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.

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

Handloom products buyer-seller meet in Patna from Aug 8

A buyer-seller meet to promote the handloom and silk industry in the state of Bihar is being jointly organised by the Government of Bihar and Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Cluster Development Initiative Ltd.

This meet will be held during August 8-10 at Hotel Maurya in Patna and will be inaugurated by the Minister of Industries, Govt of Bihar and will be presided by Principal Secretary, Department of Industries, Bihar in presence of Additional Commisioner (Handlooms), Government of India.

A pool of buyers from countries like Canada, UAE and Bangladesh along with about ten buyers from India will be participating in this meet.

The clusters involved in this buyer seller meet are Bihar Sharif, Nalanda; Sigori, Patna; Manpur, Gaya; Bhuwara, Madhubani; Katoria, Banka; Hussainabad, Nathnagar, Champa Nagar and Kharik Bazaar, all in Bhagalapur.

On showcase will be handloom products made by weavers of Bihar. Amongst the products to be on display are high and medium end silk and silk mix materials for furnishing, dress materials, sarees, dupattas etc. (tasar, mulberry, linen etc.) from Bhagalpur region.

Also on view from Bhagalpur region will be low and medium end cotton products like dress material, dhoti, towels, lungi etc, tasar and cotton dress materials like kurta, shirting, bedsheets from Gaya and Nalanda.

Beautiful cotton dress materials from Patna and Madhubani including kurtas will also be on display at the nine stalls to be set up at the buyer-seller meet to be organised in the capital city of Bihar.link

Human trafficking on the rise in Bihar

The Bihar government Friday admitted that there has been a marked increase in the number of women and children being smuggled from the state since the launch of its Human Trafficking Prevention Programme in 2007.

Bihar Water Resources Minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav told that over 50 cases of human trafficking had been registered till July this year. There were 50 cases in 2008 and 21 in 2007.

The minister had told the state assembly last week that 128 human traffickers were arrested in 2009 and 91 women were freed from their clutches.

Most cases were reported from Kishanganj, Purnia, Araria, Katihar, Sitamarhi, Madhubani and Saharsa.

Yadav said it was a matter of serious concern that human trafficking was on the rise though special cells had been set up to initiate effective measures to check the crime.

The state government launched the Human Trafficking Prevention Programme for checking smuggling of women and child labourers and ensure a comprehensive rehabilitation scheme for the victims.

A senior police official said Bihar had become a hub of human trafficking due to large scale poverty and illiteracy.

Officials in the social welfare department said that last year’s devastating floods in the Kosi region had provided a golden opportunity to human traffickers to target poverty stricken people.

According to a report prepared by the state government along with NGOs, most children smuggled from the state end up as bonded labourers, domestic workers and employees at roadside restaurants or small textile units.

Most young girls are either forced to marry men from Punjab and Haryana or work in brothels.link

Asian Art Museum: Mithila Women painters of India

The Frey Norris Gallery has been featuring the work of Shalinee Kumari, a contemporary Indian woman artist painting in the style commonly referred to as “Mithila” or “Madhubani” painting. Mithila is a region in Bihar, in India. Madhubani is the name of a town in this region

Traditionally (and still today), these graphically engaging paintings were done by women as mural art decorating the walls of their homes, often marking an important celebrations, a wedding or the birth of a child, for example, or religious themes. The show at the Frey Norris Gallery shows the transformation of this painting style into a contemporary form of expression on paper and canvas that is now sold to art collectors. While stylistically linked to traditional forms, some Mithila artists are exploring a wider range of issues.

The Asian Art Museum also has a collection of Mithila paintings some of which are currently on view on the 3rd floor. This installation includes a male painter in this genre, who is among those encouraged by the economic success of the women artists to enter this once purely local, folk art tradition. The museum installation of Mithila paintings closes after Sunday, July 26 and conservation policy states that these light sensitive works go into dark storage to rest for five years so that they may retain their brilliant colors for generations to come.link

Daughters are no longer a burden in Bihar

The government of Bihar has launched the Mukhyamantri Kanya Vivah Yojna scheme to help the poor fathers with financial aid to married off their daughters well. This decision of the state government has brought a glow into the eyes of the poor parents. The government scheme has put an end to the bad days of poor fathers.

Under the scheme, the state government will provide a financial help of Rs 5,000 for a girl’s marriage to the families whose annual income is below Rs 60,000.

In the financial year 2008-09, the state government under the scheme has distributed around Rs 40 million to more than 78 thousand poor families.

Government will only provide the money for the girls who are married off at their standard age ie, 18 years.

Poor families who married off their daughters before the age of 18 years will not receive this government assistance.

This scheme will not only provide financial support to the girls of poor families in getting married, but will also help in getting rid of the social stigmas like child marriage and dowry.

In Bihar, family planning survey conducted so far revealed that 51.5 per cent of the girls are married off and are sent to their in-laws before their standard age. In Jahanabad, West Chanparn, Nalanda, Supaul, Madhubani, Vaishali, Jamui district, more than 60 per cent of the girls are married of before the age of 18 years. Twenty two districts of the state suffer from the same condition.link