The Union Cabinet on Thursday (October 3, 2024) approved classical language status to Marathi, Bengali, Assamese, Pali, and Prakrit.

On Thursday, October 3, 2024, the Union Cabinet granted Marathi, Bengali, Assamese, Pali, and Prakrit the status of classical languages.

The approval of Marathi’s request for classical status, which has been pending since 2013, coincides with the scheduled Assembly elections in Maharashtra. The biggest celebration in West Bengal, Durga Puja, coincides with the acceptance of Bengali.

Up until now, India has had six classical languages. Sanskrit, Odia, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada. Sanskrit received classical status in 2005, after Tamil did so first in 2004.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated all speakers of the recently designated classical languages on social media platform X.

“Pali and Prakrit are at the root of India’s culture. These are languages of spirituality, wisdom and philosophy. They are also known for their literary traditions. Their recognition as Classical Languages honours their timeless influence on Indian thought, culture and history. I am confident that after the Cabinet decision on recognising them as Classical Languages, more people will be motivated to learn about them. This is indeed a joyous moment!” he posted on X.

Mr. Modi noted that Bengali had been conferred the status of a classical language during Durga Puja. “I am very happy that the great Bengali language has been conferred the status of a Classical Language, especially during the auspicious time of Durga Puja. Bengali literature has inspired countless people for years. I congratulate all the Bengali speakers all over the world on this”.

The Union Culture Ministry states that the five languages were designated as classical after the Linguistics Experts Committee, chaired by the Sahitya Akademi, revised the criteria for granting classical status during a meeting in July of this year.

At any given time, the Linguistics Expert Committee is made up of four or five linguistic experts as well as representatives from the Union Ministries of Home and Culture. The Sahitya Akademi President serves as its chair.