The External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar announced that the Indian government has chosen to designate Farsi (Persian) as one of the classical languages in India under the New Education Policy.
- Tamil was the first language in India to receive classical language status in 2004, with Sanskrit, Kannada, Malayalam, Odia, Telugu following suit.
Criteria set by the Government to receive classical language status:
- High antiquity of its early texts/recorded history overperiod of 1500-2000 years;
- A body of ancient literature/texts, which is considered a valuable heritage by generations of speakers;
- The literary tradition be original and not borrowed from another speech community;
- The classical language and literature being distinct from modern, there may also be a discontinuity between the classical language and its later forms or its offshoots.
The Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, Govt. of India has established the Center of Excellence for Studies in various classical languages at the Central Institute of Indian Languages, Mysore.
