Education Ministry approves five Centres of Excellence for classical languages

New Delhi, Oct 5 (INB) The Ministry of Education has approved the establishment of five Centres of Excellence (CoEs) for studies in Classical Assamese, Bengali, Marathi, Pali and Prakrit, aimed at promoting advanced research, preservation and digitisation of India’s linguistic and literary heritage, it said.
The Centres will be established at Tezpur University in Assam for Classical Assamese, Visva-Bharati University in West Bengal for Classical Bengali, and Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute in Pune for Classical Marathi. The Central University of Odisha will host the Centre for Classical Pali, while the Central University of Gujarat will establish the Centre for Classical Prakrit, the Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.
The Centres will provide institutional support for advanced academic research, scholarly engagement and documentation of linguistic and literary resources associated with the respective classical languages. The initiative will also focus on preservation and digitisation of textual heritage, wider dissemination of linguistic and literary knowledge, and strengthening regional academic ecosystems, it added.
The Ministry said the establishment of the five Centres, spread across Assam, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Odisha and Gujarat, marks a significant step towards strengthening the institutional ecosystem for the study, research and preservation of India’s classical languages. The initiative is part of the government’s efforts to preserve and promote the country’s rich linguistic and literary heritage while strengthening higher educational institutions as centres of research and scholarship.