A Marginalized Voice in the History of 'Hindi
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3627759 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Aishwarj Kumar, A P Ashwin Kumar (University of Cambridge, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2013 |
| Volume | 47 |
| Issue | 5 |
| Pages | 1706-1746 |
| Publication date | 2013-09-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Modern Asian Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0026-749X • E-ISSN: 1469-8099 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0026749x12000492 |
| OpenAlex | W2154216853 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 8 |
This paper examines the history of 'Hindi'1as a modern Indian language in Bihar between 1850 and 1900. It looks beyond the North-Western Provinces, hitherto the focus of most studies of Hindi, and issues that were important here but not in Bihar like, for example, the 'Hindi'-Urdu conflict. Instead, it looks at how the ways in which the history of 'Hindi' unfolded in Bihar and was distinct from that in other parts of North India. It demonstrates how the regional languages of Bihar were more crucial to the development of 'Hindi' in this region than standardized 'Hindi', at least until the early twentieth century. A prime focus in this paper is Sir George Abraham Grierson who postulated the theory of an independent 'Bihari' language and collected materials to support it. These materials reflect the continuing popularity of Bihari cultural traditions throughout the nineteenth century despite the avowed support for a standardized 'Hindi' by the colonial government and the intelligentsia of Bihar. They add a dimension to the historical development of 'Hindi' that was distinctive to Bihar. Focussing on this, this paper stresses the part played in the history of 'Hindi' by an agent whose voice was marginalized and later ignored or suppressed in canonical accounts of its development as a modern Indian language
Hindi · Indian literature · Intelligentsia · Linguistics · Political science · Politics · Popularity · Urdu · History · Law · Philosophy · Social and Economic Development in India · South Asian Cinema and Culture · South Asian Studies and Conflicts
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2023 - 2025 (3) |
| Highly cited | No |