New Delhi: The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Thursday approved to conferring the status of Classical Language to Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese, and Bengali languages.

The Classical Languages serve as a custodian of Bharat’s profound and ancient cultural heritage, embodying the essence of each community’s historical and cultural milestone.

The Union Cabinet approved the recognition of five more languages as "classical", Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said, adding Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese, and Bengali have been included in the prestigious category.

"PM Modi has always focused on Indian languages…Today, five languages – Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese, and Bengali have been approved as classical languages," Vaishnaw said. These languages join six others that have already been recognised as classical: Tamil, Sanskrit, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, and Odia.

The Indian government decided to create a new category of languages as “Classical Languages” on October 12, 2004, declaring Tamil as a Classical Language and setting the following as criteria for the status of Classical Language: High Antiquity of its early texts/recorded history over a thousand years. Secondly, a body of ancient literature/ texts, which is considered a valuable heritage by generations of speakers.

Third, the literary tradition must be original and not borrowed from another speech community. A Linguistic Experts Committee (LEC) was constituted by the Ministry of Culture under the Sahitya Akademi in November 2004 to examine the proposed languages for the status of Classical Language.

The criteria were revised in November 2005 as following: First, the high antiquity of its early texts/recorded history over a period of 1,500-2,000 years. Second, a body of ancient literature/texts, which is considered a valuable heritage by generations of speakers. Third, the literary tradition is original and not borrowed from another speech community.

Fourth, 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. Sanskrit was declared a Classical Language then. (IANS)