Cabinet approves classical language status to five languages, including Marathi and Bengali
New Delhi, Oct 3: The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved conferring classical language status to Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese and Bengali languages.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"This is a historical decision and it goes very well with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the NDA government's philosophy of taking pride in our culture, taking pride in our heritage and taking pride in all the Indian languages and the rich heritage that we have," Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said at a cabinet briefing.
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 government said.
In a statement, it said the inclusion of Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese and Bengali in the classical language category will create significant employment opportunities, particularly in academic and research fields.
Additionally, the preservation, documentation and digitisation of ancient texts of these languages will generate jobs in archiving, translation, publishing and digital media, the government said.
The primary states involved are Maharashtra (Marathi), Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh (Pali and Prakrit), West Bengal (Bengali) and Assam (Assamese), while the broader cultural and academic impact will extend nationally and internationally, the statement said.
On October 12, 2004, the Government of India decided to create a new category of languages as "classical languages", declared Tamil a classical language and set criteria for according the status.
These criteria were -- high antiquity of its early texts or recorded history over a thousand years, a body of ancient literature or texts which is considered a valuable heritage by generations of speakers, and literary tradition must be original and not borrowed from another speech community.
Sanskrit, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Odia were later given the classical language status.
A Linguistic Experts Committee (LEC) was constituted under Sahitya Akademi by the Ministry of Culture in November 2004 to examine the proposed languages for the classical language status. The criteria were revised in November 2005.
About the inclusion of Marathi in this category, the statement said a proposal was received from the Maharashtra government in 2013, requesting classical language status to Marathi and it was forwarded to the LEC.
The LEC recommended Marathi for classical language status.
Assembly elections in Maharashtra are slated to take place soon and this is a major poll issue in the state.
During inter-ministerial consultations in 2017 on the draft note for Cabinet for conferring classical status to the Marathi language, the Home Ministry advised that the criteria be revised and made stricter.
The PMO, vide its comment, said an exercise may be conducted to find out how many other languages are likely to become eligible.
In the meantime, proposals were also received from Bihar, Assam and West Bengal to confer classical language status to Pali, Prakrit, Assamese and Bengali.
Accordingly, the LEC, under Sahitya Akademi, in a meeting on July 25, 2024, unanimously revised the criteria. Sahitya Akademi has been appointed as the nodal agency for the LEC.
The committee recommended Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese and Bengali languages to be fulfilling the revised criteria and be considered as a Classical Language, the statement said.
The Education Ministry has taken various steps to promote classical languages. Three central universities were established in 2020 through an Act of Parliament for the promotion of Sanskrit language, it added.
The Central Institute of Classical Tamil was set up to facilitate the translation of ancient Tamil texts, promote research and offer courses for university students and language scholars. To further enhance the study and preservation of Classical Languages, the Centres for Excellence for Studies in Classical Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, and Odia were established under the auspices of the Central Institute of Indian Languages in Mysuru.
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Umar Khalid granted interim bail to attend sister’s wedding in Delhi riots conspiracy case
New Delhi: A Delhi court on Thursday, December 11, granted interim bail to former JNU scholar and activist Umar Khalid in the 2020 North-East Delhi riots larger conspiracy case registered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Khalid sought temporary relief to attend his sister’s wedding.
Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai of the Karkardooma Courts allowed Khalid interim bail from December 16 to December 29. The court directed him to furnish a personal bond of ₹20,000 along with two sureties of the same amount.
While granting relief, the court imposed several conditions. Khalid has been barred from contacting any witnesses or individuals connected to the case. He must provide his mobile number to the investigating officer and keep it operational throughout the bail period. The court further directed him not to use social media and to remain either at his home or at the specified wedding-related venues. He is permitted to meet only family members, relatives and friends during the interim bail.
Khalid has been ordered to surrender before the Superintendent of the concerned prison on the evening of December 29.
This is not the first time interim bail has been granted to him for family functions. In December 2023, he received a seven-day interim bail for a family wedding, and earlier in 2022 he was granted a week-long bail to attend another sister’s marriage ceremony.
Khalid’s regular bail pleas have seen multiple rejections. The Delhi High Court denied him bail in October 2022, following which he approached the Supreme Court but later withdrew his special leave petition. A second regular bail plea before the trial court was also rejected, prompting another challenge before the High Court. On September 2, 2024, a division bench observed that Khalid’s prima facie role in the alleged conspiracy appeared “grave,” citing purported inflammatory speeches intended to mobilize members of the Muslim community.
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court reserved its judgment on bail pleas filed by Khalid, along with co-accused Sharjeel Imam, Gulfisha Fatima and others.
FIR 59 of 2020, registered by the Delhi Police Special Cell, names several accused including Tahir Hussain, Khalid Saifi, Ishrat Jahan, Meeran Haider, Shifa-Ur-Rehman, Asif Iqbal Tanha, Safoora Zargar, Natasha Narwal and others, under the Indian Penal Code and UAPA provisions in connection with the alleged conspiracy preceding the 2020 riots.
