For the recognition of BHOJPURI as International Language

An Appeal
LET’S OBSERVE
International Mother Language Day
For the recognition of BHOJPURI
as International Language
Bhojpuri, the language of 84 million people as mother tongue spread over four / five Continents of the Earth places it at the 10th position after Japanese and German among world languages.
It’s the second largest among Indian languages after Hindi. When Govt. would recognize Bhojpuri?
February 21 is observed as International Mother Language Day globally, commemorating those who had sacrificed their lives on this day in Dhaka in 1952, asserting their right to speak Bangla.
The Sunday Indian in association with Bhojpuri Association of India (BHAI) is observing this day for the recognition of Bhojpuri language.
We urge the governments of India, Nepal, Guyana, Suriname, Fiji, Trinidad and Tobago and Mauritius to give constitutional recognition and rights for the proper development of Bhojpuri language in their countries.
We also urge United Nations Secretary General and the head of UNESCO to constitute a high level committee for the survey of Bhojpuri speaking people all over the world. We would also request to make a separate department for the development of this International Language in UNESCO.
I would like to thank the US President Barak H. Obama for the inclusion of Bhojpuri and other Indian languages in the list for the US Govts Job.
Mother tongue or Mother Language, after all, is not necessarily the language spoken by one’s mother but the one in which a person is at home from childhood. it does sometimes lead to confusion and bring forth hybrid languages, like hinglish which is threatening to take over North India.

But Politics, Economics & Media have become inextricably tangled with the growth and spread of languages. A few eventually win out while many others are eliminated in the battle for survival. Tribal languages are naturally the worst sufferers in all continents. In India, tribals have to learn the state language, and their own languages or dialects die slowly.

The languages are also being affected by the process of Economic liberlisation and Globalisation. It is hastening the death of many minor languages which may prove to be increasingly useless for money-making purposes.

New generations would find it wasteful to learn them and shall latch on to the dominant one or two languages in every country.

Today, according to a report, world’s 6,000 languages are under threat. And the worst offenders are America and Australia where hundreds of aboriginal languages have died out. Hundreds are on the decline in Asia and Africa while in Europe, about 50 are in danger. Will Bhojpuri also be included in that list after a span of time? It may be the fate of this language too if not recognized, preserved and promoted seriously now.

The increasing pressure from world’s dominant languages like English, French, German, Russian, Spanish and also the mainstream Chinese are threatening the existence of many small or undeveloped languages.

Two dialects — mita and ksarwar — were found in west Bengal which were then spoken by just one person each during the l961 census. In the fastnesses of Arunachal Pradesh, there was a dialect comprising a total of 25 words, more than which was not found to be necessary by those people, who were living in primitive conditions with very limited demands, and not unhappily at that.

How is a language superior to a dialect? “a language is a dialect that has an army and a navy”, said max weinreich. However, the big fish will eat the small fish, and languages which cannot dominate will lose out in the course of time. Russell Hoban had offered consolation, “after all, when you come right down to it, how many people speak the same language when they speak the same language?”
Bhojpuri is a very significant regional language of India, which is spoken not just in parts of north-central and eastern India, western part of state of Bihar, the northwestern part of Jharkhand, and the Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh. But it is also spoken in almost all Metro Cities in India, as well as in adjoining area of southern plains of Nepal.
In fact Bhojpuri is the first Indian language which has got the speakers population and language potential to get the recognition in half a dozen of countries apart from its mother land India.
Apart from India & Nepal, Bhojpuri is also spoken in Guyana, Suriname, Fiji, Trinidad and Tobago and Mauritius.
The exact number of Bhojpuri speaking people in the world is not known. The fact is most of the Bhojpuri speaking people write Hindi or Urdu as their mother language. This is evident in the census report of the Govt. of India.
Now the government of India is in the process to grant it statutory status as a national scheduled language under 8th schedule of Indian constitution.
The new Govt. of Nepal has also promised to give constitutional recognition to Bhojpuri, Maithili and Awadhi in Nepal.
The fact is Bhojpuri language is shining day by day. Bhojpuri films are rocking Bollywood after Hindi Cinema. Bhojpuri TV Channels are capturing the minds of crores of viewers. The first Bhojpuri national news magazine THE SUNDAY INDIAN is in great demand. And all without any help from the Govt.
But now this is the time to raise hands with clear and loud slogans….
HINDI HAMRI AAN BA
BHOJPURI PAHICHAN BA…

The Background: ================================
The International Mother Language Day was introduced by the UNESCO in recognition of the sanctity and preservation of all vernacular languages in the world. The event began being observed from 21 February 2000 throughout the world to commemorate the martyrs who sacrificed their lives on this date in dhaka in 1952.
The background to the proclamation of the International Mother Language Day was a proposal from Bangladesh at the UNESCO General Conference in Paris on 17 November 1999 to declare 21 February as an international day on the ground that on this day many had sacrificed their lives for their mother tongue.
It was argued that, since the languages of the world are at the very heart of UNESCO's objectives and since they are the most powerful instruments for preserving and developing the tangible and intangible heritage of nations and nationalities, the recognition of this day would serve not only to encourage linguistic diversity and multilingual education but also to develop a fuller awareness of linguistic and cultural traditions throughout the world and to inspire international solidarity based on understanding, tolerance and dialogue. The Paris Conference was convinced that one of the most effective ways to promote and develop mother tongues was the establishment of an International Mother Language Day throughout the world with a view to organising various activities in the member states and a language exhibition at UNESCO Headquarters on the same day.
The day the Conference chose for the purpose was 21 February. This was, indeed, in appreciation and recognition of the unprecedented sacrifice made by the Bangla speaking people of Bangladesh for the cause of their mother tongue (matribhasa) on 21 February 1952. The Paris meet also put on record how solemnly the people of Bangladesh have been observing the day as Martyrs' Day (shaheed dibash) ever since 1952, and how the People's Republic of Bangladesh has been observing the day as a special national day since its emergence as an independent state in 1971.