Language Politics and Public Sphere in North India: Making of the Maithili Movement

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Oxford University Press, Nov 21, 2017 - Political Science - 368 pages
Moving beyond the existing scholarship on language politics in north India which mainly focuses on Hindi–Urdu debates, Language Politics and Public Sphere in North India examines the formation of Maithili movement in the context of expansion of Hindi as the ‘national’ language. It revisits the dynamic hierarchy through which a distinction is produced between ‘major’ and ‘minor’ languages. The movement for recognition of Maithili as an independent language has grown assertive even when the authority of Hindi is resolutely reinforced. The book also examines increasing politicization of the Maithili movement — from Hindi–Maithili ambiguities and antagonisms, to territorial consciousness, and subsequently to separate statehood demand, along with the persistent popular indifference. Mithilesh Jha examines such processes historically, tracing the formation of Maithili movement from mid-nineteenth century until its inclusion into the eighth schedule of the Indian constitution in 2003.
 

Contents

List of Maps Images and Tables
Language Politics in India and the Hindi Heartland
Language History Nation and the Imaginary of Maithili Identity
Maithili Language and the Movement PartI
Language as a Conceptual Category and Inner
Appendix
Notes and References
Select Bibliography
Index
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