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Indian government grants classical language status to Pali

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On October 6th, a group of Theravada Buddhist monks met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi (Photo/X)

Tsering Dhundup

DHARAMSHALA, Oct. 10: The Indian government has given special recognition to the Pali language as a classical and authoritative language on October 3rd. The Union Cabinet led by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved classical language status to Pali along with Prakrit, Assamese, and Bengali. The government stated that these languages represent the deep cultural heritage of India and symbolize significant historical and cultural milestones of their respective communities.

Proposals were submitted from Bihar, Assam, and Bengal to grant classical status to Pali, Prakrit, Assamese, and Bengali to the government of India to include these languages in the Classical language category. On July 25 this year, a committee of language experts from the Sahitya Academy held a meeting and unanimously agreed to revise the criteria for classical language status to accommodate these languages. 

The government of India has stated that the inclusion of languages as classical Language will create significant employment opportunities, particularly in academic and research fields. Additionally, the preservation, documentation, and digitization of ancient texts of these languages will generate jobs in archiving, translation, publishing, and digital media.

October 12, 2004, the government of India created a new category of languages called ‘Classical Languages’  initially declaring Tamil as a classical language and setting certain criteria for classical language status. In December of the same year, the Ministry of Culture formed a committee of language experts to evaluate other languages. In 2005, Sanskrit was declared a classical language, followed by Kannada, Malayalam, Odia, and Telugu.

Yongzin Ling Rinpoche expressed appreciation for this recognition, stating “I am delighted to convey my warmest appreciation to the Government of India for recognizing Pali as a classical Indian language. This historic step acknowledges and honours India’s cultural heritage and supports the efforts to preserve the wisdom of the Buddhist canons for the benefit of future generations. Congratulations and thank you to all who made this day possible. Sarva Mangalam”. 

On October 6th, a group of Theravada Buddhist monks met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to express their gratitude for this decision. Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted on his social media handle X, “Members of the Bhikkhu Sangh, Mumbai met me and expressed joy on the Cabinet’s decision to confer the status of Classical Language on Pali and Marathi. They recalled the strong connection of Pali with Buddhism and expressed confidence that more youngsters will learn about Pali in the coming times.” Minister for Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju also praised the government’s recognition of Pali as an official classical language.

Pali language was used in central Indian regions like Magadha during Buddha’s time and contains the complete Tripitaka of the Theravada Buddhist tradition. The Buddha’s teachings were recorded in Pali language. The Pali language is sacred language for Buddhists as it is the language of the Theravada Buddhist scriptures, known as the Pali Canon, which contains the core teachings of the Buddha. 

Although the Pali language declined in India around the 14th century CE, it has been preserved and studied in countries that follow the Theravada Buddhist tradition, such as Sri Lanka, Thailand, Burma (Myanmar), and Cambodia. Since the 19th century CE, Pali studies have also been revived in India.

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