Language Commission recommends province-wise official languages before government

Kathmandu: The Language Commission has recommended different languages for province-wise use for official works.

The Commission formed in line with the Constitution has also presented criteria and bases of languages suggested for opting as official languages in provinces. The Commission handed a report along with the recommendations to Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba amidst a programme at Baluwatar today. Commission Chair Dr Lavadev Awasthi had been in the Prime Minister’s official residence to present the report to the Executive Chief. On the occasion, the Prime Minister expressed acknowledgement for the Commission’s ability to complete its major assignment within the deadline. The Commission was formed on September 8, 2016, in accordance with Article 287 of the Constitution with the main mandate of recommending official languages in addition to the Nepali language within the five years.

According to Article 7 (2) of the Constitution, a Province may, by a province law, determine one or more than one language of the nation spoken by a majority of people within the province as its official language(s), in addition to the Nepali language and other matters relating to language shall be as decided by the Government of Nepal, on the recommendation of the Language Commission. The Commission’s recommendations are based on the size of the population, writing system, archiving, basic service basis, language medium of education, concentration and expansion of speakers, linguistic vitality, communication usage, technology-oriented language, language speakers and language community. As per the recommendation, it has been suggested to bring Maithili and Limbu as the official languages out of the 14 national languages with more than one per cent speakers in Province No.1.

As per the recommendations, Maithili and Limbu languages have been suggested as official languages in Province 1. The population of Maithili speaking people is 11.19 per cent in the Province followed by 7.31 per cent of the Limbu language. The population of the Nepali language speakers stands at 43.07 per cent. Likewise, Maithili, Bhojpuri and Bajjika languages have been recommended in Province 2.

The size of the Maithili population is 45.30 per cent followed by 18.58 per cent of Bhojpuri, 14.65 per cent of Bajjika and 6.67 per cent of Nepali language. Likewise, Tamang and Newari languages have been recommended for Bagmati province, home to 18.32 per cent of the Tamang population and 12.30 per cent of Newar people. The number of Nepali speaking people stands at 57.42 per cent in the Province. The languages recommended for Gandaki Province include the Magar language with 9.03 per cent speakers, the Gurung language with 7.85 per cent and the Bhojpuri language having 7.07 per cent speakers. The Nepali language speaking population in this province comprises 67.88 per cent of the total population of the province.

Similarly, the Tharu language having 13.15 per cent speakers and the Awadhi language having 11.52 per cent speakers is recommended for the Lumbini province. The number of Nepali language speakers in this province is 54.70 per cent. The only language of the nation in the province- the Magar language- has been recommended for the Karnali province. The Magar language speaking population in this province is 2.26 per cent while the Nepali language speaking population is the highest at 95.14 per cent. For the Sudurpaschim province, the Dotyali language with 30.45 per cent speakers and the Tharu language with 17.01 per cent speakers have been recommended to be developed as the language for official use. The number of Nepali language speakers in this province is 30.18 per cent. Dr Awasthi said the Commission has stated that the local levels could also implement the language for official use based on the set criteria. The Commission had formed an Advisory Group for preparing the report along with the recommendations. The Group comprised of experts Bairagi Kainla, Dr Jagaman Gurung, Prof Hridayaratna Bajracharya, Prof Ambar Raj Joshi, Prof Yogendra Prasad Yadava, Prof Choodamani Bandhu, Prof Tej Ratna Kansakar, Prof Madhav Prasad Pokharel, Prof Nobel Kishor Rai, Prof Jeevendra Dev Giri, Prof Danraj Regmi, Prof Dubinanda Dhakal, Dr Balaram Prasain and Dr Rudra Laxmi Shrestha.

A high-level province-wide report drafting committee was also formed. The Commission submitted its Fifth Annual Report, 2021 to President Bidya Devi Bhandari on Sunday. It stated in its report that the language of official use and other languages of the nation were in a weak situation due to the influence of English. For the promotion of the national language, the Commission has suggested that it would not be appropriate to make the English language which is not recognized by the Constitution of Nepal, as the official and companion language as well as to using it in the vehicles operating within Nepal. Noting that works like expanding the English medium education from the primary level itself is against Article 7(1) of the Constitution, the Commission has recommended it would be in consonance with the Constitution to keep the embossed number on vehicles in the language determined as the official language by the province concerned, besides the official language and the Nepali language, as suits the technology. The report states that the commitment for ensuring the fundamental right to get education in the mother language should come from the local level. The total 131 languages along with additional eight ones identified by the Commission are spoken in the country.

Of them, 74 languages have been spoken by less than 10,000 population. Of least spoken languages, the ones spoken orally and by a small population include the Dura, Kusunda, Titung, Baram and Lungkhim languages, which have been at risk of disappearance. The total 123 languages have been spoken in the country, according to the census, 2011. In the country, 44.64 per cent population uses Nepali language as their mother tongue and 32.28 per cent as a secondary language. Each person and community has a right to use their mother tongue and participate in cultural life and promote and protect their language, script, culture, cultural civilisation and heritages, according to Article 32 of the Constitution.

Recommended official language Province 1: Maithili and Limbu Province 2: Maithili, Bhojpuri and Bajjika Bagmati Province: Tamang and Newar Gandaki Province: Magar, Gurung and Bhojpuri Lumbini Province: Tharu and Awadhi Karnali Province: Magar Sudurpaschim Province: Dotyali and Tharu