India News | Primitive Tribe Body Demands Inclusion of 'Maundo' in the List of Regional Languages for Mal-Paharia

Dumka(Jharkhand), Feb 24 (PTI) Amid ongoing language row in the state, a primitive tribe body has demanded inclusion of 'Maundo' in the list of regional langugages saying not enlisting it in the language list has created a question mark on the existence of Mal-Paharia.

The Jharkhand government last week withdrew Bhojpuri and Maghi from the list of regional languages of Dhanbad and Bokaro amid widespread protests.

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The Department of Personnel, Administrative Reforms and Rajbhasha withdrew a notification dated December 24, 2021 that allowed these two languages in matric and intermediate-level for appearing in recruitment examinations of district-level posts, conducted by the Jharkhand State Staff Selection Commission.

Paharia Land Mukti Sena on Wednesday urged Chief Minister Hemant Soren for inclusion of "Maundo", the language spoken by primitive tribe Mal-Paharia of Jharkhand in the list of regional languages.

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Arinjal Singh Paharia, National President of Paharia Land Mukti Sena told PTI: "Mal-Paharia are local inhabitants of Jharkhand, mostly concentrated in areas of Santhal Paragana and as per Census 2011 there are approximately 1.35 lakh Mal-Paharia in Santhal Paragana. Maundo is the mother language of Mal-Paharia and not enlisting it in the language list has created a question mark on existence of Mal-Paharia."

Paharia said the information given by Dr Ramdayal Munda Tribal Welfare Research Institute with respect to language, customs and lifestyle of primitive tribe Mal-Paharia is "totally misleading and wrong".

He asserted that the authentic information with respect to Mal-Paharia of the region is depicted in the book "Purvi Bharat ke Paharia", written by Pandit Anup Kumar Bajpai; which is also being taught in MA History course in Sido Kanho Murmu University, Dumka. "The government must refer to this book and should include Maundo, the mother tongue of Mal-Paharia in the list of languages for deciding Domicile of Jharkhand", he said. Earlier, several parts of Jharkhand witnessed massive protests against the inclusion of Bhojpuri and Magahi as “regional languages” in district-level competitive examinations for government jobs.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)