Context

• The Central Government has decided to revise the criteria for granting classical language status.

Key Highlights 

• The decision is based on a report by the Linguistic Expert Committee of the Union Culture Ministry submitted in 2023.

Linguistics Expert Committee:

• Its members are Union Ministries of Home, Culture and four to five linguistic experts. 
• It is chaired by the president of the 'Sahitya Akademi'.

Criteria for a classical language

• Ancient origin: The language should have high antiquity of its early texts/recorded history over a period of 1,500-2,000 years.
• Literary heritage: The language should contain a body of ancient literature or texts that is considered a valuable heritage by generations of speakers.
• Originality: The literary tradition should be original and not borrowed from another speech community.
• Discontinuity from its later forms or its offshoots.

Benefits of a language being a classical language

• Establishment of a centre of excellence for the study of that language
• Introduction of two major awards for concerned scholars
• The University Grants Commission (UGC) may be requested to establish professional chairs for scholars of classical languages ​​in central universities.

Classical Languages

• These languages ​​are also included in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution.
• Formation for the category of "Classical Languages": 2004
• Current Classical Languages ​​(6): Tamil (2004), Sanskrit (2005), Kannada (2008), Telugu (2008), Malayalam (2013), Odia (2014)
• Under India's National Education Policy-2020, it is also recommended to preserve literary works of Pali, Persian, and Prakrit languages.