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Centres of Excellence for Five Classical Languages

Source:The Hindu ↗

কেন এটি গুরুত্বপূর্ণ

Important for UPSC Prelims regarding criteria, lists, and institutional setups associated with Classical Languages in India.

সারসংক্ষেপ

The Union Cabinet has approved the setting up of Centres of Excellence for five classical languages — Assamese, Bengali, Pali, Marathi, and Prakrit — to foster research, preservation, and promotion of their ancient literature and linguistic history.

মূল বিষয়

  • The Union Cabinet approved the establishment of Centres of Excellence for five classical languages: Assamese, Bengali, Pali, Marathi, and Prakrit.
  • This expands the government's initiative to preserve, promote, and research India's rich linguistic heritage and ancient literary traditions.
  • Classical languages receive special funding and institutional support for research, digitization of manuscripts, and promotion of academic study.

গুরুত্বপূর্ণ শব্দ

Union Cabinet

The supreme executive body of the Indian government, headed by the Prime Minister, responsible for executive decisions, policy formulation, and administrative governance.

UPSC context

UPSC Polity: Tests knowledge of executive governance, decision-making procedures, and the constitutional role of the Union Cabinet.

Source
Ministry of Education

The central government ministry responsible for formulating national education policy, regulating higher education, and promoting educational infrastructure and linguistic research across India.

UPSC context

UPSC Governance / Social Justice: Tests understanding of institutional mechanisms for education policy implementation and cultural preservation.

Source
Classical Languages of India

Languages recognized by the Government of India for their antiquity, distinct literary tradition, and ancient texts, currently totaling 11 languages after recent additions.

UPSC context

UPSC Art and Culture: Crucial for questions on Indian heritage, linguistic history, and criteria for classical status.

Source

প্রিলিমস ফাঁদ

All classical languages in India are automatically included in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.

Aspirants often confuse classical language status with Eighth Schedule constitutional recognition or ministry-driven linguistic formulas (like the Three-Language Formula).

সংযুক্ত স্থির ধারণা

Indian Culture and Polity

What are the criteria and constitutional provisions regarding classical languages and the Eighth Schedule in India?

  • Antiquity Criteria: High antiquity of early texts/recorded history over a period of 1,500-2,000 years.
  • Valuable Heritage: A body of ancient literature/texts considered a heritage by generations of speakers.
  • Original Tradition: The literary tradition must be original and not borrowed from another speech community.
  • Constitutional Distinction: Eighth Schedule inclusion is distinct; currently, 22 languages are in the Eighth Schedule, while 11 languages hold Classical status.

আন্তঃবিষয় প্যাটার্ন

  • Classical Languages vs. Eighth Schedule Politics

    Classical language recognition intersects with Eighth Schedule inclusion demands, creating political and administrative friction between constitutional official languages and heritage designations.

  • Pali/Prakrit Preservation & Buddhist Diplomacy

    Preservation of ancient literary repositories like Pali and Prakrit directly connects with Buddhist circuit tourism and soft-power diplomacy across South and Southeast Asia.

Expect a matching list or multi-statement question on criteria for Classical Language status and the full list of 11 recognized languages.

সংযুক্ত PYQ · 2

সংযুক্ত PYQ · 2

  • 2014PrelimsGS1

    Consider the following languages: 1. Gujarati 2. Kannada 3. Telugu Which of the above has/have been declared as 'Classical Language/Languages' by the Government?

  • 2015PrelimsGS1

    Which one of the following was given classical language status recently?