” There have been demands for inclusion of certain languages in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution. It is proposed to include Konkani, Manipuri and Nepali languages in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution. The Bill seeks to give effect to this decision. The Nepali language is also known in some areas as “Gorkha Bhasa”. In the Census operations, other nomenclatures such as “Gorkhali”, “Gorkdhi”, “Gurkhiya”, “Khaskura” or “Naipali” have also been used ” – Sri Shankarrao Chavan, the then Minister of Home Affairs.
The 71st Amendment of the Constitution of India, formally known as the Constitution (Seventy-First Amendment) Act, 1992, brought a historic change by adding Konkani, Meitei (Manipuri), and Nepali to the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. With this recognition, 20th August came to be celebrated every year as Nepali Bhasa Manyata Diwas by Nepali-speaking communities across India and by the Indian Nepali diaspora worldwide. Although Nepali received constitutional status in 1992, the movement for its recognition had begun much earlier—over several decades of sustained cultural and political effort.
The roots of this journey go back to 25th May 1924, with the founding of the Nepali Sahitya Samelan in Darjeeling. It was here that scholars, writers, and intellectuals collectively embraced the term “Nepali” to describe the language. This terminology gained further legitimacy when Calcutta University officially recognized Nepali on 30th May 1932.
However, the path to constitutional recognition was not smooth. During the tenure of Dr. B. C. Roy, Chief Minister of West Bengal from 1948 to 1962, census figures were reportedly manipulated, diminishing the recorded population of Nepali speakers while inflating that of Bengali speakers. This raised widespread alarm among Nepali-speaking communities, who saw it as a majoritarian attempt to undermine their linguistic identity. Fears of cultural erasure mobilized the community, and language became a symbol of protection, a shield for identity.
These concerns sparked the Bhasa Andolan, a sustained language movement that began in the 1950s. The struggle continued for decades and ultimately culminated in the victory of 1992, when Nepali was finally included in the Eighth Schedule.
Meanwhile, Darjeeling in the 1960s had become a fertile ground for political debate and intellectual engagement. Local establishments such as Maya Restaurant and Dilkush Restaurant emerged as important meeting points. Leaders and thinkers from political groups like the Gorkha League, Congress, Communist parties, RSP, and others would gather in these cafés to discuss development issues, reforms, and the political future of the region. These informal yet influential spaces played a quiet but significant role in shaping the political consciousness of the hills.
In Picture : In 1967, the then Municipality Chairman J.B.Thapa and Vice Chairman Indra Bahadur Rai along with Municipality commissioners ( N. Chachan, Chandrakanta Ghising, Jagat Chettri, Lakpa Tshering, Dr. G. S. Gurung, Ariel Pradhan ) welcoming the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to Darjeeling Municipality.
On 31 March 1961, a significant political gathering took place at the Gorkha Dukha Niwarak Sammelan Bhawan in Darjeeling, an event that became a milestone in the history of the Nepali language movement. The meeting brought together prominent intellectuals, writers, and community leaders such as Ganeshlal Subba, Indra Bahadur Rai, Nar Bahadur Gurung, Man Bahadur Gurung, and several others who shared a collective commitment to securing linguistic recognition for the Nepali-speaking community.
This gathering led to the formation of the Zilla Bhasa Manyata Samiti, a district-level committee that would go on to play a pivotal role in the Bhasa Andolan. Ganeshlal Subba was appointed as the President of the Samiti, and the committee included a distinguished group of members: Indra Bahadur Rai, Chandra Kanta Ghising, Bal Bahadur Chettri, Anand Prasad Pathak, Tarak Kumar Karki, Agam Singh Giri, Prem Thapa, Bhanubhakta Kumai, Pema Tshering Lama, Mahananda Subba, Gokul Singh Gajmer, R. T. Ali, Madan Kumar Thapa, Lakshmi Lohar, Gumansingh Chamling, Lakpa Tshering Sherpa, T. S. Gurung, and Teel Bikram Nembang, popularly known by his pen name Bairagi Kaila.
The establishment of the Zilla Bhasa Manyata Samiti marked a crucial organizational step in the long struggle for the constitutional recognition of the Nepali language. Its members worked tirelessly across cultural, literary, and political fronts, making the Samiti one of the most influential bodies in the broader Bhasa Andolan Movement.
From the 1970s onward, branches of the Akhil Bharatiya Nepali Samiti began to emerge across India, strengthening the organisational network of the Nepali-speaking community and uniting voices from different states under a common linguistic identity.
A major moment of solidarity came on 18 February 1984, when groups of supporters undertook padyatras from Dehradun to Delhi’s Gandhi Ghat, where they offered floral tributes. Individuals such as Chandrasita Laksham participated in this long march. These padyatras infused the movement with renewed energy and conviction, reinforcing pride, commitment, and emotional connection to the Nepali language.
Another landmark phase unfolded in 1990, when a crucial meeting was convened in Gangtok, Sikkim. This gathering resulted in the formation of the Bharatiya Nepali Rashtriya Parishad, an organization that would take the language movement to the national stage. During this period, Smt. Dilkumari Bhandari introduced the Nepali Language Recognition Bill as a Private Member’s Bill in Parliament. The Bill secured an overwhelming majority, 343 votes in the Lok Sabha, and received near-unanimous support in the Rajya Sabha, marking an important step toward the eventual constitutional recognition of the Nepali language.
References
- Himalaya Darpan, Nepali Bhasa Mang ko Yatra, Bhim Subba.
- Himalaya Darpan, Yuga ko Antya, Yuga ko Samjhana.
- Kehi Charchit Wyaktitwa haru (Pahilo Khand), Jiwan Lawar.
By,
S. K. Ghising
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