GS 1: Art and Culture

Why in News?

The Ministry of Human Resource Development constituted a Committee in the year 2018 for making a report for the Promotion and Protection of Maithili Language and its scripts.

The Committee has submitted its report to MHRD in which it has made several recommendations for promotion and protection of Maithili language.

Maithili language:

• Maithili is an Indo-Aryan language native to the Indian subcontinent, mainly spoken in India and Nepal. In India, it is spoken in the states of Bihar and Jharkhand and is one of the 22 recognised Indian languages.
• Mithilakshar or Tirhuta is the script of broader cultural Mithila.
• The scripts of Mithilaksar, Bangla, Assamese, Nebari, Odia and Tibetan are part of the family. It is an extremely ancient script and is one of the script and is one of the scripts of the broader North Eastern India.
• Mithilakshar had come to its current shape by 10th Century AD. The oldest form of Mithilakshar is found in the Sahodara stone inscriptions of 950 AD. Afterwards, the scripts have been used throughout Mithila from Champaran to Deoghar.
• Use of this script has been on decline since last 100 years and therefore our culture is getting decimated. Because its own script is not being used, the Maithili language is getting developed in a composite manner despite having been accorded a constitutional status in the constitution.