President Murmu Inaugurates Granth Kutir: A Cultural Repository of India's 11 Classical Languages

President Droupadi Murmu has inaugurated Granth Kutir at Rashtrapati Bhavan, establishing a dedicated cultural space that celebrates India's vast literary and intellectual heritage across 11 classical languages - Tamil, Sanskrit, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, Odia, Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese and Bengali.

The initiative houses approximately 2,300 books and 50 manuscripts, many on traditional materials like palm leaf and bark, spanning disciplines from epics and philosophy to science and governance. Notably, five languages - Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese and Bengali - received classical status in October 2024, expanding the classical languages list.

President Murmu emphasized that classical languages form the foundation of Indian culture, highlighting their enduring global influence through works like Panini's grammar and Aryabhata's mathematics. She called for greater university emphasis on classical studies and encouraged youth engagement with this heritage. The initiative reflects India's commitment to preserving indigenous knowledge systems and moving beyond colonial-era narratives.