Malayalam to be granted status of classical language

Malayalam will soon be granted the status of a classical language, the Union Cabinet on Thursday approved classifying Malayalam as a 'Classical Language', Finance Min P Chidambaram said. The benefits extended to Classical Languages include, two major annual international awards for scholars of eminence, setting up of a Centre of Excellence for Studies in Classical Languages.
Other benefits include creation of certain number of Professional Chairs for Classical Languages for scholars of eminence in classical Indian languages. The government has earlier notified Tamil, Telugu and Kannada as classical languages.