The Delhi government Monday announced several steps to promote Bhojpuri and Maithili, including teaching of Maithili from Class 8 to Class 12 and arranging free coaching to IAS aspirants who choose it as an optional subject.
The decision comes at a time when only a few months are left for the Delhi assembly polls, and those who speak the languages play a vital role in deciding the fate of any political party in any election in the city.
"Maithili will be taught as an optional language in Delhi schools from class 8th to class 12th. Students of Delhi would now be able to learn Maithili as an optional subject like Urdu and Punjabi," Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia told reporters.
There are around 60 lakh to 70 lakh Maithili and Bhojpuri speaking people in Delhi, according to the government.
The AAP government would also request the central government to include Bhojpuri in 8th Schedule of the Constitution, Sisodia said, adding that Maithili is already part of the schedule.
He said because Bhojpuri is not part of the schedule, even if he wants to introduce it in schools as an optional language, he cannot.
More From This Section
No student can take Bhojpuri as an optional language in any of the competitive examinations for the same reason, the AAP leader said.
"I will write to the Centre as the Chairman of the Maithili-Bhojpuri academy to include Bhojpuri in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution," Sisodia added.
The Delhi government has also decided to arrange free coaching for students who appear in competitive exams like those for IAS/civil services with Maithili as an optional subject, he said.
"They will get coaching for Maithili for the exams. We have done the experiment with Sanskrit and have got good results.The Maithili Bhojpuri academy will arrange for the free coaching for the students," the deputy chief minister said.
He said there is no computer font for Maithili. The Delhi government has taken a major step to have a font for the language, Sisodia said.
"The government is in touch with Pune-based C-DAC for the same. We will get C-DAC to make the Maithili font and then will give it to the users," Sisodia said.
According to the government, there is no scheme yet to felicitate those who have contributed richly to the languages Maithili and Bhojpuri.
Now, there will be awards for those who work for Maithili-Bhojpuri arts, culture, journalism, theatre and others, Sisodia said.
There are 10 categories of the awards, including 'Shikhar Samman Maithili: Lifetime achievement award (Rs. 2.5 lakhs)' and 'Shikhar Samman Bhojpuri: Lifetime achievement award (Rs. 2.5 lakhs)'.
The government has also planned a five-day Maithili-Bhojpuri festival in the first or second week of November in Connaught Place.
"We have already been celebrating language festivals in Connaught Place for the last three-four years. It has always received a good response," he also added.