Five Centres of Excellence for Studies in Classical Languages
Why in News?
On October 3, 2026, the Ministry of Education (MoE) approved the creation of five Centres of Excellence (CoEs) dedicated to advanced study, research, preservation and dissemination of India’s newly recognised classical languages.
The Five Languages & Their Selected Host Institutions
The centres are strategically distributed across higher education institutes in five different states to strengthen regional academic ecosystems:
- Classical Assamese: To be established at Tezpur University, Assam.
- Classical Bengali: To be established at Visva-Bharati University, West Bengal.
- Classical Marathi: To be established at Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute (Deemed to be University) in Pune, Maharashtra.
- Classical Pali: To be established at the Central University of Odisha, Odisha.
- Classical Prakrit: To be established at the Central University of Gujarat, Gujarat.
Key Objectives & Core Areas of Focus
The Centres of Excellence will operate with a dedicated institutional focus on four primary verticals:
The Centres of Excellence will operate with a dedicated institutional focus on four primary verticals:
- Advanced Academic Research: Providing dedicated institutional platforms for high-level scholarly work, publications, and deep academic engagement in the respective languages.
- Preservation and Digitisation: Documenting and archiving ancient texts and manuscripts. This ensures long-term conservation of India's rich textual heritage while making materials accessible to modern global researchers.
- Wider Knowledge Dissemination: Facilitating open access to the unique literary traditions, cultural knowledge systems, and historical evolution associated with these languages.
- Boosting Employment & Academics: Strengthening regional educational setups, thereby creating new avenues for careers in academia, archiving, translation, and digital humanities.
