Five New Centres of Excellence for Classical Languages: Assamese, Bengali, Marathi, Pali and Prakrit
The Union Ministry of Education has approved setting up five Centres of Excellence (CoEs) for the study of five classical languages: Assamese, Bengali, Marathi, Pali and Prakrit.
The approval was given through an Office Memorandum (an official order) of the Department of Higher Education (Language Division), dated 1 October 2026.
The five centres and their host institutions:
Classical Assamese: Tezpur University (Assam)
Classical Bengali: Visva-Bharati University (Santiniketan, West Bengal)
Classical Marathi: Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute (Pune, Maharashtra)
Classical Pali: Central University of Odisha
Classical Prakrit: Central University of Gujarat
The centres will work on academic research, digitisation (turning old manuscripts and books into digital form), preservation and spreading knowledge of the heritage of these languages.
These five languages were given classical language status by the Union Cabinet in October 2024. A Centre of Excellence for each classical language is one of the main benefits that comes with this status.
Classical Languages of India
A classical language is a special title the Government of India gives to an Indian language that is very old, has a long and rich written tradition, and has produced valuable literature and knowledge texts. It is a mark of honour for the language's heritage. Today 11 languages have this status: Tamil, Sanskrit, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Odia, Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese and Bengali. The status brings government support for research, awards and teaching of the old forms of the language.
The five new Centres of Excellence are the practical follow-up to the October 2024 decision that made Assamese, Bengali, Marathi, Pali and Prakrit classical languages. A centre for each language is one of the promised benefits of the status, and these centres will now carry out the research and digitisation work.
Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution
The Eighth Schedule is a list in the Indian Constitution that names the languages officially recognised for certain constitutional purposes. Today it has 22 languages. When the Constitution came into force in 1950, the list had 14 languages. Languages can be added only through a constitutional amendment passed by Parliament. Being on this list gives a language prestige and some real uses, such as being represented on the Official Language Commission and being allowed as a medium for some national exams.
Three of the five languages that got new Centres of Excellence (Assamese, Bengali, Marathi) are also in the Eighth Schedule, while Pali and Prakrit are not. This shows clearly that classical status and the Eighth Schedule are two separate systems of recognition.
- Five Centres of Excellence approved by the Ministry of Education through an Office Memorandum dated 1 October 2026
- Assamese: Tezpur University; Bengali: Visva-Bharati University; Marathi: Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute, Pune; Pali: Central University of Odisha; Prakrit: Central University of Gujarat
- These five got classical status on 3 October 2024, taking the total to 11
- First classical language: Tamil (12 October 2004)
- Classical status benefits: two international awards a year, a Centre of Excellence, UGC professional chairs
- Existing CoEs for Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam and Odia function under CIIL, Mysuru; Tamil under CICT, Chennai
- Eighth Schedule: 22 languages; Pali and Prakrit are not among them