Nishu Ji Lochan / Our Bureau

Anga Pradesh having its capital, Champa once towered tall in the eastern parts of India due to its literacy, cultural and philosophical arrogance. Passing time has forgotten Champa or the famous world University, Vikramshila Buddha Mahavihara.

So condition of Angika is the same, the local dialect of Anga Pradesh is also affected by the same century old apathy!

Bhagalpur strongly in the grip of full enthusiasm today.

But for the first time in the history of entire Anga Pradesh, an impressive human chain for tagging one of the oldest ancient dialect in eastern region of this country to the Eight schedule of the constitution,  was formed at Sandis Compound ground.

Hundreds of Angika speaking people including many others who use different languages and dialects also formed the impressive human chain.

People from different walks of lives including a sizable number of women and children too joined in the human chain for rising their demand to include Angika into the Eight  schedule of constitution of India like other 22 Indian languages enlisted to it.  Some of the local public representatives also joined in the human chain despite the facts that they hardly highlighted the demand earlier either at the floors of assembly or at parliament.

The upbeat public mood for the first time has changed the prospects of the long awaited demand but the section of intellectuals lambasted the policy makers and the political parties.

“How long we will tolerate such step motherly attitude, Champa was a flourishing Maha janpad  among the 16 the Maha Janpad of India  during 6 th century BC. Vikramshila remains a forgotten chapter despite the fact that today’s Buddhism is surviving many prosperous countries mainly due to Vikramshila. And the condition of  our mother tong , Angika is almost alike the golden past of this region,” painfully said Lakhan Lal Pathak, a social activist.

part of today’s human chain.

“Since Angika is not tagged in the Eight schedule of the constitution, it has never been any proper patronage. While it is one of the oldest dialect created by Saharpa, the famous monk-turned-teacher at Vikramshila Buddha Mahavihara mainly from Apbhransh. The other many contemporary  languages born at that time were earlier enlisted in the Eight schedule of the constitution of India,” said Amrendra, a noted scholar of Angika.

“How irresponsible the government machineries are? Look Anga Pradesh is spread across 18 districts of eastern and northern Bihar along with neighbouring Jharkhand’s districts falling under Santhal Parganas division and just imagine a large number of Angika speaking people are still deprived off their fundamental  right,” said Raj Kumar, a noted Angika poet.

Many intellectuals criticized the government and also underlined the failure of the public representatives for not high lighting the issue. “Since the language is not included in the Eight schedule, it does not in the list of optional subject at the UPSC examination. Hence students from Anga Pradesh region do not get the chance for selecting Angika as one of their optional paper in the UPSC’s exam,” pointed out Ajit Sharma, local Congress MLA from Bhagalpur town constituency.

Ready to fight for the cause of Anga and Angika.

Ajit Kumar Singh a noted RTI activist disclosed that he recently filed a petition on right to information to know about the status of Pali language. “To my utter surprise I was told that Pali has never been included to Eight schedule of the constitution of India but most interestingly it was in the list of optional subjects in UPSC’s exam from 1993/94 to 2012. I however again filed petition under right to information to know how the language was included and how it excluded from the UPSC’s optional subject list. But in between the time there were 33 students having Pali as optional subject in their UPSC’s exam became  IAS and IPS officials,” he alleged.

However, Singh said that people of  Anga Pradesh have woke up from their slumber and would mount pressure on the government for acquiring the due status of their mother language. He and Gautam Suman, an Angika activist said that soon a committee would be formed in comparising  experts and a public interest litigation (PIL) would be filed at Supreme court of India.

“We shall overcome…..”!

“Today’s impressive human chain has lighted a flickering ray of hope in our hearts; we hope the places like Champa or Vikramshila while has been subjected to ignore, would be revived in the pattern of Bodh Gaya or Nalanda,” exclaimed Siv Shanker Singh Parijat and Raman Sinha, two Angika speaking historians.

Like of them, many here advocate for a strong and effective public movement for the cause of sovereignty of Anga and Angika.