Bihar govt initiates process to constitute Prakrit, Pali academies

Patna, Dec 11 (PTI) The Bihar government has initiated the process for the constitution of two new vernacular academies- Prakrit and Pali - for the restoration, preservation and promotion of these languages.

These two academies will work under the administrative control of the newly created department of Higher Education, according to a notification issued by the Cabinet Secretariat department on December 10.

The state Cabinet, headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, on Tuesday approved proposals to create three new departments -- Youth, Employment and Skill Development, Higher Education and Civil Aviation.

Already existing language academies in Bihar have also been brought under the administrative control of the Higher Education department.

"Functions which have been allocated to the Higher Education department include: Administrative control of institutions engaged in research work of university level in social, economic, scientific and other fields such ... constitution of vernacular academies such as Sanskrit Academy, Prakrit Academy, Pali Academy, etc," the notification said.

According to experts, before the modern derivatives of Sanskrit existed, a group of languages known as the Prakrit or Middle Indo-Aryan languages evolved from India's classical language.

These were the vernacular dialects of ancient times, and several of them became important. The best known of this group is Pali, which still serves as the canonical language of Buddhism in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. Other Prakrit languages such as Sauraseni, Magadhi and Gandhari embody various facets of the literatures of both the Brahmanical/Hindu and Buddhist traditions.

Reacting to the government's decision to constitute new Prakrit and Pali academies, senior JD (U) leader and party spokesperson, Neeraj Kumar, told PTI, "I must say that Pali and Prakrit languages are at the root of India's culture. It is a great decision of our visionary leader, Nitish Kumar, to constitute academies for these two languages." "It will have a long-term impact in the field of higher education in India as Bihar is the land which harbours the eternal legacy of Buddha and his teachings." PTI PKD RG