Ahead of the Budget presentation in the Rajasthan Assembly session beginning later this month, a demand has gained momentum here for making Rajasthani the State’s official language. Hundreds of youth gathered at Shaheed Smarak in Jaipur under the banner of Rajasthani Yuva Samiti earlier this week, and demanded the official language status for their Mayad Bhasha (mother-tongue).
The Rajasthani Yuva Samiti, spearheading the movement, has pointed out the benefits associated with the recognition of the language, including the generation of immense employment opportunities for the local youth. The Samiti has also started a campaign on Twitter with the hashtag, Rajasthani Mange Rajbhasha, which was trending on the top.
The Samiti’s national adviser Rajveer Singh Chalkoi said here on Wednesday that the State government was empowered under Article 345 of the Constitution to adopt Rajasthani for official purposes. Several State governments had given the official language status to their regional languages through the legislative route, he said.
Mr. Chalkoi said while the National Census reports of several years had recorded Rajasthani as a “separate and independent” language with many dialects, the lack of recognition as an official language had deprived the youth of job opportunities which could be created with its use in administration, official communication, research and education.
“As a distinct language from Hindi, Rajasthani is taught in universities and has been included as an optional subject in the course of the State Board of Secondary Education. The youth feels no hesitation in speaking Rajasthani on stage,” Arun Rajpurohit, the Samiti’s president, said. He said Rajasthani represented the desert State’s rich culture and history, and a large number of songs, plays and poems were being written in the language.
“Richest with multiple dialects”
The linguistic experts consider Rajasthani as one of the richest languages in the country. Its dialects, such as Marwari, Mewari, Dhundhari, Hadoti, Wagdi, Braj and Mewati, are spoken in different regions of the State. Mr. Rajpurohit said the Samiti’s representatives would meet Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and raise the demand for an announcement in the upcoming State Budget.
The State Assembly had passed a unanimous resolution in 2003 for the inclusion of Rajasthani in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. The successive governments in the State have been requesting the Centre to incorporate the language in the officially recognised list. Mr. Gehlot had referred to the Sitakant Mohapatra Committee’s recommendation in his letter addressed to the Prime Minister in 2019.
Diya Kumari, BJP MP from Rajsamand, had introduced a private member’s Bill in Lok Sabha in August last year, for amendment in the Eighth Schedule to include Rajasthani. Ms. Kumari said the language had been neglected at the national level and this was threatening its survival, while the people of the State had been demanding official status for their mother tongue for long now.
“As a distinct language from Hindi, Rajasthani is taught in universities and has been included as an optional subject in the course of the State Board of Secondary Education. T”Arun RajpurohitRajasthani Yuva Samiti president
