Ajit Pawar, the leader of the opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly, requested on Thursday that Marathi be given the status of a classical language on May 1 in honour of Maharashtra Day. Pawar further requested that Eknath Shinde, the chief minister of Maharashtra, follow up on the request with the federal government.
Maharashtra Day honours the state’s creation on May 1, 1960. Pawar said in a letter to the chief minister that Marathi meets all requirements to be classified as a classical language.
The idea has received approval from all departments, including the Sahitya Akademi and the Union Ministry of Culture. Positive feedback was provided by every department. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader stated the Union cabinet’s final approval is the only thing left to do.
”I urge that the national government approve the same and provide Marathi the status of a classical language as the ‘Amrit kaal’ gift,” he added. State Marathi Language Minister Subhash Desai met with Union Culture Minister G Kishan Reddy in February 2022, when the Maha Vikas Aghadi (consisting of the then-undivided Shiv Sena, NCP, and Congress) was in power. Reddy informed Desai that the Pathare committee report was approved by the Centre, Pawar stated.
Desai continued by stating that the state government had established a committee led by literary critic Rangnath Pathare, who wrote a lengthy report outlining the requirements for a language to be designated as a classical language, including evidence of the language’s antiquity, originality, continuity, and literary traditions.
According to Pawar, the then-CM of Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackeray, led a group to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2021 to discuss a number of matters pertaining to Maharashtra. He also urged him to make a judgement about Marathi’s status as a classical language.
Devendra Fadnavis, a leader of the BJP, failed in his follow-up attempts as chief minister, according to the LoP. According to Pawar, Prithviraj Chavan (of the Congress) established a commission under the leadership of Rangnath Pathare, which produced a 435-page study on why Marathi should be recognised as a classical language.
Sanskrit, Malyalam, Kannada, Odia, Tamil, and Telugu have been designated as classical languages. Although the Sahitya Akademi responded favourably, the judgement on Marathi language is still waiting, according to Pawar.
