Classical languages of India
The Government of India declared in 2004 that languages that met certain strict criteria could be accorded the status of a classical language of India.
It was instituted by the Ministry of Culture along with the Linguistic Experts’ Committee.
In 2004, Tamil became the first language to recognised as a classical language of India.
As of 2024, 11 languages have been recognised as classical languages of India.
In the year 2004, the tentative criteria for the age of antiquity of “classical language” was assumed to be at least 1000 years of existence
The following criteria were set in 2004:
A. High Antiquity of its early texts/ recorded history over a thousand years.
B. A body of ancient literature/ texts, which is considered a valuable heritage by generation of speakers.
C. The literary tradition must be original and not borrowed from another speech community
The following criteria were set in 2005:
I. High antiquity of its early texts/recorded history over a period of 1500-2000 years.
II. A body of ancient literature/texts, which is considered a valuable heritage by generations of speakers.
III. The literary tradition be original and not borrowed from another speech community.
IV. The classical language and literature being distinct from modern, there may also be a discontinuity between the classical language and its later forms or its offshoots.
The following criteria were set by the Sahitya Akademi in 2024:
i. High antiquity of (its) is early texts/recorded history over a period of 1500- 2000 years.
ii. A body of ancient literature/texts, which is considered a heritage by generations of speakers.
iii. Knowledge texts, especially prose texts in addition to poetry, epigraphical and inscriptional evidence.
iv. The Classical Languages and literature could be distinct from its current form or could be discontinuous with later forms of its offshoots
