HISTORY

Telugu has got the status of a classical language Telugu has got the status of a classical la nguage. Kannada too got the recognition along with Telugu on Friday. The Centre conferred the status on these two South Indian languages on the eve of the formation day of both these states. Telugu is the largest spoken language in the country after Hindi and Urdu. The demand for classical language status to Telugu first came from Gnanpeeth award winner and eminent poet, Mr C. Narayana Reddy.The Central government’s policy is to recognise as ‘classical’ those languages which are at least 1,000 years old. Earlier, the British government had declared Sanskrit, Persian and Arabic as classical languages and the UPA government had added Tamil to the list. Historians say Telugu literature has been in vogue for over 1,500 years. Some even argue it is more than 2,000 years old. The first Telugu words have been noticed in the Ikshavakula inscriptions. The Nagarjuna Hill inscriptions of 250 AD also contain Telugu words. The oldest Telugu inscription is from 633 AD, and its literature begins with an 11th-century translation of Mahabharata. Even during the period of Satavahana rule for 500-600 years in the early part of the first millennia when Prakrut was the royal language in Andhra, Telugu did not die. During 1000-1100 AD, Telugu re-established its suzerainty through inscriptions and poetry. In ancient Andhra, tribes such as Dravida, Yaksha, and Naga spoke Telugu or Tenugu while Andhras from North India used to speak another language called Desi. Please insert your text here.