Chhattisgarhi Language: Origin, Dialects, Literature & Media — CGPSC Paper I (Language), Part 3

Weightage: Part 3 of Paper I is the Chhattisgarhi language, one of three parts of a 200-mark paper. The syllabus lists the history and development of the language, literature and major authors, grammar, the Chhattisgarh Language Commission, and the role of media and cinema. This chapter covers the knowledge items in English so that you can prepare the facts. Grammar drills, unseen passages and translation between Hindi and Chhattisgarhi need daily practice in the language itself, and are outside this chapter.

1. Origin and classification

Chhattisgarhi is an Indo-Aryan language of the Eastern Hindi group. It descends from Ardhamagadhi Prakrit through Apabhramsha, and it is closest to Awadhi and Bagheli. It is written in the Devanagari script.

The Census of 2011 counted about 1.6 crore native speakers, and it is spoken across the plains of the state and in adjoining parts of Odisha and Maharashtra. Many more people speak it but are recorded under Hindi.

It is an official language of the state alongside Hindi, under the Chhattisgarh Official Language Act of 2007, and it is not yet in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.

2. Varieties and neighbouring languages

Chhattisgarhi is not uniform. Its principal varieties include the Surgujia of the north, the Sadri Korwa, and the Bilaspuri, Kawardhi (Khaltahi), Kamari, Baigani, Binjhwari and Bhulia forms in the plain and its edges. The speech of the central Raipur-Durg-Bilaspur belt is usually treated as the standard.

Several other languages share the state.

The exam usually asks the family and region, so learn the Indo-Aryan and Dravidian split.

3. Grammar in outline

Like Hindi, Chhattisgarhi has a subject-object-verb order and marks case with postpositions, such as ke (of), ma (in) and la (to). It has two genders and two numbers, and its pronouns include mor (my) and tor (your).

The first grammar was Hiralal Kavyopadhyay's work of the 1880s, which G. A. Grierson translated into English and published. That makes it one of the earliest grammars of a regional Hindi variety, and a common exam question.

4. Literature

Scholars divide the history of Chhattisgarhi literature into three periods.

Early and modern writers. Dharamdas, the disciple of Kabir who carried the Kabirpanth to the region, is associated with the devotional phase. Pandit Sundarlal Sharma, the freedom fighter, wrote the narrative poem Chhattisgarhi Dan Lila in the early twentieth century, a landmark of the modern period. Dr. Narendra Dev Verma wrote the state song.

The press. Chhattisgarh Mitra, a monthly begun at Pendra in 1900 by Madhavrao Sapre and Ramrao Chincholkar, is the region's early literary journal, and Sapre's short story Ek Tokri Bhar Mitti (1901) is often cited as an early Hindi short story.

Folk genres. Oral literature is the largest part of the tradition: songs such as Suwa, Karma and Bhojali, the epic Pandavani, ballads called gathas, riddles, proverbs and folktales. These link to the folk arts chapter.

5. Institution, state song and cinema

The Chhattisgarhi Rajbhasha Aayog. The Official Language Act was passed on 28 November 2007, and the Commission began work on 14 August 2008. Its task is to promote the language, and its use in administration, education and literature. 28 November is celebrated as Chhattisgarhi Language Day.

The state song. Arpa Pairi ke Dhar ("the streams of the Arpa and Pairi"), composed by Narendra Dev Verma, was formally adopted as the state song in November 2019. The title refers to two rivers of the plain.

Cinema. Kahi Debe Sandesh (1965), made by Manu Nayak, is the first Chhattisgarhi film. It dealt with untouchability, and it premiered in Durg and Bhatapara in April 1965. Mor Chhainha Bhuinya (2000), a commercial success after statehood, revived the film industry.

The language and theatre also meet in the Nacha tradition, and Habib Tanvir's plays used Chhattisgarhi speakers and performers.

Worked example 5.1 (an 8-mark answer, ~100 words). "Discuss the development of the Chhattisgarhi language and its official recognition."

Model answer. Chhattisgarhi belongs to the Eastern Hindi group of Indo-Aryan languages, descending from Ardhamagadhi Prakrit, and is written in Devanagari. Hiralal Kavyopadhyay wrote its first grammar in the 1880s, translated by Grierson.

Its literature developed through the Gatha, Bhakti and modern periods. After statehood in 2000, the Chhattisgarh Official Language Act of 2007 made it an official language with Hindi, and the Rajbhasha Aayog began work in August 2008. The demand for its inclusion in the Eighth Schedule remains pending.

Common traps CGPSC sets here

• Calling Halbi or Bhatri dialects of Chhattisgarhi. They are separate Indo-Aryan languages of Bastar.
• Calling Gondi and Kurukh Indo-Aryan. They are Dravidian.
• Saying Chhattisgarhi is in the Eighth Schedule. It is an official language of the state, not a scheduled language.
• Dating the state song to 2000. It was adopted in November 2019.
• Naming the wrong first film. It is Kahi Debe Sandesh (1965).

Memory aids

• "Gatha, Bhakti, Adhunik": the three periods.
• "2007 Act, 2008 Aayog, 28 November": the official-language dates.
• "Halbi, Bhatri, Sadri Indo-Aryan; Gondi, Kurukh Dravidian": the family split.

Summary

Chhattisgarhi is an Eastern Hindi language descended from Ardhamagadhi, with varieties across the plain and Indo-Aryan and Dravidian neighbours in the tribal areas. Its first grammar dates to the 1880s, its literature falls into Gatha, Bhakti and modern periods, and it became an official language under the Act of 2007.

The Rajbhasha Aayog works to promote it, the state song was adopted in 2019, and its cinema began with Kahi Debe Sandesh in 1965.

Exam protocol

• Give the family and region of every language named.
• Date the Act, the Commission and the state song exactly.
• Practise grammar, unseen passages and translation in the language, and not through summaries.