KURMALI THAR TAPATI GHOSH 1.INTRODUCTION Kurmali Thar is presented in Indian Census as one of the Mother Tongues grouped under Hindi language. The term ‘Kurmali-Thar’ means the speech of the Kurmis where ‘ThaR’ stands for ‘speech’ in Kurmali. Kurmali is associated to Indo-Aryan language family and spoken in the eastern states of India. Having no script and written literature of its own, Kurmali elsewhere (either written in Devanagari Script or/and Kurmāli Chis Script, though Kaithi is also known) articulated as Kurmāli or Kudmāli. As the trade language it is otherwise known as Panchparganiā [see, Glottocode: kudm1238 or kyw/tdb, ISO 639-3] (cf. Lewis et al. 2014). Earlier, when we date back to the origin of Kurmali, it is believed to be the native tongue of Kurmi/Kudumi people. Etymologically, though scholars differ as to whether the terms are synonymous with Kunbi. The plethora of intriguing, a richly-documented research made by Dr. George Abraham Grierson (1903/1967: 149) in his pioneer work, Linguistic survey of India (during 1898-1927) it has affirmed that the speakers of Kurmali were found in all sides by boarder ranges and deeply fringed by various regions of Jharkhand, Bengal, Odisha and Madhya Pradesh. Alam (1996: 119) too has expressed the possibility that it is mainly used in Tamar, Silli, Baranda, Hazaribag, Chotonagpur and Bundu areas of Jharkhand State. Grierson (ibid.: 146, 147 & 327) maintained that there were nearly 40, 000 Kurmi inhabitantsof Odisha, speaking a form of Western Bengali, though the other Aryan speaking inhabitants of that area are having Odia as their native language. Demographically, although it is arduous to derive the exact users in the most linguistically diverse country like India, still then we have observed some averred efforts have been made to identify the numerous languages spoken as Mother Tongues (Pereltsvaig, 2012). One of such attempts is obviously the enumeration of languages by the Government of India. Beside the censuses enumeration, Lewis et al. (17th ed., 2014: 110 & 251) at Ethnologue® noted about 310, 000 Kurmali speakers; whereas the results of Indian Census-2001(2011’s data should be added) conflate some 425, 920 abstract speakers under Hindi as Kurmali Thar and of Bihari (Behari) dialects: Kurmali Thar; Magahi (see also, LC Linked Data Service of Library of Congress; 408 | P a g e Census of India, 2001). Well, the term “dialect” is not used in the India’s census enumeration except the number of languages/mother tongues spoken by people were collected as respondent based at Census 2001. However, Kurmali language is still un-standardised and vigorously used among all generations (see, e.g. Lewis et al., 2014: 110 & 251) and there may be multiple standard dialects associated with a single language and dependent on the user's frame of reference. Thus, quite interestingly for the first time, the neighbouring country Nepal too enumerated of having 99.26 cumulative Kurmali speakers as their Mother Tongue in Nepal Census-2001 (as cited in Yadav, 2007). Eminent ethnographers and linguists have claimed on the evaluation and interpreted the origin of Kurmali language in different ways. The term 'tribal' one may mean as primitive, undeveloped, etc. and their language are apparently without grammar speech, which is a misnomer, as Pattanayak (1995) opine. According to Professor V.C Māhane, “Kurmali is a form of that language which is spoken in Sheoneri, the birth place of Shivaji and its neighbouring villages (as cited in Mohānta Burmā, 1986)”. Māhāto (1983: pref.) says, “Kurmali is a lingua- franca of Chotonagpur or broadly speaking of Jharkhand. It is most ancient and mother of other dialectical languages known as Nagpuria, Golwary, Sadani (Sadri), Panch Pargania, Sikhria, Mathuary, Chhattisgari Habli, and Bagheli”. Basanta K. Mohanta (2011: 23) has a different view about Kurmi tribe. He attributed them as Kudumi (Kudmi/Kurmi) and inhabitant of Jharkhand, part of West Bengal (Purulia, Bankura and Midnapur) and Orissa (Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar). 1.1 Family Affiliation So far as the references like Linguistic Survey of India by Sir George Abraham Grierson, Report of Census of India 1931 by Lacey, Census of India 1961 Vol. I, pt. II c (ii) Language Table etc. are concerned, the speech ‘Kurmali Thar’ - a form of Aryan-Speech-Family - is originally used by the ‘Kurmis’ who are ethnically of the Dravidian stock, but, later on completely shifted to this Aryan form of speech replacing their own tongue because of their age long settlement in the Aryan belt. 409 | P a g e 1.2 Location It is mainly spoken in the fringe area of Manbhum (currently Purulia) district of West Bengal, Mayurbhanjh and Keonjhar districts of Orissa as well as Ranchi and Singhbhum districts of Bihar. 1.3 Speaker’s strength: Mother tongue and Bilingualism In Census report of 2011 the Kurmali Thar has been returned as mother tongue, grouped under Hindi language, by 3,11,175 speakers at all-India level and the major concentration of speakers are in West Bengal (2,18,226); Orissa (90,052), Assam (1919), Bihar (103) and Jharkhand (43). While Census does not offer bilingual data for Kurmali-Thar, the speech itself is returned as bilingual tongue or “other tongue” by a good number of tribes in 1961 Census,Such as, Bhumij, Ho, Kharia, Lohara/Lohar, Mahli, Munda, Oraon, Santal and Savara. TOTAL RURAL URBAN State/District Person Male Female Person Male Female Person Male Female 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Kurmali Thar INDIA 3,11,175 1,57,107 1,54,068 3,08,621 1,55,776 1,52,845 2,554 1,331 1,223 Himachal Pradesh 5 5 0 1 1 0 4 4 0 Chandigarh 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 Uttarakhand 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 Haryana 13 6 7 4 3 1 9 3 6 Nct Of Delhi 5 3 2 0 0 0 5 3 2 Rajasthan 4 3 1 0 0 0 4 3 1 Uttar Pradesh 21 14 7 1 1 0 20 13 7 Bihar 103 45 58 103 45 58 0 0 0 Sikkim 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 Arunachal Pradesh 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 Nagaland 3 1 2 0 0 0 3 1 2 Tripura 12 12 0 12 12 0 0 0 0 Assam 1919 992 927 1919 992 927 0 0 0 West Bengal 2,18,226 1,10,796 1,07,430 2,17,500 1,10,406 1,07,094 726 390 336 410 | P a g e Jharkhand 43 23 20 15 7 8 28 16 12 Odisha 90,052 44,817 45,235 88,412 43,989 44,423 1,640 828 812 Chhattisgarh 9 5 4 4 2 2 5 3 2 Gujarat 11 9 2 3 3 0 8 6 2 Maharashtra 707 346 361 643 311 332 64 35 29 Andhra Pradesh 9 6 3 0 0 0 9 6 3 Karnataka 16 10 6 0 0 0 16 10 6 Goa 5 3 2 0 0 0 5 3 2 Kerala 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 Tamil Nadu 5 5 0 0 0 0 5 5 0 Andaman & Nicobar Islands 2 1 1 0 0 0 2 1 1 District wise distribution of Kurmali Thar as a Mother tongue as per 2011 Census in Bihar state is as follows, Kurmali Thar BIHAR 103 45 58 103 45 58 0 0 0 Kishanganj 29 11 18 29 11 18 0 0 0 Katihar 70 32 38 70 32 38 0 0 0 Bhagalpur 4 2 2 4 2 2 0 0 0 1.4 Sociolinguistic Setting A. Role of Kurmali Thar as aMother Tongue Kurmali-Thar as a Mother Tongue is mainly used in the home-domain and local domain, i.e. parent-ego-children sphere and kin and locality sphere to exchange the views in informal communication network. Outside home domain, it is used as the mode of communication among different speakers in different phenomena as local market place, schools, and colleges etc. B. Role of Kurmali Thar as the medium of instruction Till last decade, Kurmali Thar has been known as a colloquial speech having no script of its own. But presently Kurmali speakers have adopted Devanagari script to represent their enriched folk-literature in print and to bring them into lime light for the development of their 411 | P a g e speech. To establish its status as a language an endeavour is made by introducing the speech for broadcasting programme, and is even introduced as a subject at university level with the medium of teaching being Kurmali Thar. At primary –school level, the lessons are taught through medium of Kurmali Thar in the speech area where both teacher and the taught are Kurmali speakers. C. Role of Kurmali-Thar in Judiciary In Judiciary, Kurmali Thar is used as mode of communication - orally emitted in argument and cross-examination of plaintiff and defendant and their witnesses while hearing of the case in done in both Hindi and Kurmali Thar and ‘judgment’ is passed exclusively in Hindi from Lower Court up to District-Court-level. D. Role of Kurmali-Thar in religious institutions In religious institution like temple, church etc congregation lectures and preaching are communicated in ‘Kurmali Thar’ in the area where most of the members are Kurmali speakers. In social ceremonies like marriage ceremony, funeral ceremony etc ‘mantras’ are enchanted in Kurmali Thar. The songs of the local festival like ‘Tusu’, ‘Bandhna’, ‘Karam’ etc are sung in Kurmali Thar.