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.

Find kidnapped doctors or face strike, says Bihar medicos

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) Monday threatened to paralyse medical services in Bihar if the two doctors who were allegedly abducted nearly forty-eight hours ago in the state’s Samastipur district were not found soon.

The association also protested against the “police’s failure” in recovering the abducted doctors.

A.K. Sahay and Santosh Kumar, doctors who work at a nursing home located in a village, went missing late Saturday evening from Sahpur Patauri in Samastipur. They were abducted when they were out on work, a police official said.

“Police have failed to make any breakthrough, though two suspected people involved in the abduction were detained,” an official in Samastipur said.

A hunt has been launched to find the doctors after their motorcycles were recovered and investigations have begun in the case, he added.

“A special police team has been constituted to look into the case,” Deputy Inspector General (Darbhanga range) Baldeo Prasad said.

Their families suspect that both were kidnapped over a property dispute.

Abductions are common in Bihar for ransom and revenge. According to police sources here, 45 people have been abducted for ransom in the state from January to July this year. Last year, 32 people were kidnapped during the same period.

Nearly four months ago, the Bihar government said that between 2001 and 2009, 2,167 children had been kidnapped. Of them, 1,752 were found and 75 killed while the fate of 340 was still unknown.link

18 child labourers from Bihar rescued from Delhi

Eighteen child labourers, who were rescued from New Delhi by the officers of Bihar Labour department with the help of Delhi police and and NGO were brought to Patna by a train.

Mukhatarul Haque, State convenor of Bacchpan Bachao Andolan, a Patna based NGO told reporters here that the child labourers reached Patna by Shramjeevi express who were received by deputy labour commissioner Ramchandra Choudhry.

Choudhry later sent the child labourers to their respective villages under escort.

Of the 18 released children, six each belonged to Darbhanga and Sitamarhi, two to Samastipur and one each to Motihari, Purnea, Katihar and Begusarai districts, Haque said adding that they were engaged in the bakery, shoe factory and zari making factories located in different parts of the national capital.

He said a fine of Rs 20,000 would be realised from the owners of these factories and the amount would be deposited in the account of state government's Child labour development fund. The fine money would be spent on the rehabilitation of the released child labourers, Haque said.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

mother threw her newborn daughter

In a shocking incident, a 22-year-old mother threw her newborn daughter out of the first floor window of a residential building in the Watgunge police station area on Tuesday, allegedly thinking it to be stillborn.

The police said the woman was working as a domestic help and gave birth to the child at her employer’s toilet.

Sabnam, who is from Samastipur in Bihar, began working for a businessman, Md Zahid, two months ago. The police said, as per her employer’s statement she had not informed him or his family members about her pregnancy. Sabnam was ill and very thin and as she wore a burqa all the times, they did not realise she was pregnant, Zahid’s statement said.

Local residents who noticed a newborn lying on the street in front of Zahid’s house informed the police. During preliminary investigation it was revealed that Sabnam gave birth to the child inside a toilet. She panicked after the baby was born and hurled the baby out of the toilet window, the police said.

During questioning, Sabnam claimed that she had given birth to a still-born baby. As she was apprehensive that she might lose her job if the matter came to light, she threw the baby. A senior officer said the woman was so ill that she had to be admitted to Sambhunath Pandit Hospital. The baby’s body has been sent for postmortem to verify if it was stillborn.During questioning, Sabnam claimed that she had given birth to a still-born baby. As she was apprehensive that she might lose her job if the matter came to light, she threw the baby. A senior officer said the woman was so ill that she had to be admitted to Sambhunath Pandit Hospital. The baby’s body has been sent for postmortem to verify if it was stillborn.link

Criminals loot 3 rifles from GRP

Unidentified criminals looted three rifles from the Government Railway Police (GRP) personnel escorting Katihar-Sonepur train near Pasraha railway station in Bihar's Khagaria district, ADG (headquarters)Neelmani said.

Neelmani said the five criminals armed with guns boarded the train at Katihar last night. They attacked the escort party and looted those rifles, when the train was about to reach Pasraha railway station under Samastipur division of the East Central Railway.

They later pulled the chain and decamped with the weapons, Neelmani said and added that a GRP men who sustained injuries in the incident has been admitted to a hospital in Khagaria.

A search operation has been launched to arrest the criminals, Neelmani said.link

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

Banks' education loan doubles to over Rs 577 cr

The education loan provided to the needy and meritorious students of the state doubled in the financial year 2008-2009 with banks making the education loan a focused priority.

Bihari students had secured admission in technical institutions, particularly those outside the state, and the banks provided them the education loan after ensuring that the money would be recovered when they get the job.

The education loan to Bihari students doubled to over Rs 577 crore in 2008-2009 compared to Rs 280.93 crore in 2007-08 and this indicates not only the banks' gesture in affording the students more education loans, but is also a parameter to show that Bihari students excelled in getting admission to good institutions.

There was 130 per cent rise in the number of students getting education loan in 2008-09 when 23,348 students were given education loan of over Rs 577 crore for studies in Bihar and other states. In the previous financial year, 10,181 students were given education loan of Rs 280.93 crore.

UCO Bank executive director B M Mittal told on Thursday that banks should give loan to needy and meritorious students after ensuring that the money would be recovered from them once they get employment.

A large chunk of education loan of Rs 204.36 crore was given by the State Bank of India to 10,611 students during 2008-09, followed by the Punjab National Bank which provided Rs 72.60 crore to 2,437 students and Bank of India -- Rs 57.12 crore to 2,758 students. Besides, 19 other public sector banks, a private bank, HDFC Bank, and four rural banks provided education loan.

The Uttar Bihar Khsetriya Grameen Bank provided Rs 13.45 crore loan to 505 students, the Madhya Bihar Kshetriya Grameen Bank provided Rs 11.98 crore to 421 students, Bihar Kshetriya Grameen Bank Rs 7.89 crore to 357 students and Samastipur Kshetriya Grameen Bank Rs 2.68 crore loan to 122 students. 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.

60 expelled on first day of +2 exams in Bihar

At least 60 examinees were on Monday expelled for using unfair means on the first day of plus two examinations, being conducted by the Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB).

According to the BSEB control room, eight examinees were expelled at Munger, five at Bhagalpur, four at Ara, three at Patna, 11 at Muzaffarpur, eight at Siwan, one at Samastipur, 17 at Saharsa, two at Nawada and one examinee was expelled at Sheohar.

Altogether 5,82,309 examinees are appearing at the Intermediate examinations at 459 examination centres across the state. Compared to last year, 72,000 more examinees are appearing at the examination this year.

Paswan makes unilateral announcemnt on Bihar candidates

In what could be considered as a jolt to the Congress-led UPA, Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) chief Ram Vilas Paswan on Monday announced candidates for 50% of the total Lok Sabha seats in Bihar.

Paswan announced candidates for 20 of the 40 LS seats in Bihar that include Araria, Purnea, Supaul, Khagaria, Hajipur, Jehanabad, Begusarai, Sheohar, Muzaffarpur, Samastipur, Ujiyarpur, Bettiah, Bagha, Motihari, Nawada, Gaya, Ara and Patliputra.

Though Paswan's announcement ahead of any seat sharing talks within the UPA allies in Bihar is seen as his bargaining tactic with the Congress to corner prized seats, the move could also be interpreted as his open defiance on accommodating RJD, much like the last time in 2005.

Speaking to a news agency in the Capital on Monday, Paswan said: "Party leaders in the state are in favour of contesting the elections alone." He added that no concrete proposal for seat sharing had, however, come to his party from either the Congress or the RJD.

Putting the RJD on the same pedestal as the ruling NDA in Bihar, a party leader was quoted as saying, "People have already seen RJD's Lalu Prasad and JD(U)'s Nitish Kumar and are now looking for a change."

Hinting at the fact that he may prefer to go it alone at the hustings, Paswan said, "The RJD's mass base among Muslims and Yadavs has eroded." link