Languages and Eighth Schedule

Classical Language Centres ask for autonomy

Prelims Only | History and Art & Culture | Mains Paper 1: Arts & Culture
Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Classical Language

Why in the News?

Classical Language Centres in India are seeking more autonomy to improve their effectiveness and address operational challenges.

Classical Language Centres in India

  • India has designated 6 languages as classical: Tamil, Sanskrit, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, and Odia.
  • Special centres have been established to promote these languages.
  • Only the Centre for Tamil functions autonomously.
  • The centres for Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, and Odia operate under the Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL) in Mysuru.

About Classical Languages in India

Aspect Details
Recognized Classical Languages Tamil (2004), Sanskrit (2005), Kannada (2008), Telugu (2008), Malayalam (2013), Odia (2014).
Additional Languages for Preservation Pali, Persian, Prakrit, and Farsi (Persian) as per the National Education Policy-2020.
Criteria for Classical Language Status – High Antiquity: Recorded history of 1500-2000 years.
– Valuable Heritage: Possesses ancient literature and texts.
– Originality: Unique literary tradition, not borrowed from other languages.
– Distinctness: Language and literature distinct from modern forms.
Promotion of Classical Languages – International Awards: Two major awards for scholars in classical Indian languages.
– Centre of Excellence: For studies in classical languages.
– Professional Chairs: UGC requested to create chairs in Central Universities.
The Eighth Schedule Lists 22 official languages, governed by Articles 344(1) and 351 of the Constitution. Includes Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu.
Chronological Additions to the Eighth Schedule – 1950: Initially included 14 languages.
– 1967: Sindhi added (21st Constitutional Amendment).
– 1992: Konkani, Manipuri (Meitei), Nepali added (71st Constitutional Amendment).
– 2003: Bodo, Dogri, Maithili, Santali added (92nd Constitutional Amendment).
– 2011: “Oriya” replaced with “Odia” (96th Constitutional Amendment).

 

PYQ:

[2015] Which one of the following was given classical language status recently?

(a) Odia

(b) Konkani

(c) Bhojpuri

(d) Assamese

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