language

The Rajbanshi language of Nepal
Overview
The Rajbanshi people and their language are officially recognised by His Majesty’s
Government of Nepal Ministry of Local Development. The Rajbanshi language is atherclosely related to both Bengali and Assamese (Sanyal 1965:250). There are also reported tobe two speech varieties closely related to Rajbanshi in the Jhapa and Morang areas. Theseare the Tajpuria and Gangai. It has been said by various Rajbanshi mother tongue speakersthat the Tajpuria variety is more closely related to Rajbanshi than the Gangai variety.
The large number of language groups that live in the eastern Terai has created a
multilingual situation that has affected the form of Rajbanshi that is spoken in the area. In Morang district, the Rajbanshi people live among Tharu, Maithili, Dhimal, Hindi, and Nepali speakers. In Jhapa district, they live among Bengalis, Nepalis, and several language groups from the northern hills. This highly multilingual situation has led to frequent occurrences of Rajbanshi mixing with these other languages.

Origin and linguistic classification

The Rajbanshi spoken today is a form of the original Koch language. Occasionally theRajbanshi people are still referred to as “Koch” by other people groups. Alternate spellingsfor this language are Rajbansi and Rajbangsi. The Rajbanshi language is classified asIndo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan, Eastern Zone, Bengali-Assamese (Grimes2000:582).

Varieties of Rajbanshi in Nepal

Despite the fact that there has been a fair amount of linguistic and sociological researchconducted among the Rajbanshi of India, very little linguistic research has been done among the Rajbanshi people in Nepal. As a result of this, the initial background research regarding what is known so far concerning the different varieties of Rajbanshi spoken in Nepal was primarily conducted through informal interviews with Rajbanshi people who are working in Kathmandu. From these initial interviews, there appeared to be three varieties of Rajbanshi spoken in the Jhapa and Morang districts. This project’s findings regarding the varieties of
Rajbanshi can be found in Chapter 3, Dialect Areas.

Language development

There have been several works of literature produced in the Rajbanshi language. TheRajbanshi literature that is produced in India is written in the Bengali script, whereas theRajbanshi literature that is produced in Nepal is written in the Devanagari script. These include booklets on the history of the Rajbanshi people, a general description of grammar (from Grierson’s work in India), a Nepali to Rajbanshi dictionary, poetry, and a description of the life and culture of the Rajbanshi. There is also a magazine that is put out by the Rajbanshi Development Committee. This magazine is written in both Rajbanshi and Nepali.
The Rajbanshi Development Committee was established in 1993 and, at this writing, has eleven members. The main office for the committee is located in the city of Bhadrapur, Jhapa district. The current Chairman is Phul Singh Rajbanshi and the Vice Chairman is Thapnu Lal Rajbanshi. The committee is seeking to improve the lives of the Rajbanshi people as well as to preserve their culture and language. They have conducted several workshops in which Rajbanshi women have learned to read and write as well as to engage in trades such as printing and weaving. The committee is also taking steps to promote further literature development in Rajbanshi. Future goals of the committee include further social work for Rajbanshi women and children, research into the history of the Rajbanshi people, and the development of a Rajbanshi language institute.