New academic hubs approved to preserve five classical Indian languages

The Ministry of Education has approved setting up five Centres of Excellence to study and protect classical Assamese, Bengali, Pali, Marathi, and Prakrit. Officials shared this update on Saturday. These new hubs will help boost academic research, digital record-keeping, preservation, and sharing of the heritage linked to these classical tongues.

University Locations

The five host institutions span different parts of the country. Tezpur University will host the centre for Assamese. Visva Bharati University will house the Bengali unit. The Central University of Odisha takes the Pali centre. The Central University of Gujarat gets the Prakrit facility. Finally, the Deccan College Post Graduate and Research Institute in Pune will host the Marathi centre.

Reactions

Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi posted about the move on X. He called it a proud moment for Odisha and a key step to protect India's linguistic past. He noted that the Pali centre at the Central University of Odisha connects deeply with the country's spiritual and cultural roots. He also congratulated the university and everyone linked to the project.

Context

India has a long and varied linguistic history, with several languages officially recognized as classical due to their ancient roots and rich literary heritage. Setting up dedicated centres helps universities preserve old texts and support deeper study of these traditions. This type of academic initiative often relies on central funding to boost research facilities and digital archiving.