Maithali Sahitya Parishad (MSP), a Saptari-based literary organization, organized a function on Monday in Rajbiraj where Maithali language campaigners exhorted people residing in Mithila region, which consists of several districts in the Tarai, to ask census enumerators to mention their mother tongue as Maithili.[break]
Dozens of Maithali speaking people had taken out a street rally before the function started. Speaking at the function, Dhirendra Premarshi, a noted figure in Maithali literature, asked residents of the Maithili speaking region to write Maithili as their mother tongue so as to save it from being overshadowed by Hindi.
“Despite being one of the most prominent languages of ancient times, Maithali became a subject to suppression by then rulers,” Premarshi said. “In modern times, political parties have been trying to sideline the language.”
Maithali language awareness campaign was launched in the wake of a collective decision by all Madhes-based political parties to champion Hindi as either their mother-tongue or lingua-franca during the new census.
As per the 2001 census, Maithali is the second most widely spoken language in Nepal. However, with the rise of regional politics especially after the Madhesh movement, regional parties seem hell-bent on making Hindi as their mother-tongue through the upcoming eleventh census.
Devendra Mishra, Saptrai chapter president of MSP, said they would soon take their campaign to villages of Saptari and other districts. “We are expanding our campaign to other places,” he said.
According to historians, Mithila was an ancient kingdom which now falls in parts of Nepal and India. In modern times, it is not a region with politically-drawn boundaries. However, the rich cultures, manifested in Mithila dances and paintings, and language of Mithila kingdom still continues to influence inhabitants of the Mithila region.
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