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Government Approves Five Centres of Excellence for Classical Languages
Confirmed
In Short: According to the Ministry of Education, the newly approved CoEs will focus on four core academic and developmental verticals: strengthening academic research and scholarship, preservation and digitisation, wider dissemination of Classical Language heritage, and strengthening regional academic ecosystems.
The Department of Higher Education under the Ministry of Education (MoE) has approved the establishment of five Centres of Excellence (CoEs) for studies in Classical Assamese, Classical Bengali, Classical Marathi, Classical Pali, and Classical Prakrit. These centres will provide institutional support for advanced academic research, preservation, and digitisation of linguistic and literary resources, and wider dissemination of knowledge related to the five Classical Languages.
The CoE for Classical Assamese will be established at Tezpur University in Assam, while Visva-Bharati University in West Bengal will host the centre for Classical Bengali. The Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute (Deemed to be University) in Pune will establish the centre for Classical Marathi. The Central University of Odisha will host the CoE for Classical Pali, and the Central University of Gujarat will establish the centre for Classical Prakrit.
The establishment of these five Centres marks a significant step towards strengthening the institutional ecosystem for the study, research, and preservation of India’s classical languages. The initiative reinforces the government’s efforts to preserve and promote India’s rich linguistic and literary heritage while strengthening institutions of higher education as centres of research and scholarship.
According to the Ministry of Education, the newly approved CoEs will focus on four core academic and developmental verticals: strengthening academic research and scholarship, preservation and digitisation, wider dissemination of Classical Language heritage, and strengthening regional academic ecosystems.
The Centres of Excellence will be hosted at premier Central and Deemed Universities located across five states. The initiative will also strengthen regional academic ecosystems, with the five Centres spread across Assam, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Odisha, and Gujarat.
The new centre of excellence for Classical Assamese is expected to provide an institutional platform to further consolidate existing academic strengths and expand research into the classical dimensions of Assamese language and literature. Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi welcomed the approval of the Classical Pali centre at the Central University of Odisha, calling it a step towards preserving India's linguistic and intellectual heritage.
With these five centres, languages that received classical status only two years ago are now getting dedicated institutional spaces for deeper study and preservation. The Centres of Excellence will serve as institutional platforms for advanced research and scholarship, while also supporting the preservation and digitisation of linguistic and literary resources.
The Centres will focus on documenting and conserving textual heritage and making linguistic, literary, and knowledge traditions associated with the Classical Languages more widely accessible. The move reinforces ongoing efforts to integrate traditional knowledge systems with modern higher education while strengthening research infrastructure across Indian universities.
What this adds
The five Centres of Excellence will be established at Tezpur University in Assam, Visva-Bharati University in West Bengal, Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute in Pune, Central University of Odisha, and Central University of Gujarat.
Background
The Department of Higher Education under the Ministry of Education has approved the establishment of five Centres of Excellence to support the study and preservation of Classical Assamese, Bengali, Marathi, Pali, and Prakrit.
What's confirmed
- The Department of Higher Education under the Ministry of Education (MoE) has approved the establishment of five Centres of Excellence (CoEs) for studies in Classical Assamese, Classical Bengali, Classical Marathi, Classical Pali and Classical Prakrit.
- The centres will provide institutional support for advanced academic research, preservation and digitisation of linguistic and literary resources, and wider dissemination of knowledge related to the five Classical Languages.
- The CoE for Classical Assamese will be established at Tezpur University, Assam, while Visva-Bharati University, West Bengal, will host the centre for Classical Bengali.
- The Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute (Deemed to be University), Pune, will establish the centre for Classical Marathi.
- The Central University of Odisha will host the CoE for Classical Pali, while the Central University of Gujarat will establish the centre for Classical Prakrit.
- The establishment of these five Centres marks a significant step towards strengthening the institutional ecosystem for the study, research and preservation of India’s classical languages.
- The Centres of Excellence will focus on four broad areas: The initiative reinforces the government’s efforts to preserve and promote India’s rich linguistic and literary heritage while strengthening institutions of higher education as centres of research and scholarship.
- The five centres will be set up to strengthen academic research, digitisation, preservation and dissemination of the heritage of these classical languages, according to an official memorandum.
- After Assamese was accorded the status of a classical language, the state government pursued the establishment of a dedicated centre for its study with the central government, he said.
- The new centre of excellence is expected to provide an institutional platform to further consolidate these existing academic strengths and expand research into the classical dimensions of Assamese language and literature.
- The initiative will also strengthen regional academic ecosystems, with the five Centres spread across Assam, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Odisha and Gujarat.
What's still developing
- The government's criteria for classical status include ancient texts or recorded history spanning roughly 1,500 to 2,000 years, a body of heritage literature and evidence through inscriptions and other knowledge texts.