TAG: GS-1: ART AND CULTURE & GS-2 POLITY
CONTEXT: Recently, the Union Cabinet has declared five Indian languages - Marathi, Assamese, Pali, Prakrit and Bengali – as classical languages,
EXPLANATION:
Recommendations of the Linguistics Expert Committee:
- On October 10, 2022, the Linguistics Expert Committee of the Union Culture Ministry submitted a report suggesting changes to the criteria for designating classical languages.
- This development followed a directive from the Centre to reassess the existing rules.
- The proposed criteria will be officially implemented following approval by the Union Cabinet and subsequent gazette notification.
- Composition of the Committee
- The committee includes representatives from the Union Ministries of Home and Culture, alongside four to five linguistic experts.
About Classical Language:
- 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.
Classical Languages and its year of inclusion:
- Tamil: Declared as a classical language in 2004
- Sanskrit: Attained classical status in 2005
- Kannada: Recognized as a classical language in 2008.
- Telugu: Achieved classical status in 2008.
- Malayalam: Granted classical status in 2013.
- Odia: Received classical recognition in 2014.
Classical Language Status Criteria:
- The recognition of a classical language is based on criteria established by a Linguistic Experts Committee.
- According to the committee, the following revised benchmarks must be met for a language to be considered “classical”:
- High antiquity of (its) is 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.
New Classical languages:
- Marathi: Earliest poetry and prose are by Gnaneshwar who wrote a commentary on the Bhagavad Gita
- Prakrit: It is a colloquial language. Ashoka’s inscriptions have used Prākṛt along with Pali. Gāthā Sattasai is written in prakrit
- Pali: Buddhist philosophical works like Dhammapada and stories like Jātaka Tales are in Pali.
- Assamese: Shankardev’s Vaishnavite poetries
- Bengali: Poet-saints Sri Chaitanyadeva produced literary masterpieces in Bengali, and Rabindranath Tagore’s Geetanjali received Nobel Prize.
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