6th June (2004)-Tamil language accorded status as Classical Language

Suppose you are sitting alone and something occur in your mind. What will be first thing that you will do? You will try to communicate that to other fellow either through writing or speaking. So here language comes to assist you. You will use language to communicate your thoughts. So it’s become important to appreciate the language. It is in this context that Tamil was accorded classical status on 6^th June 2004. Tamil is main lingua franca of Tamilnadu and there are 70 million Tamil speakers today according to Wikipedia.

Why Classical language status accorded to Tamil language?

According to the proponents, Tamil language is an ancient language and have rich heritage. They claimed that sangam anthologies should be considered as classical languages.

Criteria for declaring classical language

Texts should have high antiquity of over 1500 to 2000 years.

Literary texts should be original and should not be borrowed from any other language.

A body of ancient text which is to be consider as valuable heritage by generation of speakers.

Classical language should be different from its later form.

Classical languages in India

Since India is an ancient country and have roots in ancient civilization so its blessed to have multiple classical languages. These multiple languages are

Tamil(Since 2004)

Sanskrit(Since 2005)

Telugu(Since 2008)

Kannada(Since 2008)

Malayalam(Since 2013)

Odia(Since 2014)

It is crucial to mention that Extension of classical status to any language does not make that language superior or make other inferior. Language will remain a way of communication. Each language is special and one should be proud of their language.