Ravi Kishan says Bhojpuri is not just about 'Kamariya' and 'Lollipop Lagelu'; passes bill in parliament to make it official language
Ravi Kishan is on a mission to change how the world perceives the Bhojpuri language. Recently, he introduced a private member Bill in the Lok Sabha, aiming to include Bhojpuri in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. This move, according to Kishan, is long overdue.
For the unversed, the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution defined 14 languages in 1950. These included Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu. In 1967, the 21st amendment to the constitution added Sindhi as one of the languages in the eighth schedule.
Breaking Stereotypes
Kishan is frustrated with the narrow view many have of Bhojpuri, often associated only with popular, sometimes crude, songs like «Kamariya» and «Lollipop Lagelu.» He emphasizes that Bhojpuri is spoken or understood by 25 crore people in India and is the second most spoken language in Mauritius. «People think of Bhojpuri as only the songs we've heard, but it has its own rich literature,» he explains. «Our late President of India, Rajendra Prasad ji, was connected to the first Bhojpuri film, Ganga Maiyaa Tohri Piyari Chadhaibo (1963).»
The 55-year-old star, a significant figure in the Bhojpuri film industry, wants to highlight the sweetness and depth of the language. «Because of a few money-minded people making those kinds of films or songs, we can't say that's all Bhojpuri is about,» Kishan asserts. «There's a sweetness in the language, and bringing that forward was my intention as a Lok Sabha
