Classical Status: All-party delegation from AP meets PM

New Delhi, May 17: An all-party delegation from Andhra Pradesh, led by State Minister for Culture M Satyanarayana Rao, today met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and urged him to confer classical language status to Telugu.

Rao, who heads a task force appointed to pursue the demand, said he has submitted a memorandum to Singh explaining various "historical-epigraphic, numismatic, literary evidence to prove the historicity" of Telugu.

The demand was also substantiated with references to various research papers published by celebrated linguists and historians, he said.

He said his delegation consisted of 43 MPs representing all the parties from the state, including TRS. The Telangana party did not participate in a meeting with Union Culture Minister Ambika Soni earlier.

Union Urban Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy and other Ministers also participated in the meeting with the Prime Minister.

Singh gave a patient hearing and assured to get the issue examined at the earliest, Rao said.

So far only Sanskrit and Tamil have been granted the status of classical language. In the wake of strong demands from Telugu scholars, state Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy appointed the task force.

The panel painstakingly collated information from various sources to prove that Telugu is as older than 1500 years, the criterion fixed by the Centre to grant the status, Rao added.

Courtesy: NewKerala
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