About Maithili Language

• Maithili belongs to the eastern sub-group of the Indo-Aryan branch of languages.
  • It is believed to have evolved from Magadhan Prakrit.
  • The poet Vidyapati (14th century) popularized Maithili, establishing its importance in literature and folk culture.
• It was added to the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution in 2003, making it one of the 22 officially recognized languages of India.
  • It is an optional subject in the UPSC exams, providing an opportunity for candidates to take it as a paper.
  • It was granted second official language status in Jharkhand in 2018.
• It is spoken primarily in Bihar and Jharkhand in India, with a significant presence in Nepal.
  • According to the 2011 Census, there are around 12 million Maithili speakers in India.
  • It is the second most spoken language in Nepal, especially in the Terai region.
• Mithilakshar, also known as Tirhuta, is the original script used for writing Maithili.
  • It belongs to the same family as Bangla, Assamese, Odia, Tibetan, and Nepali scripts.
  • The script’s oldest records date back to 950 AD, found in Sahodara stone inscriptions.

PYQ:

[2014] Consider the following languages:

1. Gujarati
2. Kannada
3. Telugu

Which of the above has/have been declared as ‘Classical Language/Languages’ by the Government?

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 3 only

(c) 2 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3