Nepali as a matribhasa: Tracing the growth of Linguistic identity among the Nepali-speaking people in India

Abstract

Article traces the historical trajectory of language based identity formation among the Nepali speaking people in India. The paper focuses particularly on colonial Darjeeling Hill, where these people were concentrated. The article explores the geo-political and ethno-linguistic context of Nepali speakers in Nepal and India till the establishment of Nepali Sahitya Sammelan (1924), to understand the emergence of Nepali linguistic identity. The paper argues that the political and cultural necessity induced by the colonial policy led to the emergence of language-based identity among the Nepalis in British India.