US-based linguist discovers a new dialect in Bihar

Mohammad Warsi, who teaches linguistics and Indian languages at the Washington University in St. Louis, said the main language for communication in Darbhanga, Madhubani, Samastipur, Begusarai and Muzaffarpur, is Maithili. But when Muslims speak among themselves, they speak a dialect that is different from Maithili, Hindi, and Urdu.

This dialect does not have its own script or literature, he said.

This might be the reason that this dialect went unnoticed to linguists so far, said Warsi, who is a recipient of James E. McLeod Faculty Recognition Award for 2012.

While doing a comparative study, Warsi said he found that this new dialect is completely different from Hindi, Urdu, and Maithli and their verb conjugation and sentence structure, is quite different from each other.

For example "We are going" would be rendered  "hum jaa rahain hain" in Hindi, "hum jaay  rahal chhii" in Maithli and "hum jaa rahain hain" in Urdu sentence. But in the new dialect it would be: "ham jaa rahaliya hae". Also, there is no agentive marker "-ne" in Mithilanchal Urdu.

Only one second person pronoun "tu" is used in the new dialect instead of "tu, tum and aap".

From these examples, it is clear that the verb conjugation in the new dialect is completely different from that of Hindi, Urdu, and Maithli, Warsi said.

Warsi, a native of Darbhanga district in Bihar has given the nomenclature of 'Mithilanchal Urdu' to this dialect.

"Language does not have any boundaries, nor is it dependent on any boundary," he said.

"Dialects are the contact languages of particular regions, and they have a deep impact on their cultural heritage," he said. "Slowly with time these dialects begin to take shape of languages."

The convergence of a dialect into a language is a symbol and pride of the people who speak it, Warsi said suggesting the inclusion of the new dialect in a recently initiated nationwide linguistic survey.

Excess fluoride content in Darbhanga village

Bihar PHED minister Ashwani Choubey has directed officials to confirm excess fluoride content in water sources at Rampura village of Sighwara block in Darbhanga.

"Till date excess Fluoride was not detected Darbhnga. But I have asked officials to confirm the newpaper reports so that we can take appropriate steps," Choubey said pointing out that 12 districts of the state were afflicted by fluoride which causes fluorosis, a disease nicknamed by medical professionals as "bone crusher". Reported the detection of excess floride by a team of researchers.

Choubey conceded that fluoride and arsenic had been emerging as a major health problem in Bihar. "There are 13 districts in the state where arsenic poisioning have been detected and another 12 district where excess fluoride have been identified from the water source, There are three districts common in this list which have both arsenic and fluoride poisoning. They include Bhagalpur and Munger," he said. He pointed out that around 600 tolas and localities have been identified across the state which were identified as places where arsenic and floride were detected from the water source.

The minister claimed that the state government had mooted a Rs 1000- crore scheme for meeting the challenge. "It's a multi-village scheme in which tanks will be contructed and surface water will be supplied to the effected localities," he said. He said work has already started in Ara where 35 villages are hit due to arscenic, Vaishali and Patna(Maner). The three projects alone will cost over Rs 200 crore", he said.

He said the department had amlso mooted setting-up mini-plants for treatment of floride and arscenic water. "We will run these plants with solar power at places where there are no power", he stressed. He said in addtion to all these the department will install 2000 special tubewells which have mechanism to prevent fluoride and arsenic posioning",he remarked.

The minister claimed that the department had achieved about 60 per cent of its target in sinking 1.09 lakh tubewells across the state. He also spoke about the "Muktidham" Yojna of the state government aimed at making crematory ghats equiped with furnaces for burning bodies, shades, toilet, gardens and shops. He said that out of 50 such ghats selected, work was under progress in 21 of them and 15 would be copleted during this financial year. He, however, said that work was still to begin in many ghats because the land either belonged to private persons or the railways. link

Not any women special police station in Bihar

Women in Bihar still fear lodging a case with a male-dominated police station. To date there is no exclusive police station for women in Bihar where they can lodge their complaints.

Out of the 881 police stations in Bihar, there is not a single separate police station for women. CM Nitish Kumar had initiated a number of measures to ensure women's empowerment, the first being reservation of 50 per cent posts for them in the Panchayati Raj institutions and local bodies.

In a RTI query, state police headquarters admitted there is not a single women police station in Bihar. Out of the 881 police stations, there are only 10 separate police stations for scheduled castes in the state.

The proposal for setting up separate women police stations one each at Patna, Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga and Gaya are still under consideration. The home department, in its annual report tabled in the state legislature in the last monsoon session, said that the government is committed to set up separate police stations for women so that they could lodge their complaints without any fear.

The government was also committed to set up psychological support center and helpline exclusively for women and children.

Incidentally, the government report suggests that incidents of atrocities on women in Bihar witnessed a rise in 2008 especially in the cases related to abduction, dowry-related deaths, molestation, eve-teasing and rape.

According to the figures compiled by the state police headquarters, as many as 6,186 cases of atrocities (1,041 incidents related to rape, 1,494 kidnapping, 1,233 murder for dowry, 2,230 dowry harassment and 188 cases of eve-teasing and molestation) were registered against women across Bihar in 2008.

A comparative study of the figures available clearly indicates there was increase in such incidents in 2008 compared to the corresponding period the previous year. While 1,012 cases were registered in connection with kidnapping of women in 2007, the number went up to 1,494 in 2008.

The number of dowry death rose from 1,226 in 2007 to 1,233 in 2008. Similarly, cases of atrocities perpetrated on women for dowry rose to 2,230 in 2008 from 1,493 in 2007.

Cases relating to eve-teasing and molestation shot up to 188 during 2008, 20 more than the previous year. The recent disrobing of a woman in Patna in full public view on the busy Exhibition Road had put the NDA government on the back foot. CM Nitish Kumar had described the stripping of the woman in public view as a slur on a civilized society.link

Security alert for Durga Puja in Bihar

High security alert has been sounded in Bihar ahead of Durga puja to ensure peace and harmony in communally sensitive areas of the state.

Patrolling has been intensified in communally sensitive areas. Two companies of Rapid Action Force (RAF) have taken position in Patna and Bhagalpur, Additional Director General of Police (headquarters) Neelmani told reporters.

In more communally-sensitive areas, the RAF would stage flag march once in a day to instill confidence among the people, while extra security arrangements have been made to protect all vital installations, including properties of the Railways and Centre.

Besides, patrolling has also been intensified in communally-sensitive pockets in Patna, Bhagalpur, Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga, Madhubani and West Champaran districts.

Static deployment of Bihar Military Police and district armed police personnel has been made in vulnerable areas to prevent any untoward incident, he said.link

Bihar floods: 23 dead, 10 lakh homeless

In Bihar, nature is at its ironic best. The state is split - there is severe drought in one part and now, floods in another. Already, 23 people have died in the Bihar floods and 10 lakh have been displaced.

In north Bihar, when it finally started raining, farmers were a relieved lot. But 10 days later, the rain hasn't stopped and the fear of the drought has been washed away by the fear of floods.

Katihar is the worst affected. The Mahananda river is in spate - its embankment broken, ruin all around. The river flowed into 70 villages and 60,000 people have lost their homes.

Engineers are now inspecting the embankment breach on a boat. Rajeshwar Dayal, Chief Engineer, Public Works Department says: ''We are finding it difficult to source boulders required for the repair work . Also, not many labourers are available. We are trying to plug the breach as soon as we can.''

The villagers are angry. Ranjit Kumar says: ''This is a drama, a waste of government money. All this repair will come undone soon. Why do they build weak embankments in the first place?''

In Madhubani and nearby Darbhanga people have been washed away by flood waters. With them, the paddy and maize in the fields and thousands of homes are a gone.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar says: ''We will survey the losses and compensate all farmers. I have asked my officers to work overtime on this.''

Meanwhile, other parts of the state like Jehanabad, Aurangabad, Gaya, Rohtas, Bhojpur, Buxar, Vaishali, Saran, Sivan Gopalganj, Shekhpura and Nawada are still reeling under drought.link

Girl stripped naked in classroom

A class III girl student from Dalit community studying in a government middle school was stripped naked in the presence of the school teacher by some boys of the same school in Bihar, according to a late-reaching report.

The incident which relates to an upgraded middle school in Mohanpur block of Samastipur district took place on July 25 but came to light when the Dalit girls stopped attending the schools.

Later, the angry villagers reported the matter to the Divisional Commissioner, Darbhanga Dr Rana Avadhesh who ordered for a through probe.

“We found the incident true during the inquiry and have recommended for stern action against the school principal and disciplinary action against the accused boy students”, said a police official who conducted the probe said wishing not to be quoted. He is not authorized to talk to the Press.

This is the third incident of stripping of females in the last one fortnight in Bihar. Earlier, a woman had been stripped in the streets of Patna while in Sitamarhi, a Dalit woman had been stripped by some upper caste members when her goat strayed into their field.link

Uproar in Bihar assembly

Several opposition MLAs on Monday made uproar in the Bihar assembly and staged a noisy walk-out in protest against "inordinate delay" in implementing the centrally-sponsored multi-sectoral development schemes in seven minority concentrated districts in the state.

Replying to a call-attention notice of RJD's Akhtarul Iman, Shakeel Ahmed Khan, Surendra Prasad Singh and others state Minority Welfare Minister Shahid Ali Khan said the union minority works ministry had in April 2008 earmarked a sum of Rs 523.20 crore for the multi-sectoral development projects for seven muslim concentrated districts of Kishanganj, Araria, Purnia, Sitamarhi, Katihar, West Champaran and Darbhanga.

Mr. Khan said on he basis of the baseline surveys conducted by a Delhi-based institution, the detailed project reports for sanctioning the funds for these schemes were submitted to the Centre

The Centre later allotted Rs 36.63 crore in February 2009 for various projects to be implemented in three of these districts-- Darbhanga, Araria and Katihar and subsequently, released Rs 16.75 Crore to the state government, he said.

Once again, the union ministry for minority works released of Rs 74.72 crore in May, 2009, Mr. Khan informed..link

People uses cowdung cakes to burn dead in Darbhanga

Breaking an age-old tradition, people in a district of the Eastern Indian state of Bihar are turning to cow dung cakes, instead of damp firewood, in order to cremate bodies in what is being considered a revolutionary step aimed at conserving energy.

“We place the kin’s body in a sitting position inside a ditch dug out with the help of villagers and then cover it (body) from all sides with cow dung cakes before setting it afire; this reduces the body to ashes without letting the foul odour from the burning body mix with the air, “ said Ravi Bhusan, a villager from Darbhanga town, some 122km north of Patna. Darbhanga is the only district in Bihar where people have taken to this practice.

“Cremation by this practice is not only cheap and time-saving but is also contributes to the conservation of energy and corrects ecological imbalances,“ he said. Explaining further, he pointed out that according to Hindu mythology, wood from the mango tree was required to cremate the bodies. This meant that a full-grown tree had to be cut down in order to meet demand.

“This had been posing severe threats to forestation in the region. Moreover, the cremation of the bodies by this method had been causing air pollution since the people were using damp firewood to enable the bodies burn fully, causing a great deal of smoke,“ said Dr Vidyanath Jha, a researcher at the botany department of CM Science College, Darbhanga, who has been encouraging the masses to adopt this practice in the interests of protecting nature. There has been a particular threat to mango trees since they are considered very auspicious in Hindu belief.

Officials had said that the practice was normally used only in flood-prone areas where the people found it difficult to consign the body to flames owing to lack of firewood and sufficient space. But today even towns in Darbhnaga were observing this practice.

The state government has in the meantime planned to construct raised platforms at the cremation sites in order to check air pollution and the huge consumption of firewood. “We have worked out a plan under which it will require only about 100 to 120kg of firewood, instead of over 350kg to cremate the bodies; this will indeed check pollution,” said Prem Kumar, a senior official at the public health and engineering department.link

Mother, son burned to death in Darbhanga

A woman and her son, who was a student of an engineering college, were burned to death today in Bihar's Darbhanga town.

Sumitra Devi (40) and Mukesh Kumar (22) were charred to death at their house in Shubhankanpur area of the district headquarters town in the wee hours.

"The neighbours saw flames leaping out of their house around 4 am and informed the Fire Brigade which doused the flame. Both of them had died by then," Station House Officer of Darbhanga (Town) police station Vipin Kumar told reporters.

Traces of kerosene were found in the room where the bodies were lying and the main entrance of the house was locked from outside, he said.

Mukesh, a student of an engineering college at Raigarh in Uttar Pradesh, had come home three days ago and his two sisters were away at a relative's place in Bhagwandas Mohalla in the town when the incident took place.

Whether it is a case of suicide or murder would be known only after investigation, Vipin Kumar said, adding the two sisters were being questioned.

Major rivers in spate in Bihar

Major rivers in north Bihar, especially the Kosi, Gandak, Budhi and Bagmati, are in spate following heavy rains in their catchment areas and are posing a threat of floods, officials said Friday.

With heavy rainfall recorded in the catchments areas in neighbouring Nepal, the water levels of these rivers have been rising to dangerous levels for the last two days.

"The Bagmati has crossed the danger mark at some points and the water level in Gandak also increased following water discharge into the river from Nepal," said an official of the central water commission.

In view of the spate in major rivers, the state government has alerted the administrations of flood prone Madhepura, Supaul, Saharsa, Araria, Purnia, Darbhanga, Samastipur and Sitamarhi districts.

Official sources said engineers of the water resource department have been directed to keep a vigil on the vulnerable embankments.

According to reports reaching here, an embankment on the Bagmati river in Aurai block was breached, resulting in inundation of several villages Thursday.

The fear of a repeat of last year's devastating floods is haunting thousands of people in the region from where Kosi flows following a record water discharge into the river from Nepal.

However, Bihar Water Resources Development Minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav said the Kosi embankment was safe and there was no need to panic.

He stressed that the eastern Kosi embankment, which was breached Aug 18 last year, flooding five districts of northern Bihar, was totally safe.

Last year, more than three million people were rendered homeless in Bihar when the Kosi river breached its bank upstream in Nepal and changed course Aug 18. Large tracts of land were flooded, forcing people to flee their homes.

Thousands of people were affected in the floods that were said to be the worst in Bihar in the last 50 years. People were forced to live along roads under the open sky without food and drinking water or in relief camps set up by the state government. link

Some relief for Bihar’s arsenic hit villages

High levels of arsenic in the groundwater pose the threat of cancer to people in many Bihar villages, but the state government has finally moved to bring safe drinking water from the Ganga river to some of these areas.

‘Multi-village water supply projects’ have been given the green signal in 200 arsenic-affected villages in three districts.

“The multivillage water supply projects would be launched soon and completed under a timeframe,” said Public Health Engineering Minister Ashwani Kumar Choubey.

The projects will cover 130 arsenic-affected villages of Simri block in Buxar district, 45 villages of Bidupur block in Vaishali district and 25 villages of Maner block in Patna district.

D.S. Mishra, an official in the department, said the government would provide safe drinking water from the Ganga to villages affected by arsenic.

“First, the surface water (in the river) will be treated to remove harmful substances and then it will be supplied,” Mishra said. He said the treatment of groundwater containing arsenic was costly and not sustainable.

The state government admitted early this year that high levels of arsenic have been found in the groundwater of 15 Bihar districts on either side of the Ganga river, posing the threat of cancer, an official said.

“A total of 57 blocks on both sides of the Ganga are affected by high levels of arsenic in the groundwater,” he said.

Arsenic causes cancer of the intestines, liver, kidneys and bladder as well as gangrene. People in several villages are suffering from bone deformation and a variety of skin problems.

“In some affected villages, people have complained of weakening and bending of the bones and dreadful rashes and lumps on the skin,” a health expert said.

Arsenic, an odourless and tasteless semi-metal element, occurs naturally in the environment and sometimes as a by-product of agriculture and industry.

An official said the worst affected districts are Bhojpur, Buxar, Vaishali, Bhagalpur, Samastipur, Khagaria, Katihar, Chapra, Munger and Darbhanga and Patna.link

Among these, Harail Chapar, a village in Samastipur district, recorded the highest levels of arsenic - 2,100 parts per billion (ppb) - in groundwater, the official added. The World Health Organisation guideline for a safe limit is 10 ppb, while the Indian government’s guideline is 50 ppb.

The official said a survey conducted in the arsenic affected districts reveals that the deeper aquifers lying below 80 metres were free of arsenic.

Last year, a state government report based on a survey of water samples collected at random from 19,961 tubewells in 398 villages found that arsenic concentration was above 10 ppb in 310 villages and above 50 ppb in 235 villages.

BJP engaged in 'savarna' mobilisation

The spectre of former JD(U) leader and Bihar CM Jagannath Mishra is haunting NDA, specially BJP, in the Mithila region. Aware of the possible subversive or negative impact of the quitting of JD(U) by Mishra, the state BJP has engaged itself in active mobilisation of the "savarna samaj (upper caste sections)" in the region in favour of NDA.

The region accounts for three parliamentary constituencies -- Darbhanga, Madhubani and Jhanjharpur. While BJP is contesting Madhubani and Darbhanga seats, the Jhanjharpur seat has gone to JD(U). Incidentally, Mishra, in the past, has contested the Jhanjharpur seat, though unsuccessfully. Yet, the damage that he could cause is very much on the radar of NDA, specially BJP. It has been assumed that the adverse impact of the move of Mishra on NDA would be immediate. The poll would be held in the second phase.

Mishra had aired his concerns on the devastations wrought by the Kosi floods in the five districts, and had also queered the pitch for CM Nitish Kumar. Later, he quit JD(U), while his son Nitish Mishra, a JD(U) aspirant for the Jhanjharpur seat, resigned from the council of ministers. Senior Mishra cosied up to RJD supremo Lalu Prasad, and also announced to support any candidate who could strengthen secular and democratic traditions.

BJP, in effect, has taken to damage control exercise. In less than a week, two of its state leaders -- former state president Tara Kant Jha and the party's state spokesman Vinod Narayan Jha -- have aired their concerns on the region to influence the voting behaviour of the people, specially the upper caste sections. While Tara Kant Jha, among other things, recently pointed to the contribution of NDA in securing recognition for Maithili language in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, Vinod Narayan Jha, after a week long tour of the region, reiterated it on Saturday.

He dubbed Mishra as "swayambhu neta (self-proclaimed leader)". Due to his new association with Lalu and LJP leader Ram Vilas Paswan, he also called Mishra Lalu's "guru" and "chaaraa ghotaale ka humsafar", and put him as "naya humsafar" of Ram Vilas Paswan! He, finally, lambasted Mishra for claiming that the honeymoon of Brahmins (Maithil) with NDA in the Mithila region was over, and also blasted UPA.

"Not only the Brahmin community of the region, but all other sections are solidly behind NDA," Vinod Narayan said, adding: "Brahmins, in particular, constitute the intelligentsia. They have always longed for development and law and order, which the state NDA government has given in the last three and half years. This section is positively oriented towards NDA." link