A DAY LONG PROTEST FOR CONSTITUTIONAL RECOGNITION FOR THE BHOJPURI LANGUAGE

A DAY LONG PROTEST FOR CONSTITUTIONAL RECOGNITION FOR THE BHOJPURI LANGUAGE

22-FEB-ENG 3

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

ARA----------------------------On the occasion of "International Mother Language Day," the "Bhojpuri Joint Struggle Front" held a day-long protest at the Jai Prakash Narayan statue site in front of the District Magistrate, Bhojpur, demanding constitutional recognition for the Bhojpuri language. The protest began with garlanding the statues of Bhikhari Thakur, the Shakespeare of Bhojpuri, and Jai Prakash Narayan.

This protest, significant for the Bhojpuri language, was chaired by journalist Narendra Singh, founding president of the Bhikhari Thakur Social Research Institute, Ara, and conducted by senior theatre personality Krishna Yadav "Krishnendu," national president of the Bhojpuri Research and Development Trust.

Addressing the protest, Dr. Kumar Sheelbhadra, Bihar State President of the National Bhojpuri Institute, explained the origins of "International Mother Language Day." He stated that both creative and agitational work is necessary to enrich the Bhojpuri language.

Bhojpuri Sena President Prabhat Singh stated that there is a negative atmosphere in Bhojpuri society regarding the Bhojpuri language. Parents protest strongly when any program is organized in a convent school.

Ashok Manav, a social activist with the Sampoorna Kranti Andolan, said that remembering the ancestors of the Bhojpuri language is also a movement. Recently, Pawan Srivastava, a renowned Bhojpuri poet, passed away. We should organize programs in his memory as well. Regular programs strengthen the movement.

Vinod Singh, national spokesperson of the Bhojpuri Jan Morcha, said that along with Bhojpuri, other regional languages ​​should also be recognized in the Bihar Assembly, similar to the Uttar Pradesh Assembly. The Bhojpuri Academy in Bihar is closed; it should be restarted soon. We should submit a memorandum to the Bihar government for this purpose.

Senior theatre personality D. Rajan, president of the renowned theatre organization Navodaya Sangh, said that the Bhojpuri language movement must begin at home. Train announcements should be made in Bhojpuri at Ara Junction. We should also hold a protest at Ara Railway Station for this. Only if there is commitment to the movement will we achieve success.

Janmejay Ojha "Manzar," a natural poet of the Bhojpuri language, said that wherever you meet two Bhojpuri people, they should converse in their mother tongue, Bhojpuri. The Bhojpuri language is a very rich and powerful medium.

Poet Dudheshwar Nath Mishra said that for the development of the Bhojpuri language, there should be continuous events for teaching, writing, singing, playing, and poetry.

Dr. Nilambuj Saroj, Assistant Professor, Postgraduate Hindi Department, Veer Kunwar Singh University, Ara, Bhojpur, said that there are no set criteria for granting constitutional recognition to any language. Political initiatives for constitutional recognition of the Bhojpuri language are weak. We should put pressure on our public representatives.

Famous lyricist/writer Kumar Ajay Singh said that there is a widespread feeling of inferiority in the Bhojpuri community regarding their mother tongue, Bhojpuri. However, Bhojpuri has become an international language and it must receive constitutional recognition in India.

Bhaskar Mishra, a well-known social activist from Bhojpur district and secretary of the social organization Yatharth, said that for constitutional recognition of the Bhojpuri language, social, cultural, literary, and political movements must be conducted simultaneously. To secure constitutional recognition for the Bhojpuri language, Parliament and Bhojpuri MPs must be surrounded.

Social activist Manibhushan Srivastava, president of the Kayastha Krantikari Vichar Manch, said that a better script for the Bhojpuri language must be developed. Previously, Bhojpuri was written in the Kaithi script. The Kaithi script is dying and must be revived. The Kaithi script is the Bhojpuri language's own script.

Famous singer Dhani Pandey said that it is also important to write and read the Bhojpuri language. "We are speaking in Bhojpuri at this protest, but the news will be in another language. The Bhojpuri language should have its own newspaper," he said.

Educationist Vijay Kumar Rai said that Bhikhari Thakur, the Shakespeare of Bhojpuri, should receive the Bharat Ratna Award. A separate Bhojpurchal state should be established, where Bhojpuri will be the official language.

In his presidential address, journalist Narendra Singh said that the Bhojpuri language is richer than any other language in terms of population, literature, culture, and politics. Public representatives from the Bhojpuri region should analyze the past movement and continue the movement until Bhojpuri language receives constitutional recognition. However, we are not receiving the support we expect. Advocate Indradev Pandey, Advocate Satendra Premjivan, Ram Ratan Ram, Raghu Paswan, Joker of Bhikhari Thakur's dance troupe, Ashok Paswan, Ramanand Paswan, Rajiv Ranjan Mishra, Raju Shukla, senior theatre personality Anil Pratiksha, social worker Krishna Pratap Singh, renowned drummer Ram Sukh Rai, JDU leader Mrityunjay Bhardwaj, Abhay Kumar Pandey, Pankaj Kumar Singh, Kumar Vijay, Ashutosh Kumar Pandey, Sanjay Dubey, Prashant Kumar Mishra, Rahul Kumar, Secretary of Ara Nagar Ramlila Committee Shambhu Nath Prasad, journalist Sonu Singh, journalist Vishnu Pathak, journalist Sanjay Srivastava, along with hundreds of litterateurs, journalists, theatre artists, playwrights, painters, social workers, and singers and musicians from Bhojpur district were present in this protest.

Swami Vikramaditya Ji expressed his gratitude to the litterateurs, artists, journalists, and social workers who participated in the protest. A memorandum and demand letter containing three demands was handed over to the representative of District Magistrate Bhojpur.