The Centre has decided to confer classical status on Kannada and Telugu languages.
It has now been decided by the government that on the occasion of Karnataka's Rajyotsava day and Andhra Pradesh's formation day, both falling on November 1, Kannada and Telugu be declared as classical languages, Culture Minister Ambika Soni said in Delhi on Friday.
Representations were received from a wide spectrum of political and civil organisations from both Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh for declaration of these two languages as classical languages.
The culture ministry had set up the Linguistic Experts Committee to decide the issue.
"It has been done on the recommendation of the experts committee," Soni said.
However, she clarified that the decision would be subject to the decision in a writ petition pending in the Madras high court.
The government has moved court in the matter to have the writ petition disposed of, she said.
Tamil and Sanskrit have already been declared as classical languages.
Currently there are no other languages pending with the committee to be declared as classical, she said.
© 2025