Classical Marathi status fuels cultural pride and digital expansion

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis praised the central government’s decision to officially recognise Marathi as a classical language, describing it as a historic milestone for the state’s 13th‑ranked language worldwide. He reminded listeners that Marathi’s literary legacy dates back centuries, with encyclopaedias containing between 1.1 and 1.3 million entries.

Comparing word counts, Fadnavis noted that the Oxford English Dictionary lists about 600,000 words, while Mandarin, Spanish and French each have roughly 300,000‑350,000 entries. The current official Marathi dictionary holds around 300,000 words, but the government plans to expand it to 1.3 million in upcoming editions.

The chief minister stressed that this vast lexical wealth should not remain a point of pride alone; it must be leveraged to convey concepts in science, technology, economics and education, turning Marathi into a true language of knowledge.