There is, however, no change between the last and Saturday's Cabinet decision. ''The Cabinet endorsed the decision of November 1, 2008, to confer classical status on Kannada and Telugu,'' Union Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy told a televison news channel here after the Cabinet meeting.
Pending the Madras High Court's judgment, the Union Ministry of Culture had announced granting classical status to both Kannada and Telugu on November 1, 2008. The Ministry's announcement was based on the recommendation of an expert committee. However, it was questioned before the court by a Chennai-based advocate who filed a public interest litigation which requested quashing of the recommendation and sought directions to the government to set up a new committee headed by a retired judge of the high court or the Supreme Court.
Now, Sanskrit and Tamil have classical language status. The classical tag ensures more opportunities for scholars to research the genesis and historical evolution of the languages. The Centre also grants funds for research on languages and study centres in various universities.
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