Education Ministry approves five centres for classical language studies

The Ministry of Education has approved the establishment of five Centres of Excellence for the study of Classical Assamese, Bengali, Marathi, Pali and Prakrit, according to an official memorandum issued by the ministry on Oct 1.

The centres will focus on strengthening academic research, digitisation, preservation and dissemination of the heritage associated with the five classical languages.

Five universities selected

Tezpur University in Assam will host the Centre of Excellence for Studies in Classical Assamese, while Visva-Bharati University in West Bengal will host the centre for Classical Bengali.

The Centre of Excellence for Classical Marathi will be established at Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute in Pune. The Central University of Odisha will host the centre for Classical Pali, while the Central University of Gujarat will host the centre for Classical Prakrit.

The ministry's initiative comes two years after Assamese, Bengali, Marathi, Pali and Prakrit were granted Classical Language status by the Union Cabinet in October 2024. The five languages were added to the list of classical languages after the Linguistics Experts Committee revised the criteria for the designation.

The new centres are intended to provide institutional support for research and the preservation of linguistic and literary heritage. Their work will include areas such as digitisation and dissemination of material associated with the respective languages.

Tezpur University to build on existing work

Tezpur University has already undertaken work on Assamese language and literature through its Centre for Assamese Studies, established in 2011.

The university has digitised around 4,000 old Assamese manuscripts and printed books, including rare sanchi-paat manuscripts, early literary works, personal diaries and handwritten manuscripts of literary and cultural figures, according to reports on the new centre.

The university's Department of Assamese, established in 2019, subsequently incorporated the facilities of the Centre for Assamese Studies.

The new Centre of Excellence is expected to build on this existing academic work, including manuscript studies, textual criticism, digitisation, archival preservation, research, translation and dissemination.

States welcome the decision

Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi welcomed the approval of the Centre of Excellence for Classical Pali at the Central University of Odisha, describing it as a step towards preserving the country's linguistic heritage. He said the centre would strengthen the study, preservation and promotion of Pali.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma also welcomed the approval of the Classical Assamese centre at Tezpur University. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis welcomed the approval of the Classical Marathi centre at Deccan College in Pune.

The Ministry of Education had earlier said that the recognition of classical languages was intended to support research, preservation and digitisation of ancient linguistic and literary material.

Government measures for classical languages also include academic chairs, national awards and centres for promotion and study.