Mithila is a proposed state in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, comprising the Maithili speaking region 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 ...

. The Maithili language has own traditional script, known as Mithilakshar. It is part of the historical

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 ...

region. The proposed state will also include Whole

Angika 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 Mai ...

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, ...

speaking districts which are considered to be dialects of Maithili. What will be the capital city of Mithila, India is still to be decided. Historically the capital cities of Mithila have shifted between

Janakpur Janakpurdham or Janakpur ( ne, जनकपुर, ) is a sub-metropolitan city in Dhanusha District, Province No. 2, Madhesh Province, Nepal. The city is a hub for religious and cultural tourism. A headquarter of Dhanusha District, Dhanusha dist ...

(Nepal), Vaishali,

Simraungadh Simraungadh, Simraongarh or Simroungarh (, Devanagari: सिम्रौनगढ) was a fortified city and the main capital of the Tirhut Kingdom founded by Karnat King Nanyadeva in 1097. At present time, it is a municipality of Nepal, located ...

(Nepal), Rajnagar (Madhubani) and Darbhanga to now

Begusarai Begusarai is the industrial and financial capital of Bihar and the administrative headquarters of the Begusarai district, which is one of the thirty-eight districts of the Indian state of Bihar. The district lies on the northern bank of th ...

. There was also a movement in the Maithili speaking areas of

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

for a separate state which ended in 2015, after Constitution of Nepal (2015) ensured it in form of province two.

History

Dr Laksman Jha and Others demanded a Mithila state shortly after independence and the former Chief Minister of Bihar,

Jagannath Mishra Jagannath Mishra (24 June 1937 – 19 August 2019) was an Indian politician who served as Chief Minister of Bihar and as Minister in the Union Cabinet. He was also Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha between 1988 - 1990 and 1994 - 2000. His invo ...

has also expressed support for the creation of the state. Various organisations have been formed that demand the formation of a state including the Maithil Mahasabha and the Mithilanchal Vikash Congress the former received support from

Raj Darbhanga The Darbhanga Raj, also known as Raj Darbhanga and the Khandwala dynasty, was a Maithil Brahmins dynasty and the rulers of territories, not all contiguous, that were part of the Mithila region, now divided between India and Nepal. The rulers ...

. Various demonstrations have taken place demanding a Mithila state with a major protest taking place in Delhi in 2009 organised by the Akhil Bharatiya Mithila Rajya Sangharsh Samiti.

Political support

Mithila Rajya Nirman Sena

* Senior BJP leader, Rangnath Thakur, chairman and Founding member of

Mithila Rajya Nirman Sena 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 ...

, has organised public rallies supporting Mithila. Mithila Rajya Nirman Sena also did a Sankalp yatra under his leadership in 2017 and 2021 to create awareness and support for the movement

Bharatiya Janata Party

* Former BJP MP

Kirti Azad Kirtivardhan Bhagwat Jha Azad (; born 2 January 1959) is an Indian politician and former cricketer and who played seven Test matches and 25 One Day International for the India national cricket team between 1980 and 1986. Azad was born in Darbh ...

from

Darbhanga Darbhanga is the fifth-largest city and municipal corporation in the Indian state of Bihar situated centrally in Mithila region. Darbhanga is the headquarters of the Darbhanga district and the Darbhanga division. It was the seat of the erstw ...

(Current Congress leader) has organised multiple

dharna A sit-in or sit-down is a form of direct action that involves one or more people occupying an area for a protest, often to promote political, social, or economic change. The protestors gather conspicuously in a space or building, refusing to m ...

s and protests in support of Mithila. He has also launched a signature campaign in Mithila aiming to raise awareness. * Senior BJP leader,

Tarakant Jha Tarakant Jha (1927–2014) was chairperson of the Bihar Legislative Council. He was a leader of Bharatiya Jan Sangh and later of Bharatiya Janata Party. In early 2014 he joined Janata Dal United party. Jha was a senior lawyer A lawyer is a ...

, former chairman of

Bihar Legislative Council Bihar Vidhan Parishad, also known as Bihar Legislative Council, is the upper house of the bicameral Bihar Legislature of the state of Bihar in India. History A new Province of Bihar and Odisha was created by the Government of India on 12 Decem ...

, has organised public rallies supporting Mithila.

Janata Dal (United)

* In November 2011, Bihar Chief Minister

Nitish Kumar Nitish Kumar (born 1 March 1951) is an Indian politician, who is serving as Chief Minister of Bihar since 22 February 2015, having previous held the office from 2005 to 2014 and for a short period in 2000. The leader of the Janata Dal (Unite ...

also extended his support for the statehood of Mithila. * Shravan Chaudhary, JDU state president, has openly supported the demand for the statehood of Mithila.

Rashtriya Janata Dal

Rabri Devi Rabri Devi Yadav (born 1 January 1955) is an Indian politician who formerly served three terms as the Chief Minister of Bihar, the first and only woman till date to have held the office. She is a Member of Bihar Legislative Council (MLC), and ...

, former CM of

, has always favoured the creation of a separate Mithila state.

Justification for Separation

The demand for separate Mithila state has been there since creation of State of Bihar in 1912. *There is marked cultural difference between North and South of Ganges. *The problems of Mithila region are different from rest of Bihar. *Maithili the language of the region has not been properly recognised. The 8th schedule of the Constitution of India includes the recognition of the 22 languages including Maithili (but in Devnagari Script). In Bihar Maithili is yet receive any official status.

Chalenges

Mithila is a poor and flood-prone region dependent on

subsistence agriculture Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow food crops to meet the needs of themselves and their families on smallholdings. Subsistence agriculturalists target farm output for survival and for mostly local requirements, with little or no su ...

, leading to doubts over its economically feasibility as a separate state. The demand for a separate Mithila stems mostly from Darbhanga-Madhubani region, with marginal support from

Tirhut Mithila (), also known as Tirhut, Tirabhukti and Mithilanchal is a geographical and cultural region of the Indian subcontinent bounded by the Mahananda River in the east, the Ganges in the south, the Gandaki River in the west and by the foothill ...

and Seemanchal, and virtually no support from

speaking

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 ...

-Munger.

References

{{coord missing, Bihar Locations in Hindu mythology Ancient Indian cities Historical Indian regions Proposed states and union territories of India Places in the Ramayana Former capital cities in India