Shiv Sena demands classical status for Marathi

Shiv Sena has taken up the cause of Marathi by writing to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to accord classical language status for the ancient language spoken the world over by 95 million people.


Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut has written to Singh pleading for according the status, detailing the reasons why Marathi makes the grade.

Languages thus far declared to be classical are Tamil, Sanskrit, Kannada and Telugu.

Making a case for Marathi, Raut wrote that the language owes its origin to Sanskrit and is considered as the first to be evolved from it.

He said though the language was much older, the first written record -- a document in Marathi -- dates back to 700 AD and was found in present day Karnataka.

Marathi prospered during the reign of Chhatrapati Shivaji and the rule of Peshwas and was the official language of many kingdoms outside present day Maharashtra from Thanjavur and Gingee in Tamil Nadu to Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh, he said.

The work of saint poets Mukundraj, Dyaneshwar, Tukaram and Namdev took Marathi to its zenith, he said.

The 'abhangas' (hymns) of Sant Namdev have been included in the Guru Granth Sahib and some have even been found in present day Laylpur in Pakistan, the letter stated.

Raut said literature spanning topics like astrology, medicines, ancient religious texts like Vedas and Puranas have also been written in Marathi.

He wrote that Marathi is spoken, besides [...]