Mumbai: Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole on Tuesday wrote to President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking classical language tag for Marathi, contending that it fulfils all the criteria to be categorised so.
In separate letters to the President and Prime Minister, Patole noted that Marathi is Maharashtra's state language and it has separate grammar and script, and at least 10 crore people speak the language.
Marathi lives up to all the criteria to be tagged as a classical language. Hence, Marathi should be categorised so, the Congress leader stated in the letter.
To drive home his point, Patole said the mention of Marathi was seen on the coins found in Gharapuri (Elephanta) caves from the Satavahana regime of the 3rd century.
Patole, an MLA from Sakoli in Vidarbha's Bhandara district, said Marathi has found mention in several ancient inscriptions.
Marathi-speaking people are spread across Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Goa and Gujarat and in countries such as the US, Australia, UK, New Zealand, among others, the Congress leader said.
Marathi is taught across 23 universities in America. Since, Marathi fulfils all the criteria to be called a classical language, the demand should be considered sympathetically, Patole said.