Bhojpuri: A language characterised by melody and frankness

BHOJPURI is one of the popular languages of India, spoken mainly in the eastern part of Uttar Pradesh, western part of Bihar, Jharkhand, Nepal, Mauritius (national language), Guyana, Surinam, Trinidad & Tobago, Fiji, Singapore, Malaysia and South Africa. In fact, the Bhojpuri language is spoken on all the six continents. The total number of speakers of Bhojpuri all over the world is approximately 125 million.

There is a lot of variation because of the interaction with the neighbouring areas. The Bhojpuri of eastern UP areas (Balia, Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Azamgarh, Deoria, etc.) and western Bihar (Ara, Chapra, Motihari, etc.) may be assumed to be the standard form of the language. The Bhojpuri of Allahabad and the surrounding areas is mixed with Awadhi; similarly, the Bhojpuri of Vaishali is influenced by Maithili and Bajjika. The Bhojpuri in Mauritius is flavoured with French. Local influence may have affected the language in Fiji, Surinam and Trinidad. But these variations, however, are no impediment.

Bhojpuri is characterised by its melody and its people by their frankness and straight-forwardness. Poets and philosophers such as Amir Khusru, Tulsidas and Kabirdas used Bhojpuri to pass their messages to the world. Many great personalities were born in the Bhojpuri region. Sher Shah Suri, Mangal Pandey, Veer Kaur Singh, Maulana Mazharul Haque, Dr Rajendra Prasad (first president of India), Shaheed Abdul Hameed, Jayaprakash Narayan, Jagjivan Ram, Chandra Shekhar and Vishwanath Pratap Singh are among them.

The Bhojpuri language and its personalities have contributed much to Indian art and literature. Premchand, Firaq Gorakhpuri, Kaifi Azmi, Moti B.A., Shabana Azmi, Amitabh Bachchan, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Bismillah Khan, Anand Milind, Chitragupt, Rakesh Pande, Manoj Bajpai are a few among them. Also, the land of Bhopuri has given Thumri dance to the Indian people.

The contribution of Bhojpuri in Hindi films has been great. Lagaan, based on Bhojpuri dialect, had been nominated for Oscar. Other hits include Ganga Jamuna, Mangal Pandey, Milan and Teesri Kasam. Many Bhojpuris have achieved great honour outside India. They include Nobel prize winner for literature V.S. Naipaul (Trinidad), Bhagat Jagdev (former president of Ghana), Dr N. C. Ramghulam (former president of Mauritius), Pratap Narayan Radhakishun (former prime minister of Surinam) and Vasudev Pandey (former prime minister of Trinidad).

Bhojpuris started settling down in different parts of the world as early as the late 18th century as farm labourers in Oceania, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean Islands. These people took in their blood the great Indian Bhojpuri culture, the spirituality, the love for humanity and compassion, the religious tolerance and a longing for better and prosperous life

Amar Singh's brother calls him an 'autocrat'

Press Trust of India Lucknow, September 22, 2005

Arvind Singh, younger brother of Samajwadi party general secretary Amar Singh, has accused the elder sibling of "autocratic" style of functioning and said he plans to quit the party and join BSP.

"Discontentment against his (Amar Singh's) autocratic style of functioning is brewing in the party," Arvind Singh said over phone from Azamgarh, his home district.

Arvind claimed a sizeable number of old and dedicated SP workers from the district have evinced interest in quitting the party in protest against Amar Singh's "autocratic style of functioning".

"Amar Singh is calling the shots in the party simply because he has the financial resources at his command," according to Arvind.

Arvind alleged Amar Singh had conspired to have Azamgarh district SP general secretary Bijendra Singh expelled from the party after the latter opposed his style of functioning.
"Amar Singh was against my becoming active in politics and became jealous of my rising popularity graph in the district, especially after I helped SP win the prestigious Lalganj Lok Sabha seat in last parliamentary elections," Arvind charged.

Asked about his future strategy, Arvind said he had kept all his options open. "Politics is a game of possibilities," he said when asked whether he could join BSP.

"There is nothing wrong in joining the BSP as long as it accords me due respect and honour," he said, adding "We are in touch with the BSP".

Arvind also challenged his elder brother to contest elections from anywhere in the district.

Girl raped in AC coach of Toofan Express

September 14, 2005 06:28 IST

A girl travelling alone in an air conditioned coach of Delhi-Howrah Toofan Express train was on Tuesday found in a semi-conscious state at Madhupur in Jharkhand's Deogar district amidst suspicion that she was raped, a senior railway police official said.

Superintendent of Police (Railway) Dhanbad Division Sidho Hembram said the police suspect the girl, said to be from Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh, was allegedly sexually assaulted in the train.

The travelling ticket examiner and the coach attendant have been detained in connection with the incident, he said and added the police were looking for two other suspects.

"She (girl) claims she has been raped but she is still in a semi-conscious state. Only after she recovers we can get a clear picture," the SP said, adding FIR has not yet been filed as the girl was not clear in her statement.

He said prima facie it seemed the girl had fled from her home.