Nagpuri language

The language is known by several names, such as Nagpuri, Nagpuria, Sadani, Sadri etc. The language is known as Sadani, the native language of Sadan, the Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Chotanagpur. The Sadani also refer to closely related Indo-Aryan languages of Jharkhand such as Nagpuri, Panchpargania, Kurmali and Khortha.[7] In the literary tradition, the language is known as Nagpuri, which is the polished and literary language especially used by Hindus and in cities. Sadri refers to the spoken and non-literary form of the language, especially spoken by tribal groups in the countryside.[12][13] The name Nagpur is the region ruled by Nagvanshi, named as Chutia Nagpur (Chota Nagpur Division) by the British to distinguish it from Nagpur of Maharashtra.[14]

Nagpuri language writers are in favour of using Nagpuri as the name of the language. There is an opposition against the use of the word Sadri and giving two names Sadan/Sadri and Nagpuria, to a single language in the upcoming Indian census. According to them, the name of the language is Nagpuri and the native speakers of the language are known as Nagpuria. The British also wrote a grammar using the name Nagpuri in 1906, and Nagpuri is the official name of the language in Jharkhand.[13][15][16]

There are different opinions among linguists about the origin of the Nagpuri language. According to Peter Shanti Navrangi, Nagpuriya Sadani or Nagpuri originated from ancient Prakrit. According to professor Keshri Kumar Singh, Nagpuri is an Apabhramsha and descendant of Magadhi Prakrit in his book "Nagpuri bhasa ebam Sahitya". According to Dr. Shravan Kumar Goswami, Nagpuri evolved from Ardhamagadhi Prakrit.[17] According to him, Nagpuri might have originated between the 8th to 11th centuries and developed into a full-fledged language between the 14th to 15th centuries. According to Yogendra Nath Tiwari, Nagpuri is an ancient language that was in existence before Chotanagpur or Jharkhand started to be known as Nagpur and evolved from Jharkhand Prakrit. There is no consensus among scholars from which language Nagpuri has evolved. Several similarities are found between the words of Hindi, Nagpuri, Apabrahmsa, Prakrit and Sanskrit.[6]

The Nagpuri language was the court language of the Nagvanshi dynasty and the official language of Chotanagpur till British rule. Evidence of literature is available from the 17th century. In 1903, Sir George Abraham Grierson classified Nagpuri as the Nagpuria dialect of the Bhojpuri language in his "Linguistic Survey of India".

1903 Linguistic map of East Chota Nagpur, by G.A. Grierson

Nagpuri has been placed in the Bihari group of Indo-Aryan languages.[7][18] Recent studies demonstrate that the Indo-Aryan languages of the Chota Nagpur plateau, called Sadani languages, are distinct languages and are more closely related to each other than any other languages.[12]

The Nagpuri language is mainly spoken in the western Chota Nagpur Plateau region. The geographical distribution of language is tabulated below;

It is also spoken by some Tea garden community in Tea garden area of Assam, West Bengal, Bangladesh and Nepal who were taken as labourer to work in Tea garden during British Rule.[3]

The Nagpuri language spoken in different districts such as Ranchi, Gumla, Simdega and Garhwa varies with each other.[12]

The early inscriptions found in the region are in Brahmi script. The Saridkel Brahmi Inscription from Khunti district is from 3rd century BCE. Several inscriptions of forts, temples and land grants are found from the 9th century, such as from Mahamaya temple of Hapamuni built by Gajghat Rai, Nagfeni, Navratangarh fort of Gumla district, Boreya and Jagannath temple of Ranchi. Some Buddhist inscriptions are undated, such as from Khalari and Jonha Falls.[19] Inscriptions of the modern period are in Devnagari script. Nagpuri poetry has been written in Devnagari and Kaithi script during the 17th century.[20] At present, mainly Devnagari script is used in literature.[6]

Historically, Nagpuri was the lingua-franca in the region. It was the court language during the reign of the Nagvanshi dynasty.[20] Nagpuri is accorded as an additional official language in the Indian state of Jharkhand.[4][5] There is demand to include Nagpuri in the Eighth schedule.[21][22][23] Some academics oppose inclusion of Hindi dialects in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution as full-fledged Indian languages. According to them, recognition of Hindi dialects as separate languages would deprive Hindi of millions of its speakers and eventually no Hindi will be left.[24]

The Nagpuri language is rich in folk tales, folk songs and riddles. Literature in the Nagpuri language are available since the 17th century. The Nagvanshi king Raghunath Shah and the King of Ramgarh, Dalel Singh, were poets. These poems were composed in Devnagari script and Kaithi script.[20][25] Some Nagpuri peots were Hanuman Singh, Jaigovind Mishra, Barju Ram Pathak, Ghasi Ram Mahli, Das Mahli, Mahant Ghasi and Kanchan.[26] "Nagvanshavali" (1876), written by Beniram Mehta, is a historical work in the nagpuri language. The poet Ghasi Ram Mahli wrote several works, including "Nagvanashavali", "Durgasaptasati", "Barahamasa", "Vivha Parichhan" etc. There were also great writers like Pradumn Das and Rudra Singh.[27] It is believed that prose writing in the nagpuri language started by Christian missionaries. E.H.Whitley wrote Notes on the Ganwari dialect of Lohardaga, Chhota Nagpur in 1896, which considered the start of writing prose in the nagpuri language.[28] Some Nagpuri language writers and poets in the modern period are Praful Kumar Rai, Sahani Upendra Pal Singh, Shiv Avtar Choudhary, Lal Ranvijay Nath Shahdeo, Bisheshwar Prasad Keshari and Girdhari Ram Gonjhu.[17]

Monthly Nagpuri magazines Gotiya and Johar Sahiya have been published in Ranchi.[29][30] Several magazines have also been published in Assam, West Bengal's Tarai and Dooars districts.[31][3]

Alternate names of language include: Sadani, Sadana, Sadati, Sadari, Sadhan, Sadna, Sadrik, Santri, Siddri, Sradri, Sadhari, Sadan, Nagpuria, Chota Nagpuri, Dikku Kaji, Gawari, Ganwari, Goari, Gauuari, Jharkhandhi.[36][37][38]

• Nagpuri culture
• Nagpuri cinema