Centre Presents Gazette Notification to Maharashtra Government Granting Classical Language Status to Marathi

Mumbai, Jan 8 (NationPress) - On Wednesday, Union Minister of Culture Gajendra Shekhawat presented the gazette notification to Maharashtra Minister Uday Samant, marking the Centre’s decision to grant classical language status to Marathi. The Union cabinet had approved this significant move on October 3, recognizing Marathi as a guardian of India's rich and ancient cultural legacy, which reflects the essence of various communities’ historical and cultural achievements.

Minister Samant expressed gratitude, stating, “Union Minister Gajendra Shekhawat handed me the official government gazette notification designating Marathi as a classical language. I extend my thanks to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister Gajendra Shekhawat. I will submit essential proposals to the Centre within the next eight to fifteen days. A committee, led by renowned writer and chief of the Maharashtra Rajya Sahitya and Sanskriti Mandal, Sadanand More, is currently evaluating the next steps following the Centre's decision to confer classical language status on Marathi. The Union Minister has promised to allocate funds for this ongoing study.” Minister Samant was present in Delhi on Wednesday.

He further announced that the Union Minister is set to inaugurate the two-day World Marathi Conference in Pune on January 31. “I express my gratitude to the Union Minister on behalf of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar for accepting the invitation to participate in the upcoming World Marathi Conference in Pune and for the Centre's decision to grant classical language status to Marathi. The state government aims to take measures to preserve and enhance the Marathi language on an international scale. I also extend sincere thanks to the writers who contributed to achieving classical language status for Marathi,” he added.

Minister Samant stated that the state government intends to collaborate with writers for the advancement of the Marathi language. He noted that the government had previously approved a budget of Rs 2 crore for the World Marathi Conference (Jagtik Marathi Sammelan). He mentioned that the state government will strive to reinforce the Marathi schools operating in Delhi.

The Centre had received a proposal from the Maharashtra Government in 2013, advocating for classical language status for Marathi, which was subsequently forwarded to the Linguistic Experts Committee that endorsed Marathi as a classical language. During the inter-ministerial discussions on the draft note for cabinet in 2017, the Ministry of Home Affairs recommended revising and tightening the criteria. The Mahayuti government asserted that its efforts bore fruit, claiming that the recognition of Marathi as a classical language would create substantial employment opportunities, especially in academia and research. Additionally, the preservation, documentation, and digitization of ancient texts in these languages will generate jobs in archiving, translation, publishing, and digital media.