UpdateBot at 22:42, 30 November 2021

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{{Use Indian English|date=February 2016}}
[[Hindi]] is one of the official languages of [[Bihar]], whilst the majority of the people speak one of the [[Bihari languages]].

==Hindi journalism==
''Biharbandhu'' was the first [[Hindi]] newspaper published from Bihar. It was started in 1872 by Keshav Ram Bhatta, a [[Marathi people|Maharashtrian]] [[Brahman]] settled in [[Bihar-E-Sharif|Biharsharif]].<ref name="journalism">Ahmad Qeyamuddin, ''Patna Through the ages: Glimpses of History, Society and Economy, Commonwealth Publishers'', New Delhi, 1988</ref> [[Hindi]] [[journalism]] in Bihar, and specially [[Patna]], could make little headway initially. It was mainly due to lack of respect for [[Hindi]] among the people at large. Many [[Hindi]] journals took birth and after a lapse of time vanished. Many journals were shelved even in the [[embryo]].<ref>Rajendra Abhinandan Granth, ''"Nagri Pracharini Sabha"'', Arrah, 3 March 1950, p. 353</ref> But once [[Hindi]] enlisted the [[official]] support, it started making a dent into the [[Extreme points of Earth#Remoteness|remote]] areas in Bihar. [[Hindi]] [[journalism]] also acquired wisdom and maturity and its longevity was prolonged. [[Hindi]] was introduced in the law courts in Bihar in 1880.<ref>Kumar N., ''Journalism in Bihar'', A Supplement to Bihar State Gazette pp. 28</ref><ref name="journalism"/>

==20th-century publications==
The beginning of the twentieth century was marked by a number of notable new publications. A monthly magazine named ''Bharat Ratna'' was started from [[Patna]] in 1901. It was followed by ''Kshtriya Hitaishi'', ''Aryavarta'' from Dinapure, [[Patna]], ''Udyoga'' and ''Chaitanya Chandrika''.<ref>''Bihar ki Sahityik Pragati'', Bihar Hindi Sahitya Sammelan, Patna 1956, pp. 73</ref> ''Udyog'' was edited by Vijyaanand Tripathy, a famous poet of the time and ''Chaitanya Chandrika'' by Krishna Chaitanya Goswami, a literary figures of that time. This literary activities were not confined to [[Patna]] alone but to many districts of Bihar.<ref>''Jayanti Smarak Granth'', pp. 583-585</ref><ref name="journalism"/>

==Constitutional issues==
Despite the large number of speakers of [[Bihari languages]], these languages, except Maithili (which is recognised under the [[Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India]]), have not been constitutionally recognised in [[India]]. [[Hindi]] is the language used for educational and official matters in Bihar, with English occasionally used in education and government.<ref>[http://www.diehardindian.com/demogrph/moredemo/histlang.htm History of Indian languages] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120226234832/http://www.diehardindian.com/demogrph/moredemo/histlang.htm |date=2012-02-26 }},"Bihari is actually the name of a group of two related languages—Bhojpuri, and Magahi—spoken mainly in northeastern India in Bihar. Despite its large number of speakers, Bihari is not a constitutionally recognised language of India. Even in Bihar, Hindi is the language used for educational and official matters."</ref> These languages was legally absorbed under the subordinate label of [[Hindi]] in the 1961 Census. Such state and national politics are creating conditions for language endangerments.<ref>{{cite conference
| last = Verma
| first = Mahandra K.
| title = Language Endangerment and Indian languages : An exploration and a critique
| year = 2001
| isbn = 9788120817654
| book-title = Linguistic Structure and Language Dynamics in South Asia
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=tcfJY7kANo8C&dq=awadhi+and+magahi+languages&pg=PA5
}}</ref>

==Struggle between languages==
The first success for spreading [[Hindi]] occurred in Bihar in 1881, when [[Hindi]] displaced [[Urdu]] as the sole official language of the [[province]]. In this struggle between competing [[Hindi]] and [[Urdu]], the potential claims of the three large mother tongues in the region - [[Magahi]], [[Bhojpuri]] and [[Maithili language|Maithili]] were ignored. After independence [[Hindi]] was again given the sole official status through the Bihar Official Language Act, 1950.<ref>Brass Paul R., ''The Politics of India Since Independence'', Cambridge University Press, pp. 183</ref> [[Urdu]] became the second official language in the undivided State of Bihar on 16 August 1989.

[[Maithili language|Maithili]] has been the only one among the [[Bihari languages]], which has been trying to constantly deny superimposition of [[Hindi]] over its identity. The other two ([[Bhojpuri]] and [[Magahi]]) have given up their claims and have resigned to accept the status of dialects of [[Hindi]].{{citation needed|date=October 2019}} Maithili was officially recognised by the government of India in 2003, after an active movement led by [[Maithili language|Maithili]] speakers.

==Statistics==
The number of speakers of [[Bihari languages]] are difficult to indicate because of unreliable sources. In the urban region most educated speakers of the language name [[Hindi]] as their language because this is what they speak at home and use in formal contexts. The uneducated and the rural population of the region return [[Hindi]] as their language.<ref name= "Dhanesh" >Jain Dhanesh, Cardona George, The Indo-Aryan Languages, pp500, "..the number of speakers of Bihari languages are difficult to indicate because of unreliable sources. In the urban region most educated speakers of the language name Hindi as their language because this is what they use in formal contexts and believe it to be the appropriate response because of unawareness. The uneducated and the rural population of the region return Hindi as the generic name for their language."</ref>

==See Also==
* [[Bihari Hindi]]
==References and footnotes==
{{reflist|2}}

[[Category:Culture of Bihar]]
[[Category:Hindi]]
[[Category:Languages of Bihar]]

Hindi in Bihar - Revision history

UpdateBot at 22:42, 30 November 2021