Janata Dal (United) demands classical language status for Maithili

The Janata Dal (United) on Monday demanded classical language status for Maithili, an Indo-Aryan language spoken in parts of Bihar, Jharkhand and Nepal.

The party, led by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, is an ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party and is part of the National Democratic Alliance government at the Centre.

The demand came after the Union government on October 3 granted classical language status to Marathi, Bengali, Pali, Prakrit and Assamese.

Sanjay Kumar Jha, the national working president of Janata Dal (United), said he would soon meet with Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan to seek classical language status for Maithili.

Maithili is the only Bihari language with its own script, called Tirhuta.

मैथिली भाषा का संरक्षण एवं संवर्धन शुरू से मेरी शीर्ष प्राथमिकता रही है। इसे शास्त्रीय भाषा (Classical Language) की कोटि में शामिल करने का आधार मैंने वर्ष 2018 में ही तैयार करवा दिया था। मेरे प्रयासों से केंद्र सरकार द्वारा गठित मैथिली के विद्वानों की विशेषज्ञ समिति ने 31 अगस्त… pic.twitter.com/HpajdImbkb— Sanjay Kumar Jha (@SanjayJhaBihar) October 7, 2024

“Conservation and promotion of the Maithili language have been my top priority right from the beginning,” Jha said on Monday. “I had prepared the basis for the inclusion of Maithili in the category of classical language in 2018.”

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