The Ministry of Education has approved the establishment of five Centres of Excellence dedicated to the study of India's classical languages — Assamese, Bengali, Marathi, Pali and Prakrit — officials said on Saturday.
The approval was conveyed through an Office Memorandum issued by the Department of Higher Education's Language Division on October 1, 2026. The centres are intended to strengthen academic research, digitisation, preservation and wider dissemination of the linguistic and literary heritage of the five languages.
Five languages, five institutions
Each centre will focus on one classical language and will be housed at a university or research institution in a different state:
- Classical Assamese: Tezpur University, Assam
- Classical Bengali: Visva-Bharati University, West Bengal
- Classical Marathi: Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute, Pune, Maharashtra
- Classical Pali: Central University of Odisha, Odisha
- Classical Prakrit: Central University of Gujarat, Gujarat
According to the Ministry, the centres will provide dedicated institutional platforms for advanced research and scholarly work, support the documentation and digitisation of manuscripts and literary resources, and make them more accessible to researchers, students and the public.
States welcome the move
Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi welcomed the decision to locate the Pali centre at the Central University of Odisha, calling it "a proud moment for Odisha and a significant step towards preserving India's rich linguistic heritage." In a post on X, he said Pali is "deeply connected with India's intellectual, spiritual and cultural traditions" and congratulated the university and everyone associated with the initiative.
The announcement adds institutional weight to the government's classical-language programme, giving each of the five languages a dedicated academic home for the first time.
Sources: Indian Express, Times of India, ETV Bharat (PTI)
The approval was conveyed through an Office Memorandum issued by the Department of Higher Education's Language Division on October 1, 2026. The centres are intended to strengthen academic research, digitisation, preservation and wider dissemination of the linguistic and literary heritage of the five languages.
Five languages, five institutions
Each centre will focus on one classical language and will be housed at a university or research institution in a different state:
- Classical Assamese: Tezpur University, Assam
- Classical Bengali: Visva-Bharati University, West Bengal
- Classical Marathi: Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute, Pune, Maharashtra
- Classical Pali: Central University of Odisha, Odisha
- Classical Prakrit: Central University of Gujarat, Gujarat
According to the Ministry, the centres will provide dedicated institutional platforms for advanced research and scholarly work, support the documentation and digitisation of manuscripts and literary resources, and make them more accessible to researchers, students and the public.
States welcome the move
Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi welcomed the decision to locate the Pali centre at the Central University of Odisha, calling it "a proud moment for Odisha and a significant step towards preserving India's rich linguistic heritage." In a post on X, he said Pali is "deeply connected with India's intellectual, spiritual and cultural traditions" and congratulated the university and everyone associated with the initiative.
The announcement adds institutional weight to the government's classical-language programme, giving each of the five languages a dedicated academic home for the first time.
Sources: Indian Express, Times of India, ETV Bharat (PTI)
