India recognizes six languages as Classical Languages. They are Tamil, Sanskrit, Odia, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam.
In the year 2004, the tentative criteria for the age of antiquity of “classical language” was assumed to be at least 1000 years of existence.[3]
In a 2006 press release, Minister of Tourism and Culture Ambika Soni told the Rajya Sabha the following criteria were laid down to determine the eligibility of languages to be considered for classification as a “Classical Language”,[4][1]
- High antiquity of its early texts/recorded history over a period 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.