Maithili

Maithili is one of the major languages of Bihar. Other than Bhojpuri, Maithili occupies central stage as a language of Bihar especially in the northern districts of Bihar bordered with Nepal. No wonder Maithili speakers can also be found in Nepal a well. The Maithili language is considered as a dialect of Hindi. Many speakers of the language are campaigning for the language to become a separate language from Hindi. Some have even gone to the extent of demanding a separate state away from Bihar based on the Maithili language but this has been dismissed as not viable by most Bihari political parties and therefore have gained any momentum. None the less Maithili speakers are proud of their language and like to be different to Hindi but part of the Sanskritic languages. Although the language of Maithili may not be as popular as Hindi or Bhojpuri in BIhari, it plays significant role when it comes to promoting Bhojpuri as well. A casual listener may not be able to distinguish the language from Bhojpuri or Maithili but those who know are able to do so very well.

Maithili or Tirahutiya is, properly speaking, the language of Mithila or Tairabhukti (the ancient name of Tirhut. According to the Mithila-mahatmya, a Sanskrit work of considerable repute in the territory which it describes, Mithila is the country bounded on the north by the Himalaya, on the south by the Ganges, on the west by the river Gandak, and on the-east by the river kosi. it thus includes the British districts of Champaran, Muzaffarpur and Darbhanga, as well as the strip of the Nepal Tarai, which runs between these districts and the lower ranges of the Himalaya. The districts of Muzaffarpur and Darbhanga originally formed one district called Tirhut, and that name is still used as a convenient appellation for the country included in these two districts. At the present day, the language of the greater portion of Champaran is a form of Bhojpuri and not Maithili, but with that exception Maithili is spoken over the whole of this tract.

It has also extended east of the river Kosi, and occupies the greater part of the district of Purnea. It has moreover crossed the Ganges, and is now spoken over the whole of the South-Gangetic portion of the Bhagalpur District, over the eastern portion of the South Gangetic portion of the Monghyr District, and in the north and west of the Sonthal Parganas.