Bhubaneswar: The ministry of education has approved establishment of a centre of excellence for studies in classical Pali at Central University of Odisha (CUO) to work towards strengthening academic research, digitisation, preservation and dissemination of heritage of the classical language.The approval was conveyed through an office memorandum of department of higher education’s language division under the ministry dated Oct 1, which sanctioned a total of five centres of excellence for the study of classical Assamese, Bengali, Marathi, Prakrit and Pali.Officials in CUO said the centre of excellence will focus on the study, research, preservation, digitisation and dissemination of Pali, a language closely associated with India’s Buddhist literature, philosophy and intellectual traditions.The other four centres will be set up at Tezpur University for classical Assamese, Visva-Bharati University for classical Bengali, Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute, Pune, for classical Marathi, and Central University of Gujarat for classical Prakrit.Welcoming the decision, chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi described it as a “proud moment for Odisha” and a significant step towards preserving India’s linguistic heritage. He said the centre would strengthen the study, preservation and promotion of Pali and enhance Odisha’s contribution to preserving India’s civilisational knowledge and linguistic heritage.The five languages were accorded classical language status by the Union Cabinet in Oct 2024. The latest decision provides dedicated institutional centres for specialised academic work on the languages.Officials added that the establishment of the Pali centre at CUO is also significant in the context of the university’s location in Odisha, a state with a rich Buddhist archaeological and cultural heritage, including the ancient Buddhist sites of Ratnagiri, Udayagiri and Lalitgiri.Majhi congratulated the university and all those associated with the initiative.
