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Q8 (IAS/2014) History & Culture › Culture, Literature, Religion & Philosophy › Indian language families Official Key

Consider the following languages : 1. Gujarati 2. Kannada 3. Telugu Which of the above has/have been declared as 'Classical Language/Languages' by the Government?

Result
Your answer: —  ·  Correct: C
Explanation

Five languages namely, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam have been given a Classical status.[1] More specifically, Tamil was declared in 2004, Sanskrit in 2005, Telugu in 2008, Kannada in 2008, and Malayalam in 2013.[2]

From the options given in this 2014 question, only Kannada and Telugu had been declared as Classical Languages by the Government of India. Gujarati has not been accorded Classical Language status. The Government of India determines eligibility based on criteria including high antiquity of texts over 1500-2000 years, ancient literature considered valuable heritage, and an original literary tradition not borrowed from another speech community.[3]

Therefore, option C (2 and 3 only - Kannada and Telugu) is the correct answer.

Sources
  1. [1] https://cms.rajyasabha.nic.in/UploadedFiles/Debates/OfficialDebatesDatewise/Floor/230/F19.02.2014.pdf
  2. [2] Indian Polity, M. Laxmikanth(7th ed.) > Chapter 73: Official Language > Benefits > p. 543
  3. [3] Indian Polity, M. Laxmikanth(7th ed.) > Chapter 73: Official Language > Criteria > p. 544
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Don’t just practise – reverse-engineer the question. This panel shows where this PYQ came from (books / web), how the examiner broke it into hidden statements, and which nearby micro-concepts you were supposed to learn from it. Treat it like an autopsy of the question: what might have triggered it, which exact lines in the book matter, and what linked ideas you should carry forward to future questions.
Q. Consider the following languages : 1. Gujarati 2. Kannada 3. Telugu Which of the above has/have been declared as 'Classical Language/…
At a glance
Origin: Books + Current Affairs Fairness: Moderate fairness Books / CA: 6.7/10 · 3.3/10
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This is a classic 'Finite List' question. The list of Classical Languages is short (only 6 at the time, now 11). When a government classification has fewer than 15 members, you must memorize the exact list and the year of inclusion. Laxmikanth provides this in a simple table; missing this is a penalty for skimming.

How this question is built

This question can be broken into the following sub-statements. Tap a statement sentence to jump into its detailed analysis.

Statement 1
Was Gujarati declared a "Classical Language" by the Government of India as of 2014?
Origin: Web / Current Affairs Fairness: CA heavy Web-answerable

Web source
Presence: 5/5
"Five languages namely, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam have been given a Classical status."
Why this source?
  • Official written answer (19 Feb 2014) lists the languages given Classical status by the Government.
  • The list cites: Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam — Gujarati is not included.
  • Therefore, as of that date, Gujarati had not been declared a Classical language.
Web source
Presence: 3/5
"Consider the following languages: (2014) 1.Gujarati 2.Kannada 3.Telugu ... Answer: (c)"
Why this source?
  • A 2014 prelims practice question listed Gujarati, Kannada and Telugu and asked which were declared classical.
  • The provided answer was (c) — 2 and 3 only (Kannada and Telugu), excluding Gujarati.
  • This corroborates that Gujarati was not declared classical in 2014.

Indian Polity, M. Laxmikanth(7th ed.) > Chapter 73: Official Language > Benefits > p. 543
Strength: 5/5
“The following benefits shall be available to the languages declared or notified as Classical Languages8 : (i) Thro major international awards for scholars of eminence in Classical Indian Languages are awarded annually. (ii) A 'Centre of Excellence for Studies in Classical Languages' is set up. (iii) The University Grants Commission be requested to create, to start with at least in the Central Universities a certain &rhis infonnation is obtained from the official of the Ministry of Culture, Government of India. Language Status 51. No. | languages | Year of Declaration 1. | Tamil | 2004 2. | Sanskrit | 2005 3. | Telugu | 2008 4. | Kannada | 2008 5. | Malayalam | 2013 6. | Odia | 2014”
Why relevant

Provides an explicit list of languages declared 'Classical' and their years (Tamil 2004, Sanskrit 2005, Telugu 2008, Kannada 2008, Malayalam 2013, Odia 2014) — Gujarati is not included.

How to extend

A student could use this list plus the 2014 cut-off to infer Gujarati was not declared by 2014 and verify against official announcements.

Indian Polity, M. Laxmikanth(7th ed.) > Chapter 92: World Constitutions > 2014 TEST PAPER > p. 747
Strength: 3/5
“t 2014 TEST PAPER • l. Consider the following languages: • 1. Gujarati• 2. Kannada• 3. Telugu Which of the above have been declared as 'Classical Language/ Languages' by the Government? • (a) 1 and 2 only • (b) 3 only • (c) 2 and 3 only • (d) 1, 2 and 3 • 2. Which one of the following is the largest Committee of the Parliament? • (a) The Committee on Public Accounts • (b) The Committee on Estimates • (c) The Committee on Public Undertakings • (d) The Committee on Petitions • 3. The sales tax you pay while purchasing a toothpaste is a • (a) tax imposed by the Central Government • (b) tax imposed by the Central Government but collected by the State Government”
Why relevant

Contains a test question asking which of Gujarati, Kannada, Telugu have been declared classical, implying that Gujarati's status is questioned/not assumed.

How to extend

A student could treat this as an indicator that Gujarati was contested or not widely listed as classical and cross-check authoritative lists up to 2014.

Indian Polity, M. Laxmikanth(7th ed.) > Chapter 73: Official Language > Criteria > p. 544
Strength: 4/5
“The Government of India laid down the following criteria to determine the eligibility of languages to be considered for classification as a Classical Language<sup>9</sup>: restance they exhibited to see (i) High antiquity of its early texts/recorded history over a period of 1500-2000 years. PUTATE ROALD AAJ JADIEER JD <sup>9</sup>Ibid.website • (ii) A body of ancient literature/texts, which is considered a valuable heritage by generations of speakers. • (iii) The literary tradition be original and not borrowed from another speech community.”
Why relevant

States the formal criteria used by the Government of India to declare a language 'Classical' (antiquity, body of literature, originality).

How to extend

A student could apply these criteria to Gujarati using known historical/literary facts (with external sources) to judge plausibility of a 2014 declaration.

Geography of India ,Majid Husain, (McGrawHill 9th ed.) > Chapter 13: Cultural Setting > Language as a Determinant of Cultural Region > p. 45
Strength: 2/5
“Gujarati, Marathi, Odiya, Bengali, Assamese, Bihari, Avadhi, Bagheli, Chhattisgarhi, Hindi, Punjabi, Rajasthani, Nepali, and Pahari. Hindi (the National language) is the principal language of the Indo-European Family spoken by over 40% of the total population of the country. It is mainly spoken in Bihar, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand. Urdu is closely akin to Hindi and is popular in Bihar, Delhi, Hyderabad, J&K, M.P., Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and in most of the places of urban India. 2. The Dravidian Family: The Dravidian family of the Indian languages is mainly spoken in Andhra Pradesh (Telgu), Karnataka (Kannada), Kerala (Malayalam), and Tamil Nadu (Tamil).”
Why relevant

Lists Gujarati among major Indian languages and situates it geographically/culturally, useful background for assessing its literary history relative to classical criteria.

How to extend

A student could combine this geographic-linguistic context with the criteria in snippet 3 to evaluate whether Gujarati might meet classical-language requirements before 2014.

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