Page 62 - A GRAMMAR OF BHOJPURI _ PhD Dissertation 2020 TU

and other different countries worldwide due to indentured labour in the past and
foreign employment contemporarily.

From Bhojpur, a place near Baxar belonging to the district of Bhojpur in the
northern Indian state of Bihar, the language named Bhojpuri and the inhabitants
Bhojpurias are thought to have spread in western Bihar and Eastern Uttar Pradesh along

with some other provinces in India as well as in the adjacent Madheshi territory of
Nepal from Sarlahi in the east till Rupandehi in the west. This Bhojpuri speaking belt

was divided into two countries following the Sugauli Treaty reached between the then
Government of Nepal and the East India Company, ruling in India on behalf of the then

Government of the United Kingdom, in 1816. In reality, the Bhojpurias do not feel any
linguistic and cultural boundary due to unhindered and regular movement among each

other between the two states besides the political partition into two countries.
Grierson (1903:41-2) traces out some 50,000 square miles of area covered by
Bhojpuri within Nepal and India as well as three main varieties of the language – the

standard , the western and Nagpuria – along with Madhesi and Tharu. Tiwari (1954:9-
11/1960:xxiv-vi) traces out some 43,000 square miles of area covered by Bhojpuri

within the two countries and five varieties of the language – the northern standard, the
southern standard, the western standard, Nagpuria, and Nepal variety which is the

concern of this study. Map of the common Bhojpuri speech zone within Nepal and
India is presented in Annex II.

The Bhojpuri civilization has commenced from wild lifestyle. It has still been
relied basically upon agriculture. That is why; the Bhojpurias have gathered their
recognition in the field of agriculture and animal farming. They grow food-grains,

fruits, lentils, vegetables, oil-seeds and keep cows, buffaloes, goats and so on.
But majority of Bhojpurias still have no means other than selling labour as a

consequence of medieval feudal economy giving birth to capitalism. Bhojpurias
scattered in Diaspora have reached in different parts of the world due to the same reason
seeking for a sale of their physical labour in global market. Furthermore, Grierson

(1927:151) portrays Bhojpuri speech community as an alert and active nationality with
few scruples and considerable abilities they have spread over Aryan India, each man

ready to carve his fortune out of any opportunity that may present itself.
Madhesh (terrain land) is the granary of Nepal and Bhojpuri area is renowned

there for the highest fertility. Bhojpurias are still there in their ancestral occupation,
agriculture and animal farming.

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