Jharkhand Language Row: Bhojpuri, Magahi Languages Rolled Back From Bokaro, Dhanbad Districts

The latest notification included ‘Nagpuri, Urdu, Khortha, Kurmali and Bangla’ as regional languages and omitted Bhojpuri and Magahi from the list.

Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren | (File Photo/ Getty Images)

New Delhi: In view of the ongoing protest in parts of Jharkhand against the inclusion of Bhojpuri and Magahi in the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC) examinations, the state government on Friday issued a notification rolling back its previous notification.

The examinations are conducted for district-level appointments of the Bokaro and Dhanbad districts. In its current notification, the state government has removed Bhojpuri and Magahi from the regional languages list of Bokaro and Dhanbad districts.

The notification on Friday has been signed by Principal Secretary, Jharkhand Personnel, Administrative Reforms, and the Rajbhasha Department noted that the government has identified district wise regional languages.

The latest notification included ‘Nagpuri, Urdu, Khortha,Kurmali and Bangla’ as regional languages and omitted Bhojpuri and Magahi from the list.</p

Jharkhand government rolled back Bhojpuri and Magahi as regional languages from Bokaro and Dhanbad districts; issues new notification of district-wise regional languages pic.twitter.com/SvkcJcSnLt

— ANI (@ANI) February 19, 2022

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What triggered the protest in Jharkhand?

The protest in Bokaro and Dhanbad had spread to Giridih and Ranchi after the state government issued a notification on December 23 to include Magahi, and Bhojpuri as regional languages in Dhanbad, Bokaro districts of Jharkhand pertaining to the selection of matric and intermediate pass candidates through examinations against vacancies.

Chief minister Hemant Soren has also been targeted by protesters over his silence on the issue.

The previous notification attracted criticism from a section of people, especially in Bokaro and Dhanbad, who witnessed the inclusion of Bhojpuri and Magahi as an “infringement” on the rights of Adivasis and Moolvasis. The protesters contended that the “low population” of Magahi and Bhojpuri speakers in these two districts did not “warrant” the inclusion of these languages in the job selection process, according to the Indian Express report.

Going by the anecdotal evidence, a relatively small population of Magahi- and Bhojpuri-speaking exist in these districts. However, there is no precise data available.