Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese and Bengali were accorded Classical Language status.
- The primary states involved are Maharashtra (Marathi), Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh (Pali and Prakrit), West Bengal (Bengali), and Assam (Assamese).
About Classical Language
- Genesis: Created in 2004
- Linguistic Experts Committee (LEC): In 2004, it was constituted by the Ministry of Culture under the Sahitya Akademi.
- Its mandate is to examine the eligibility of the languages proposed to be accorded classical language status.
- Criteria for inclusion (instituted in 2004 and revised by LEC in 2024)
- High antiquity of its early texts/recorded history over a period of 1500- 2000 years.
- A body of ancient literature/texts, which is considered a heritage by generations of speakers.
- Knowledge texts, especially prose texts in addition to poetry, epigraphical and inscriptional evidence.
- The Classical Languages and literature could be distinct from its current form or could be discontinuous with later forms of its offshoots.
- Languages and year of inclusion: Tamil (2004), Sanskrit (2005), Telugu and Kannada (2008), Malayalam (2013) and Odia (2014).
About New Classical languages:
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