Political parties welcome granting of classical language status to Assamese

Guwahati, Oct 4 (PTI) The Centre's decision to grant Assamese the status of classical language along with four others was welcomed by all political parties in the state.
    Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday said that for years, there were many controversies and movements regarding the Assamese language.
    Prime Minister Narendra Modi, however, ended this controversy forever by ''declaring Assamese and Bengali as classical languages. For this, the people of Assam will always be grateful to Modi ji'', Sarma said in a post on X.
    He said that last night he had spoken to Modi and conveyed the gratitude of the people of Assam to the Government of India for according Assamese the status of a Classical Language.
    The chief minister said that he was elated to learn that alongside Assamese, Bengali has also been recognised as a classical language by the Union Cabinet.
    Over the years, Bengali, spoken by crores of people worldwide, has inspired many personalities and played a key role in the history of India, he said.
    ''As a language spoken by many in Assam, it is a double joy for us to have both Assamese and Bengali being recognised as Classical languages on the same day. My best wishes to all Bengalis on this momentous occasion,” Sarma said.
    Besides Assamese and Bengali, Marathi, Pali and Prakrit were declared as Classical Languages on Thursday by the Union Cabinet.
    Assam Pradesh Congress president Bhupen Borah said that the declaration of Assamese as a classical language was a moment of pride for the people of the state.
    ''Assamese is our mother-tongue and as children of this land, we are very proud that our spoken tongue has been declared a classical language. This has been possible to the great works of the state's eminent litterateurs since several centuries'', he said.
    Assam Jatiya Parishad president Lurinjyoti Gogoi and general secretary Jagadish Bhuyan also welcomed the declaration of Assamese as a classical language.
    ''This is very good news for the people of Assam. This will help in further development and research of Assamese'', they said in a statement.
    ''We are very grateful to the Asam Sahitya Sabha and others who have worked relentlessly to ensure that all the criteria are met for Assamese to be declared as a classical language'', they added.
    Former Asam Sahitya Sabha president Kuladhar Saikia, during whose tenure the process for recognition of Assamese as a classical language was initiated in 2021, said that the language met all the criteria as is evident from stone inscriptions, copper plates, sculptures and folk music.
    He said that a memorandum was prepared in 2021 and submitted both to the centre and the Sahitya Akademi.
    Saikia's term as the Asam Sahitya Sabha president had ended in 2022 but as the head of the committee that prepared the memorandum, he was asked by the present office bearers to take the matter forward.
    ''Therefore, I wrote a letter to the Prime Minister in this regard on July 9 this year and Assamese getting the classical status will bestow on it a distinct place in the world'', he added.
    Granting of classical status will benefit for the setting up of university chairs and promotion centres, employment in academics, research, archiving and digitization of ancient texts, provide opportunities in translation, publishing and digital media for preserving classical heritage.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)