Odia gets classical language status

[Manas7]

Odia gets classical language status - The Hindu

Odia is billed as the first language from the Indo-Aryan linguistic group and the case for making it a classical language

Odia on Thursday became the sixth language of the country to get "classical language'' status after the Union Cabinet conceded a long-pending demand for putting it in the same league as Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam.

Odia is billed as the first language from the Indo-Aryan linguistic group and the case for making it a classical language was also premised on the fact that it has no resemblance to Hindi, Sanskrit, Bengali and Telugu. The proposal was moved by the Culture Ministry.

Once a language is declared classical, it gets financial assistance for setting up a centre of excellence for the study of that language and also opens up an avenue for two major awards for scholars of eminence. Besides, the University Grants Commission can be requested to create – to begin with at least in Central Universities – a certain number of professional chairs for classical languages for scholars of eminence in the language.

The criteria for declaring a language as classical mandates high antiquity of its early texts/recorded history over a period of 1,500-2,000 years, a body of ancient literature/texts which is considered a valuable heritage by generations of speakers and a literary tradition that is original and not borrowed from another speech community. Also since the classical language and literature is distinct from the modern, there can also be a discontinuity between the classical language and its later forms or its offshoots.

 

[Manas7]

Odia Gets Classical Status - The New Indian Express

Odia on Thursday became the sixth Indian language of the country to get 'classical language' status. The Union Cabinet approved the long-pending demand of Odisha for according the classical tag to Odia which now puts it in the same league as Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam. It is the first in the Indo-Aryan group of languages to get the status.

Last year in September, the State Government had requested the Centre to place the recommendations of the committee of linguistic experts, who had favoured classical status to Odia language, before the Union Cabinet for approval. Prior to that, the State Government had submitted a 500-page report to the Centre on its demand for classical status to Odia language.

The report was compiled by an 11-member committee constituted by the State Government comprising eminent litterateurs, linguists and historians. The expert committee, headed by noted litterateur and founder director of Central Institute of Indian Languages Debi Prasanna Pattanayak, was formed on January 16 this year.

As the matter remained pending at the Centre for seven months, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik recently wrote to Union Culture Minister Chandresh Kumari Katoch with a request to expedite the formalities. Besides, Congress Rajya Sabha member Rama Chandra Khuntia had also taken up the matter with Union Minister of State in the PMO V Narayanasamy, the Union Culture Minister, Union Cabinet Secretary A Seth and Union Culture Secretary Rabindra Singh.

Pattanayak said classical tag to Odia is a huge achievement. "But it remains to be seen how effective this recognition is in generating interest among people towards our mother tongue.

These days, Odia is not used as the official language in any of the sectors, be it education or even Government offices.

This apart, the Government should ensure that the right kind of research is done in the language and not just for namesake," the litterateur said.

Culture Minister Maheswar Mohanty said apart from the symbolic value, the status would help popularise the language whose use is becoming restricted.

This would help in increasing research and bring back its use in the education system.

"With this recognition, the State will get financial aid for setting up a centre of excellence for research in the language. Besides, two scholars in the language will get two major awards for their work in the language. We will also request the University Grants Commission to create professional chairs for classical languages for scholars of eminence in the language," Culture Secretary Arvind Padhee said.

 

[Razor]

Odia Gets Classical Status - The New Indian Express

First para:

Odia on Thursday became the sixth Indian language of the country to get 'classical language' status. The Union Cabinet approved the long-pending demand of Odisha for according the classical tag to Odia which now puts it in the same league as Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam. It is the first in the Indo-Aryan group of languages to get the status.

Sanskrit is an Indo-Aryan language.

 

[Simple_Guy]

Seems that Odiya language had to struggle against neighboring Bengali, Hindi, and Telugu. Main struggle was against Bengali.

The language agitation in the Orissa Division which began after 1868 due to the provocation of Kantilal Bandopadhyay who propounded that Oriya was not a separate language rather a modified version of Bengali, resulted in the growth of national consciousness in Balasore and Cuttack. The Oriya Vernacular Press fought assiduously to prove the distinctiveness of Oriya language and for retaining it as the medium of instruction.

Similar agitation began in 1872 at Bhanjanagar by Janardan Das who demanded the amalgamation of Ganjam region (in Madras) with the Orissa Division, but without success. In 1895, the people of Sambalpur (Central Provinces) organized a sustained movement for amalgamation with Orissa Division as a solution of the language crisis.

But the language crisis in Ganjam and Koraput could not be solved till 1936. The separate Orissa province was created on 1st April 1936 to provide political identity to the Oriya-speaking people.