Education Ministry approves five Centres of Excellence for newer classical languages
Classical status came in 2024. Two years on, do Assamese, Bengali, Marathi, Pali and Prakrit finally get institutions?
Published 4 October 2026. Written by Pratidin from the reports linked at the end; every fact checked by a separate review before publishing. How we work
The Department of Higher Education in the Ministry of Education has approved five Centres of Excellence (CoEs) for the study of Classical Assamese, Classical Bengali, Classical Marathi, Classical Pali and Classical Prakrit, according to a PIB release of 3 October 2026. The centres will be at Tezpur University in Assam (Assamese), Visva-Bharati University in West Bengal (Bengali), Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute (Deemed University), Pune in Maharashtra (Marathi), the Central University of Odisha (Pali) and the Central University of Gujarat (Prakrit).
The ministry says the centres will give dedicated institutional support for advanced research and for the preservation and digitisation of linguistic and literary heritage. It lists four focus areas: strengthening academic research and scholarship, preservation and digitisation of texts, wider dissemination of classical language heritage, and strengthening the regional academic ecosystem in the five States. The approval comes almost exactly two years after the Union Cabinet, on 3 October 2024, conferred classical language status on these five languages, taking the total to 11.
The category of classical languages was created on 12 October 2004 with Tamil. Sanskrit (2005), Telugu and Kannada (2008), Malayalam (2013) and Odia (2014) followed. On 25 July 2024 the Linguistic Experts Committee under the Sahitya Akademi revised the criteria: high antiquity of 1,500 to 2,000 years, ancient literature treated as heritage by generations of speakers, knowledge texts (especially prose) besides poetry, epigraphic evidence, and the possibility that the classical form differs from the modern one. The older classical languages already have institutions, such as the Central Institute of Classical Tamil in Chennai and CoEs for Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam and Odia under the Central Institute of Indian Languages, Mysuru. The new centres bring the five newer languages into a similar support structure.
Prelims facts
- The Ministry of Education has approved five Centres of Excellence for Classical Assamese, Bengali, Marathi, Pali and Prakrit (PIB, 3 October 2026).
- Host institutions: Tezpur University (Assamese), Visva-Bharati (Bengali), Deccan College, Pune (Marathi), Central University of Odisha (Pali), Central University of Gujarat (Prakrit).
- The five languages got classical status on 3 October 2024, taking India's classical languages to 11.
- Tamil was the first classical language (12 October 2004); the criteria were last revised on 25 July 2024 by the Linguistic Experts Committee under the Sahitya Akademi.
- Existing CoEs for Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam and Odia function under the Central Institute of Indian Languages, Mysuru.
Quick recall
- How many classical languages does India have after October 2024?
- 11.
- Which was the first language declared classical, and when?
- Tamil, on 12 October 2004.
- Which five languages were declared classical on 3 October 2024?
- Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese and Bengali.
- Which body advises on the criteria for classical languages?
- The Linguistic Experts Committee under the Sahitya Akademi.
- What antiquity do the revised (25 July 2024) criteria require?
- Early texts or recorded history spanning 1,500 to 2,000 years.
- Where will the Centre of Excellence for Classical Pali be set up?
- Central University of Odisha.
- Where will the Centre of Excellence for Classical Prakrit be set up?
- Central University of Gujarat.
- Under which institute do the Centres of Excellence for Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam and Odia function?
- The Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL), Mysuru.
Prelims practice question
With reference to the Centres of Excellence for classical languages approved in October 2026, which one of the following pairs is correctly matched?
- Classical Pali: Central University of Gujarat
- Classical Prakrit: Central University of Odisha
- Classical Marathi: Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute, Pune
- Classical Bengali: Tezpur University
Show answer
Answer: (c) Classical Marathi: Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute, Pune. Marathi goes to Deccan College, Pune. Pali is at the Central University of Odisha and Prakrit at the Central University of Gujarat, so (a) and (b) are swapped. Bengali is at Visva-Bharati; Tezpur University hosts Classical Assamese.
Use this in UPSC Mains: previous-year questions
Recurring theme: Classical languages and the state's role in preserving India's linguistic and literary heritage.
Safeguarding the Indian art heritage is the need of the moment. Comment.
How to use thisUse the new Centres of Excellence as a current institutional measure to safeguard literary and linguistic heritage, showing that recognition must be backed by research, preservation and digitisation.
- In October 2026 the Ministry of Education approved five Centres of Excellence for Classical Assamese, Bengali, Marathi, Pali and Prakrit, two years after these languages got classical status on 3 October 2024.
- The centres focus on research and scholarship, preservation and digitisation of texts, wider dissemination of classical heritage, and a stronger regional academic ecosystem in Assam, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Odisha and Gujarat.
- Pali and Prakrit have few living speakers, so their texts survive only through scholarship; status is a label, while funded permanent institutions like the Central Institute of Classical Tamil sustain heritage.
Directly tests which languages are classical. Today there are 11; Gujarati is still not among them, while Kannada and Telugu were added in 2008.
Mains practice question
Conferring classical status on a language is only the first step; its value depends on the institutions that follow. Examine with reference to the recent Centres of Excellence for five classical languages. (150 words)
Model answer
In October 2026 the Ministry of Education approved five Centres of Excellence (CoEs) for Assamese, Bengali, Marathi, Pali and Prakrit, two years after these languages were declared classical in October 2024.
Why status alone is not enough
- The status is a label; research, translation and digitisation need funded, permanent institutions.
- Pali and Prakrit have few living speakers, so their texts survive only through scholarship.
- Older classical languages show the model: the Central Institute of Classical Tamil and CIIL-based CoEs for Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam and Odia.
What the new CoEs add
- Research and scholarship, preservation and digitisation, wider dissemination and a stronger regional academic base.
- Siting in Tezpur, Visva-Bharati, Pune, Odisha and Gujarat spreads capacity across regions.
Gaps to watch
- Assured funding, faculty posts and output targets.
- Links with school and university curricula under NEP 2020.
- Open digital access to manuscripts.
Classical status becomes meaningful when such centres turn heritage into living scholarship.
The basics
Why this matters
India recognises some languages as "classical" because their written record and literature are very old and original. Prelims asks which languages have this status; Mains asks how the state protects heritage. The October 2026 decision gives the five newest classical languages their own research centres.
What makes a language classical
The criteria are set by the Government on the advice of the Linguistic Experts Committee under the Sahitya Akademi. They were revised on 25 July 2024. A language now needs:
- high antiquity of early texts or recorded history over 1,500 to 2,000 years;
- a body of ancient literature that generations of speakers treat as heritage;
- knowledge texts, especially prose, besides poetry, along with epigraphic and inscriptional evidence;
- the classical form may be distinct from, or discontinuous with, the modern form.
- 12 October 2004Category created; Tamil declared the first classical language
- 25 November 2005Sanskrit
- 31 October 2008Telugu and Kannada
- 8 August 2013Malayalam
- 1 March 2014Odia
- 3 October 2024Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese and Bengali
- 3 October 2026Five Centres of Excellence approved for the 2024 languages
What status brings
Status by itself is a recognition. The support comes through the Ministry of Education: national awards for scholars, university chairs, and dedicated centres. Tamil has the Central Institute of Classical Tamil in Chennai. Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam and Odia have Centres of Excellence under the Central Institute of Indian Languages in Mysuru. Sanskrit has three Central Sanskrit Universities set up in 2020.
- 1Tezpur University, AssamClassical Assamese
- 2Visva-Bharati University, West BengalClassical Bengali
- 3Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute, PuneClassical Marathi
- 4Central University of OdishaClassical Pali
- 5Central University of GujaratClassical Prakrit
Pali and Prakrit are a special case
Pali and Prakrit are not spoken as everyday languages today, and neither is in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. Their value lies in texts: Buddhist and Jain canons, inscriptions and literature. For such languages, a research centre that edits, translates and digitises texts is the main way to keep the tradition alive.
- Assamese, Bengali, Marathi are in the Eighth Schedule
- Large present-day speaker base
- Classical form may differ from the modern form
- Pali and Prakrit are not in the Eighth Schedule
- Survive mainly through religious and literary texts
- Depend on scholars, editions and digitisation
Go deeper
In one line: The Ministry of Education has approved five research centres so that the five languages declared classical in 2024 get the same institutional backing as the older six.
Why it matters for UPSC
Classical languages are a regular Prelims topic (UPSC asked about them in 2014). The story also gives a Mains example for GS1 (heritage) and GS2 (policy design): recognition followed by institution building.
The core idea
A language becomes classical when it meets criteria framed with the advice of the Linguistic Experts Committee under the Sahitya Akademi. The status itself is symbolic. The real support comes through bodies such as the Central Institute of Indian Languages, which hosts the Centres of Excellence for Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam and Odia, and the Central Institute of Classical Tamil. The five 2024 languages had no such centres until now. Two of them, Pali and Prakrit, survive mainly in texts, so research and digitisation matter even more.
Numbers and dates to remember
- 11 classical languages in all.
- 12 October 2004: Tamil, the first.
- 25 July 2024: criteria revised (1,500 to 2,000 years of antiquity).
- 3 October 2024: Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese, Bengali added.
- 3 October 2026: five Centres of Excellence approved.
Where to go next
- Linguistic Experts Committee: who decides what counts as classical.
- Central Institute of Indian Languages: the Mysuru institute that already runs four classical language centres.
- Central Institute of Classical Tamil: the model of a dedicated institute for one language.
- Pali and Prakrit: why two text-based languages need special care.
Go deeper: symbol or substance?
The case for the new centres. The 2024 Cabinet note said classical status would bring jobs in research, archiving, translation, publishing and digital media. Those benefits need permanent institutions, which is what the CoEs provide. The older model shows how it works: the Central Institute of Classical Tamil and the CIIL-based centres run under the Central Institute of Indian Languages have produced translations, awards and research for years.
The spread of the centres. Placing the centres in Assam, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Odisha and Gujarat builds capacity in five regions instead of one national hub. For Pali and Prakrit, which have no large speaker community to sustain them, a university-based centre is the main source of trained scholars.
The critiques to anticipate. Critics of language policy in general point out that status and centres can become symbolic if funding, faculty posts and output targets are not assured. Another debate is about criteria: the Linguistic Experts Committee revised them in 2024, and every expansion invites claims from other languages. A balanced answer notes that the criteria are academic (antiquity, original literature, prose knowledge texts, inscriptions), not political, and that institutions should be judged by what they publish and digitise.
Link to wider policy. The National Education Policy 2020 stresses Indian languages; the CoEs can feed into university courses, translation and digital libraries. Use this as an example in answers on preserving cultural heritage.
Linguistic Experts Committee
The expert body behind the classical language criteria.
In one line: The Linguistic Experts Committee (LEC) is the expert panel, working under the Sahitya Akademi, that examines claims and the criteria for classical language status.
What it does
The Government decides which languages are classical, but it relies on the LEC for the academic test. The committee looks at the age of a language's early texts, the body of ancient literature and whether that tradition is original.
How the criteria changed
The first criteria in 2004 asked for antiquity of over a thousand years. In 2005 this was raised to 1,500 to 2,000 years. On 25 July 2024 the LEC unanimously revised the criteria again: knowledge texts, especially prose, and epigraphic and inscriptional evidence were added, and it was made clear that the classical form can differ from the modern one. The five 2024 languages were approved under these revised criteria.
Where to go next
Central Institute of Indian Languages
The Mysuru institute that already hosts four classical language centres.
In one line: The Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL), Mysuru, is a Ministry of Education institute that supports research on Indian languages and hosts the Centres of Excellence for four classical languages.
Its role for classical languages
Under the CIIL there are Centres of Excellence for Classical Kannada (University of Mysuru), Classical Telugu (Venkatachalam, Andhra Pradesh), Classical Malayalam (Thunchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University, Kerala) and Classical Odia (Bhubaneswar). They carry out research, translation and publication.
Why it is in the news
The new centres for Assamese, Bengali, Marathi, Pali and Prakrit extend this model to the five languages recognised in 2024. They are hosted by universities and a deemed university in the languages' home regions.
Where to go next
Central Institute of Classical Tamil
A dedicated institute for one classical language, the model others look to.
In one line: The Central Institute of Classical Tamil in Chennai is a Ministry of Education institute devoted to research on, and translation of, classical Tamil texts.
Why Tamil has its own institute
Tamil was the first language declared classical, on 12 October 2004. A dedicated institute was set up to translate and study its classical literature, which is why it is often cited as the most developed support structure for any classical language.
The comparison
Sanskrit has three Central Sanskrit Universities set up in 2020. Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam and Odia have Centres of Excellence under the CIIL. The five 2024 languages now get Centres of Excellence at five host institutions. Together these show three levels of support: a full institute, university-level bodies and Centres of Excellence.
Where to go next
Pali and Prakrit
Two classical languages that live mainly in texts, not in daily speech.
In one line: Pali and Prakrit are ancient Indian languages whose literature, including Buddhist and Jain texts, made them classical in 2024, though they are not spoken in daily life today.
What they are
Prakrit is a group of ancient Indo-Aryan vernaculars used in inscriptions, drama and Jain texts. Pali is the language of the Theravada Buddhist canon. Neither is in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, which lists 22 languages.
Why they need special support
Languages such as Marathi or Bengali have millions of speakers who keep them in use. Pali and Prakrit depend on scholars who can read, edit and translate manuscripts and inscriptions. That is why the new Centres of Excellence, at the Central University of Odisha (Pali) and the Central University of Gujarat (Prakrit), stress preservation and digitisation.
Where to go next
Prelims-style quiz
Consider the following statements:
1. Malayalam was declared a classical language before Odia.
2. Telugu and Kannada were declared classical languages on the same day.
3. Sanskrit was the first language to be declared classical.
How many of the statements given above are correct?- Only one
- Only two
- All three
- None
Show answer
Answer: (b) Only two. 1 is correct: Malayalam on 8 August 2013, Odia on 1 March 2014. 2 is correct: both on 31 October 2008. 3 is wrong: Tamil was first (12 October 2004); Sanskrit followed on 25 November 2005.
Consider the following statements about the revised criteria for classical languages (July 2024):
1. Early texts or recorded history must span 1,500 to 2,000 years.
2. Only poetry counts as evidence of an ancient literary tradition.
3. The classical form of the language may be distinct from its modern form.
4. The language must be listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
How many of the statements given above are correct?- Only one
- Only two
- Only three
- All four
Show answer
Answer: (b) Only two. 1 and 3 are correct. 2 is wrong: the criteria specifically include knowledge texts, especially prose, besides poetry, plus epigraphic evidence. 4 is wrong: there is no such condition, and Pali and Prakrit, which are classical, are not in the Eighth Schedule.
Consider the following statements:
Statement-I: The Ministry of Education's new Centres of Excellence for Pali and Prakrit focus heavily on preservation and digitisation of texts.
Statement-II: Pali and Prakrit survive mainly through religious and literary texts rather than as everyday spoken languages.
Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?- Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
- Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
- Statement-I is correct but Statement-II is incorrect
- Statement-I is incorrect but Statement-II is correct
Show answer
Answer: (a) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I. Preservation and digitisation is one of the four stated focus areas of all five centres. Because Pali and Prakrit live on mainly in texts such as Buddhist and Jain canons, text work is the core of any support for them, so Statement-II explains Statement-I.
Which one of the following institutions will host the Centre of Excellence for Classical Assamese?
- Gauhati University
- Visva-Bharati University
- Dibrugarh University
- Tezpur University
Show answer
Answer: (d) Tezpur University. The PIB release names Tezpur University, Assam, for Classical Assamese. Visva-Bharati hosts the Bengali centre; Gauhati and Dibrugarh universities are not on the list.
Consider the following statements:
1. Classical language status is conferred by an amendment to the Constitution.
2. The Central Institute of Classical Tamil is located in Chennai.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?- 1 only
- 2 only
- Both 1 and 2
- Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer
Answer: (b) 2 only. 1 is wrong: status is conferred by a Government decision (for example, the Union Cabinet decision of 3 October 2024), not by amending the Constitution. 2 is correct.