New Delhi, Jan 6: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday attended a book release ceremony at Kaushal Bhawan in New Delhi, underscoring the Centre’s continued push to promote Indian languages and classical literature.

At the event, the minister formally released 41 books published by the Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL), Mysuru, in Kannada, Odia, Telugu and Malayalam. He also unveiled 13 books along with one additional title brought out by the Central Institute of Classical Tamil, taking the total number of publications released at the programme to 55.

A significant highlight of the event was Odisha’s representation in the publication list. Of the 55 books released, 10 titles are from Odisha, including eight books in the Odia language. In addition, two Odia works have been translated and published in English, reflecting efforts to take regional literature to a wider national and global readership.

Speaking at the event, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said, “The British, following their policy of divide and rule, weaponised language as a barrier through Macaulay’s education system. However, our civilisation is founded on the principle that language is a unifier, not a divider.

Language is eternal. It is not confined to letters, words or pronunciation. A single word can carry multiple connotations, and even a slight change in pronunciation can alter its meaning. This depth is intrinsic to Indian languages."

Pradhan said, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that every language in India is a national language. Yesterday, he wrote a blog recalling the invasion of Somnath in 1026. We are now in 2026. Over these 1,000 years, repeated efforts were made to annihilate Indian languages. Yet, despite sustained attacks, Indian languages have remained alive and continue to thrive.

The conservation of languages is a top priority for our government. Last year, the Union government updated the list of Indian Classical Languages. Earlier, there were six — Tamil, Sanskrit, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Odia. Last year, we added five more languages to the list: Marathi, Bengali, Assamese, Pali and Prakrit."

The Minister further said, "The Union Education Ministry has conceptualised the Bharatiya Bhasha Pustak Pariyojana. Under this programme, 1,000 books — both textbooks and reference works — will be published in each of the 22 scheduled languages. Technology will play a major role in this initiative.

At the same time, the Ministry of Culture has launched the Gyan Bharatam Mission, under which literature inscribed on palm leaves, copper plates, rock edicts, manuscripts and old printed books will be made accessible to today’s generation using technology."

"If you visit any religious site in India, you will find records of your ancestors and their arrivals documented in a panjika or pothi (manuscripts). When Prime Minister Modi visited the Puri Jagannath Temple in 2013, the servitors showed him the names of his predecessors over four to five generations from Gujarat who had visited Puri at different points in time. He was also shown the manuscript recording Mahatma Gandhi’s visit to the Jagannath Temple. At that time, Prime Minister Modi had said that all such records would be digitised and subjected to pattern analysis using AI, which would bring greater clarity to our history and heritage", the Minister added.

"There is also the Madala Paanji at the Puri Jagannath Temple — a temple chronicle that provides detailed insights into Odia culture and lifestyle of earlier times, Pradhan said.

Therefore, the Union government is building a comprehensive framework to take these initiatives forward. There are no budget constraints,” Pradhan added.

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The event at Kaushal Bhawan witnessed the presence of academicians, language experts and senior officials from the education ministry, marking another step in the Centre’s broader effort to promote multilingualism and mother-tongue-based learning in line with the National Education Policy.