Angika (also known as ''Anga'', ''Angikar'' or ''Chhika-Chhiki'') is an
Eastern Indo-Aryan language
Eastern may refer to:
Transportation
*China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai
* Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways
*Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991
*Eastern Air L ...
spoken in some parts of the Indian states of
Bihar
Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...
and
Jharkhand
Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . It ...
, as well as in parts of Nepal.
It is closely related to languages such as
Maithili,
Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
,
Bhojpuri
Bhojpuri (;[Bhojpuri entry, Oxford Dictionaries](_blank)
, Oxford U ...
and
Magahi
The Magahi language (), also known as Magadhi (), is a language spoken in Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal states of eastern India, and in the Terai of Nepal. Magadhi Prakrit was the ancestor of Magahi, from which the latter's name derives. ...
.
Territory
Angika is mainly spoken in south-eastern
Bihar
Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...
, including
Munger
Munger, formerly spelt as Monghyr, is a twin city and a Municipal Corporation situated in the Indian state of Bihar. It is the administrative headquarters of Munger district and Munger Division. Munger was one of the major cities in Eastern In ...
,
Bhagalpur
Bhagalpur is a city in the Indian state of Bihar, situated on the southern banks of the river Ganges. It is the 2nd largest city of Bihar by population and also the headquarters of Bhagalpur district and Bhagalpur division. Known as the Silk ...
and
Banka district
Banka is one of the thirty-eight districts of the state of Bihar in India. The district headquarters of Banka is situated in Banka town. The district was established on 21 February 1991.
History
Banka is the homeland of the revolutionary Sati ...
s; and the
Santhal Pargana division
Santhal Pargana division constitutes one of the five district administration units known as the divisions of Jharkhand state in eastern India.
Origin of name
Santhal Pargana derives its name from two words: "Santhal", a major tribe of India a ...
of
Jharkhand
Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . It ...
. Its speakers number around 15 million people.
Apart from Bihar and Jharkhand states of India, it is also spoken in the
Morang district
Morang District ( ne, मोरङ जिल्ला ) is located in Province No. 1 in eastern Nepal. It is an Outer Terai district. It borders with Bihar, India to the South, Jhapa to the East, Dhankuta and Panchthar to the North, and Suns ...
of Nepalese Terai as a minority language. 1.9% people of Morang returned Angika as their mother tongue during the
2011 Nepal census
Nepal conducted a widespread national census in 2011 by the Nepal Central Bureau of Statistics. Working with the 58 municipalities and the 3915 Village Development Committees at a district level, they recorded data from all the municipalities an ...
.
Relationship to Maithili
Angika was classified as a dialect of
Maithili by
George A. Grierson in the ''
Linguistic Survey of India
The Linguistic Survey of India (LSI) is a comprehensive survey of the languages of British India, describing 364 languages and dialects. The Survey was first proposed by George Abraham Grierson, a member of the Indian Civil Service and a linguist w ...
'' (1903). However, the Angika speakers now assert its status as an independent language. When the proponents of the Maithili language in Bihar demanded use of Maithili-
medium
Medium may refer to:
Science and technology
Aviation
*Medium bomber, a class of war plane
*Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design
Communication
* Media (communication), tools used to store and deliver information or data
* Medium of ...
primary education in the early 20th century, the people of the Angika-speaking region did not support them, and instead favoured
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
-medium education. In the 1960s and the 1970s, when the Maithili speakers demanded a separate
Mithila Mithila may refer to:
Places
* Mithilā, a synonym for the ancient Videha state
** Mithilā (ancient city), the ancient capital city of Videha
* Mithila (region), a cultural region (historical and contemporary), now divided between India and Nepal
...
state, the Angika and
Bajjika
Bajjika is an Indo-Aryan language variety spoken in parts of eastern India and Nepal. It is closely related to Maithili (of which it is often considered a dialect).
Territory and speakers
Bajjika is spoken in the north-western part of Bihar, ...
speakers made counter-demands for recognition of their languages.
Maithili proponents believe that the
Government of Bihar
The Government of Bihar, known locally as the State Government, is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Bihar and its 9 divisions which consist of 38 districts . It consists of an executive, led by the Governor of Bihar, a jud ...
and the pro-Hindi Bihar Rashtrabhasha Parishad promoted Angika and
Bajjika
Bajjika is an Indo-Aryan language variety spoken in parts of eastern India and Nepal. It is closely related to Maithili (of which it is often considered a dialect).
Territory and speakers
Bajjika is spoken in the north-western part of Bihar, ...
as distinct languages to weaken the Maithili language movement; many of them still consider Angika to be a dialect of Maithili. People from mainly
Maithil Brahmin
Maithil Brahmins are a Hindu Brahmin community from the Mithila region of the Indian subcontinent that comprises Tirhut, Darbhanga, Kosi, Purnia, Munger, Bhagalpur; Bokaro in Jharkhand and Santhal Pargana divisions of India and some adjoining ...
s and
Karan Kayastha
Karan Kayastha is a community of Kayastha that inhabit Orissa and Mithila region, a region now divided between India and Nepal.
History and migration
Eminent archeologist, BP Sinha explains that duty of Karana was rajaseva and durgantapurara ...
s castes have supported the Maithili movement, while people from various other castes in the Mithila region have projected Angika and Bajjika as their mother tongues, attempting to break away from the Maithili-based regional identity.
Official status
Angika is not listed in the
8th schedule of the constitution of India.
Angika has the status of "second state language" in the Indian state of
Jharkhand
Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . It ...
since 2018. It shares this status with 15 other languages, including Maithili.
See also
*
Angika literature
Angika (also known as ''Anga'', ''Angikar'' or ''Chhika-Chhiki'') is an Eastern Indo-Aryan language spoken in some parts of the Indian states of Bihar and Jharkhand, as well as in parts of Nepal.
It is closely related to languages such as Mait ...
*
Anga Lipi
Anga Lipi (𑂃𑂁𑂏) was a historical writing system. The Anga Lipi finds its mention in the Buddhist text "Lalitvistar" which says Anga lipi was the one of the script among the 64 scripts known to Lord Budhha.
Etymology and history
The An ...
*
Anga
Anga (Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe of eastern South Asia whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The members of the Aṅga tribe were called the Āṅgeyas.
Counted among the "sixteen great nations" in Buddhist texts ...
References
Bibliography
*
* pp
1395
*
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*
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{{authority control
Languages written in Devanagari
Languages of India
Languages of Nepal
Eastern Indo-Aryan languages
Bihari languages
Languages of Bihar
Languages of Jharkhand