Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has requested the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to give Marathi a classical language status. He also urged Modi to look into it personally and give immediate instructions to the concerned officials for appropriate action in this regard.
In a letter to the Prime Minister, Thackeray said, a proposal was submitted to the Central Government on November 16, 2013, on the basis of a report by an expert committee set up by the Government of Maharashtra regarding the classical language status of Marathi.
The Marathi language fulfils the criteria required to attain this status. Despite repeated follow ups, the matter is pending with the Ministry of Cultural Affairs of the Central Government.
The concerned department has informed that the matter is pending before the Literature Academy’s Language Committee for consideration. Since this issue is pending for a long time, the Prime Minister should himself look into and give Marathi a classical status as early as possible, CM said in the letter.
