ↑ "Telugu language | Origin, History, & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. 1 November 2023. Archived from the original on 21 September 2024. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  19. ↑ Devadevan, Manu V. (2020). "Changes in Land Relations and the Changing Fortunes of the Cera State". The 'Early Medieval' Origins of India. Cambridge University Press. pp. 126–28. ISBN 978-1-108-49457-1.
  20. ↑ "Malayalam language | Dravidian, India, Scripts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Archived from the original on 16 November 2018. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  21. ↑ "Classifying Malaylam as 'Classical Language'". PIB. 23 May 2013. Archived from the original on 19 August 2024. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  22. ↑ Comrie, Bernard (30 November 2022). The Major Languages of South Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-93257-3. This is clearly evident, for instance, in the case of the celebrated Buddhist hymns called the Caryapada, composed in eastern India roughly between AD 1000 and 1200. Though the language of these hymns is Old Bengali, there are reference works on Assamese, Oriya and even Maithili that treat the same hymns as the earliest specimens of each of these languages and their literatures.
  23. ↑ Dalby, Andrew (28 October 2015). Dictionary of Languages: The definitive reference to more than 400 languages. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 87. ISBN 978-1-4081-0214-5. Around 1000 AD, when Bengali, Oriya and Assamese not yet distinguishable as separate languages, the remarkable, mystical Buddhist Charyapada songs were composed. They were discovered in a manuscript at Kathmandu and first published in 1916. They are claimed as the foundation of the literary tradition of all three languages.
  24. ↑ "Odia language | Region, History, & Basics | Britannica". www.britannica.com. 13 October 2023. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  25. ↑ "Bengali literature | History, Rabindranath Tagore, Poetry, Novels, & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. 26 November 2024. Retrieved 29 December 2024. The Charyapada, written between the 8th and 12th centuries ce, are a collection of mystical poems from Vajrayana Buddhist traditions of the eastern Indian regions of Bengal, Assam, Bihar, and Odisha.
  26. ↑ "Classical Language status granted to Marathi". pib.gov.in. 4 October 2024. Retrieved 4 October 2024. The Marathi language's first known inscription dates back to around 2200 years ago, found in the Naneghata inscription, where the term "Maharathino" was used. This inscription, written in the Brahmi script, proves that the language must have existed at least a few centuries before.
  27. ↑ "Marathi literature". www.britannica.com. 31 August 2024. Retrieved 3 October 2024. Marathi literature is the oldest of the Indo-Aryan literatures, dating to about 1000 ce.
  28. ↑ Sūri, Uddyotana (1959). "'Kuvalayamālā: Prākr̥tabhāṣānibaddhā campūsvarūpā mahākathā, Part 2'".
  29. ↑ "Marathi History". lisindia.ciil.org. Retrieved 29 December 2024.
  30. 1 2 "Pāli language | Theravada Buddhism, Pali Canon, India | Britannica". www.britannica.com. 29 August 2024. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  31. 1 2 "Prakrit". www.ames.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  32. 1 2 "India To Include Persian As One Of 9 Classical Languages: S Jaishankar". www.ndtv.com. Archived from the original on 26 July 2025. Retrieved 3 September 2026.
  33. 1 2 "Strengthening cultural bonds with Iran: India adds Farsi as a classical language". Tehran Times. 16 January 2024. Retrieved 3 September 2026.
  34. 1 2 3 "India Uses Language To Strengthen Ties With Iran And Indian Muslims – Analysis". Eurasia Review. 20 January 2024. Archived from the original on 5 March 2024. Retrieved 3 September 2026.
  35. 1 2 Presstv (23 January 2024). "India's move to include Persian as one of 9 classical languages widely hailed". PressTV. PressTV. Retrieved 3 September 2026.
  36. ↑ Brard, Gurnam Singh Sidhu. "East of Indus: My memories of old Punjab." (2007).
  37. ↑ Abidi, S. A. H.; Gargesh, Ravinder (2008), "Persian in South Asia", Language in South Asia, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 103–120.
  38. ↑ Alam, Muzaffar (2003), "The Culture and Politics of Persian in Precolonial Hindustan", in Pollock, Sheldon (ed.), Literary Cultures in History: Reconstructions from South Asia, University of California Press, ISBN 0520228219
  39. ↑ "'Manipur language which belongs to Tibeto-Burma has touched the criteria of a classical language'". 21 February 2018.
  40. ↑ "Manipuri is a classical language".
  41. ↑ Choudhary, R. (1976). A survey of Maithili literature. Ram Vilas Sahu.
  42. ↑ Barua, K. L. (1933). Early history of Kamarupa. Shillong: Published by the Author.
  43. ↑ Jagran Team (9 July 2021). "बिहार की एक भी भाषा अब तक नहीं बनी शास्त्रीय भाषा, मैथिली हो सकता शामिल". Jagran.
  44. ↑ Hindustan Team (26 July 2024). "मैथिली को शास्त्रीय भाषा के लिए नियमसंगत कार्रवाई होगी". Hindustan. Archived from the original on 2 September 2024. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  45. ↑ PTI (18 January 2026). "Stalin Announces Literature Award for Non-Hindi Languages". www.deccanchronicle.com. Retrieved 3 September 2026.
  46. ↑ Jayachandran, Apoorva (18 January 2026). "Tamil Nadu vs Centre over literature awards; Stalin announces parallel prizes". India Today. Retrieved 3 September 2026.
  47. ↑ "Tamil Nadu Announces New State Award For Non-Hindi Language Writers". www.ndtv.com. Archived from the original on 19 January 2026. Retrieved 3 September 2026.
  48. ↑ "Stalin announces TN govt literary award for 7 non-Hindi languages, hits out at Centre". Hindustan Times. 18 January 2026. Retrieved 3 September 2026.
  49. ↑ "Stalin announces Tamil Nadu government literary award for 7 non-Hindi languages, hits out at Centre". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 3 September 2026.
  50. 1 2 3 4 5 Chavan, Akshay (27 February 2022). "Marathi and the Politics of 'Classical' Languages". PeepulTree. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  51. ↑ Fishman, Joshua; Garcia, Ofelia (21 April 2011). Handbook of Language and Ethnic Identity: The Success-Failure Continuum in Language and Ethnic Identity Efforts (Volume 2). Oxford University Press. p. 239. ISBN 978-0-19-983799-1.
  52. ↑ "TMC, BJP spar over credit for Bengali getting 'classical language' recognition". The Indian Express. 4 October 2024. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  53. ↑ Today, North East (5 October 2024). "Tripura's Amra Bangali Party Pushes for Bengali Language Inclusion in Indian Constitution". Northeast Today. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  54. 1 2 Pandit, Vinaya Deshpande (4 October 2024). "Ahead of poll, credit war breaks out in Maharashtra over classical language status to Marathi". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  55. ↑ PTI. "Classical language status to Marathi a result of collective efforts, not single party: Sanjay Raut". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  56. ↑ "Will Give Classical Language Status To Marathi After Forming INDIA Govt, Announces Congress - www.lokmattimes.com". Lokmat Times. 13 May 2024. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  57. ↑ PTI. "Classical language status to Marathi a result of collective efforts, not single party: Sanjay Raut". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  58. ↑ "PIL in Madras HC opposes classical language status for Malayalam, Odia". The Times of India. 4 March 2015. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  59. ↑ "Madras HC disposes of pleas challenging classical status to Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam". The Hindu. 9 August 2016. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  60. ↑ "Madras High Court bats for classical languages". India Legal. 7 September 2016. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  61. ↑ "Madras High Court disposes plea against classical status to non-Tamil languages". The Indian Express. 8 August 2016. Retrieved 16 October 2024.

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