Ministry of Education Approves 5 Centres of Excellence for Classical Languages
Ministry of Education approves five Centres of Excellence for Assamese, Bengali, Marathi, Pali and Prakrit to promote research, digitisation and preservation.
The Department of Higher Education under the Ministry of Education (MoE) in India recently approved the setting up of five Centres of Excellence for learning classical Assamese, Bengali, Pali, Marathi and Prakrit languages.
This government initiative aims to support advanced academic research, digitisation, preservation and dissemination of these classical languages, which form an important part of the linguistic and cultural heritage of India.
Deccan College to lead advanced research and scholarship in Classical Marathi
Five Centres of Excellence
The Centres of Excellence will be established at the following Higher Educational Institutions -
- Assamese - Tezpur University, Assam
- Bengali - Visva-Bharati University, West Bengal
- Marathi - Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute (Deemed to be University), Pune, Maharashtra
- Pali - Central University of Odisha, Odisha
- Prakrit - Central University of Gujarat, Gujarat
The centres are expected to promote scholarships in the languages and help make their literature and manuscripts more accessible to researchers and students. Digitising old texts will also help keep rare records safe.
Central University of Odisha selected to host the Centre of Excellence for Classical Pali
Government's Vision for Classical Languages
- To support advanced research, scholarly work and academic engagement in each Classical Language.
- To promote documentation, preservation and digitisation of linguistic and literary resources.
- To facilitate wider access to and dissemination of linguistic, literary and knowledge traditions.
- To strengthen regional ecosystems for higher education, research, and scholarship.
Tezpur University campus in Assam, representing the institution selected to host the Centre of Excellence for Classical Assamese
Odisha to Host Centre of Excellence for Classical Pali
The Central University of Odisha has been selected to host the Centre of Excellence for Classical Pali, one of the five centres approved by the Ministry of Education.
Mohan Charan Majhi, Chief Minister of Odisha, welcomed the decision in a post on X, calling it a proud moment for the state and a significant step towards preserving the linguistic heritage of India.
With five universities now offering specialised programmes in classical languages, the initiative marks a new phase in efforts to strengthen their presence in higher education and academic research.