- Five Centres of Excellence approved for Classical Assamese, Bengali, Marathi, Pali and Prakrit
- Central University of Gujarat will host the Classical Prakrit centre
- Centres will support research, preservation, digitisation and wider access to heritage
- Institutions in Assam, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Odisha and Gujarat will host the centres
The Department of Higher Education, under the Ministry of Education, has approved five Centres of Excellence for studies in classical languages. One of them will be at Central University of Gujarat.
The Classical Prakrit centre will be set up at Central University of Gujarat. The other four centres cover Classical Assamese, Classical Bengali, Classical Marathi and Classical Pali.
Where the centres will be
| S. No. | Classical Language | Centre of Excellence |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Classical Assamese | Tezpur University, Assam |
| 2. | Classical Bengali | Visva-Bharati University, West Bengal |
| 3. | Classical Marathi | Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute (Deemed to be University), Pune, Maharashtra |
| 4. | Classical Pali | Central University of Odisha, Odisha |
| 5. | Classical Prakrit | Central University of Gujarat, Gujarat |
What the centres will do
The centres will provide institutional platforms for advanced research and scholarly work in their languages. They will also support academic engagement in the field.
They will help document, preserve and digitise linguistic and literary resources. The aim is to protect India’s textual heritage over the long term.
The centres will also widen access to the language, literary and knowledge traditions linked to each classical language.
Boost for higher education
The initiative will strengthen research and scholarship in the five states. The government says it will also help preserve and promote India’s linguistic and literary heritage. It will make higher education institutions stronger centres of research.
