Introduction:

The Ministry of Culture provides the guidelines regarding Classical languages. Currently, six languages enjoy the ‘Classical’ status namely Tamil (declared in 2004), Sanskrit (2005), Kannada (2008), Telugu (2008), Malayalam (2013), and Odia (2014). Languages declared as classical are given certain benefits by the Human Resource and Development Ministry.

The Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan recently demanded that Marathi be given the status of a ‘classical language’. The Central Sanskrit Universities Bill, 2020 has been passed by the Parliament after it was passed by Rajya Sabha. The Lok Sabha had already passed the Bill on 12th December 2019.

Body:

Provisions of bill:

This bill will convert (i) Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan, New Delhi, (ii) Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeth, New Delhi, and (iii) Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeth, Tirupati into Central Sanskrit Universities.

these 3 universities will have more opportunities to spread the knowledge of Sanskrit language not only in India but also across the world in a better way.

Guidelines for declaring a classical language:

According to the Ministry of Culture, the norms for according status of classical language are that the language should have a recorded history of more than 1500 years with ancient valuable literature recorded in it. Further, the language has to be original and not derived from another speech community. The guidelines of the government are as follows:

• 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 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.

Benefits provided to a classical language:

• The Ministry of Human Resources Development gives away two major annual international awards for scholars of eminence in classical Indian languages.
• A Centre of Excellence for studies in Classical Languages is set up.
• MHRD also sends a request to the University Grants Commission to create a certain number of Professional Chairs for the Classical Languages in central universities to begin with.
• Annually, funds are disbursed by the Central Government for promotion and development of these languages.
• The Central Institute of Indian Languages located in Mysore, Karnataka works for the promotion of Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam and Odia.
• For the promotion of Tamil, a separate institute, Central Institute of Classical Tamil was established in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
• Sanskrit language promotion is done by the Government through three deemed universities- Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeth (Tirupati), Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan and Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeth in New Delhi.
• Funds are allocated to the universities/institutes for seminars, book publications, projects, fellowships, scholarships, orientation programmes and workshops.
• As per the data provided in the answers in Lok Sabha, the allocation of funds appears to be meagre. The data also suggests that Sanskrit gets a lion’s share of these funds.

Conclusion:

The concept of classical languages has been a long debated issue since the notion has not been adopted by UNESCO. There have been debates around the criteria itself and whether or not each language satisfies all the conditions laid down. While the recognition in India is good first step towards promoting these languages, the meagre allocations do not do justice to the mandate.