Official classical languages

In 2004, the Government of India declared that languages that met certain requirements could be accorded the status of a "classical language" in India. Languages thus far declared to be "classical" are Tamil (in 2004), Sanskrit (in 2005), Kannada (in 2008), and Telugu (in 2008).

In 2005, Sanskrit, which already had special status in Article 351 of the Constitution of India as the primary source language for the development of the official language Hindi, was also declared to be a classical language; this was followed by similar declarations for Kannada and Telugu in 2008, based on the recommendation of a committee of linguistic experts constituted by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India.

In a 2006 press release, Minister of Tourism & 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",

“ 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. ”