Maithili Language and the Movement, Part–I

This chapter examines the ways through which the Maithili movement became more provocative and assertive from the beginning of the 1920s until the independence of India. It begins with not just a categorical refutation to Hindi’s claim of Maithili being its ‘dialect’, but by invoking the cultural and historical figures like Vidyapati, Govinda Das, which led to controversy between the supporters of Bengali and Maithili, it tried to galvanize and broaden its support among the Maithili speakers who were divided on the basis of caste, class, religion, region, and sects. In this period, there were many Bengali scholars who tried to project Vidyapati and Govinda Das as Bengali poets. However, the controversy was settled by the Bengali scholars themselves through their meticulous research on Vidyapati and eventually they began to support the cause of Maithili as an independent language. All these developments galvanized the support for Maithili among the Maithils who otherwise were suspicious of Maithili’s prospect in terms of either getting good education or employment. Whereas on the other hand, learning Hindi was seen not only as supporting the nationalist cause but a language that can provide better opportunities. However, Maithili elites remained ambivalent to Hindi. They could foresee its prospect but were not willing to forgo the rich literary traditions of Maithili for championing the cause of Hindi. So, while they were not inimical to Hindi, they rallied solidly behind Maithili to assert its status as an independent modern Indian language. The broadening of Maithili journalism attempts to revive its script—Mithilakshar, and formation of the Maithili Sahitya Parishad were other significant developments in this period. Gradually, these developments led to the growth of a new sense of geopolitical identity on the basis of Maithili. And Mithila-Maithil-Maithili became the key slogan of this phase of the Maithili movement.