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Hindi Belt - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hindi Belt
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Hindi Belt or Hindi Heartland is a loosely defined linguistic region in North and Central India
where varieties of Hindi in the broadest sense are widely spoken, either as primary or secondary
languages.[1] [2][3] It is sometimes also used to refer to states whose official language is Standard Hindi.

Contents
1 Regional definition
2 Constituent regions
3 Demography
4 Location and geography
5 Climate
6 Political sphere

The Hindi Belt or region where the

varieties of Hindi in the broadest
sense are spoken.

7 References
8 External links

Regional definition
Sometimes it is also used to refer to states whose official language is Hindi. Only Gujarat and
Arunachal Pradesh has Hindi as official language outside Hindi Belt,[4] while in the southern state of
Telangana the mutually intelligible language of Urdu is official. It is not necessary that their mother
tongue is Hindi or Urdu. For instance Rajasthani people speak Rajasthani language, which has roots in
Old Gujarati and to communicate with outsiders they use Hindi. In Uttar Pradesh people speak Hindi
languages (including Awadhi and Braj Bhasha) and Bhojpuri. In Bihar people speak Hindi, Bhojpuri,
Magahi, Maithili and Angika. In Haryana people speak both Hindi and Haryanvi. In Himachal Pradesh
people know both Hindi and Pahari. In Madhya Pradesh, a large number of people speak Hindi and the
second most important common language is Marathi.[5][6][7] Other common languages include Malwi,
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The Central Zone or Hindi proper.

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Punjabi and Sindhi.[8] It is also interesting to note that people from these states are mostly bilingual. For instance, there is a large population in
Bihar that speaks both Hindi and Maithili and there is a significant population which is well versed in English, making them bilingual &
multilingual.[9][10]

Constituent regions
The Hindi belt is often considered as covering the following states of Northern Indian region where Hindi is spoken[11],[12],:[13]
Bihar
Uttar Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh
Haryana
Rajasthan
Himachal Pradesh
Uttarakhand
Chhattisgarh
Jharkhand
Delhi

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Native languages of Hindi Belt

Native language

State
Bihar

Hindi (Angika, Bhojpuri, Magahi, Maithili and Vajjika)

Uttar Pradesh

Hindi (Awadhi, Bhojpuri, Bagheli, Braj bhasha, Bundeli, Kannauji, Khari boli)

Haryana

Hindi (Haryanvi), Punjabi and Rajasthani language in some parts

Rajasthan

Rajasthani language Punjabi

Himachal Pradesh Pahari Punjabi

Uttarakhand

Kumaoni, Garhwali, Hindi Punjabi

Chhattisgarh

Chhattisgarhi language, Hindi

Jharkhand

Bengali, Santali

Madhya Pradesh

Hindi (Bagheli, Bundeli, Khari boli, Malvi)

The National Capital Territory of Delhi also lie in this belt.

States in India by official

language.

The states of Indo-Aryan languages Punjab, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Odisha, West Bengal and Jammu and Kashmir are not regarded as a part of
the Hindi belt for their official language is not Hindi but one of the other Indo-Aryan languages .

Demography
The heartland supports about a third of India's population and occupies about a quarter of its geographical area. The population is concentrated
along the fertile Ganges plain in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Bihar.
Although the vast majority of the population is rural, significant urban cities include Chandigarh, Panchkula, Delhi, Lucknow, Kanpur,
Allahabad, Jaipur, Agra, Varanasi, Indore, Bhopal, Patna and Ranchi. The region hosts a diverse population, with various dialects of Hindi
being spoken along with other Indian languages, and multi-religious population including Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs along with people from
various castes and a significant tribal population. The geography is also varied, with the flat, alluvial Gangetic plain occupying the northern
portion, the Vindhyas in Madhya Pradesh demarcating the southern boundary and the hills and dense forests of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh
separate the region from West Bengal and Odisha.

Location and geography

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The heartland is located in North and Central India. The highly fertile, flat, alluvial Gangetic plain occupies the northern portion, the Vindhyas
in Madhya Pradesh demarcate the southern boundary and the hills and dense forests of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh lie in the east.

Climate
The region has a predominantly subtropical climate, with cool winters, hot summers and moderate
monsoons. The climate does vary with latitude somewhat, with winters getting cooler and rainfall
decreasing. It can vary significantly with altitude, especially in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh.

Political sphere
Over years political development in some of these states are dominated by caste based politics. In
several parts, upper caste people had a disproportionate hold on political life. But this trend has
changed in recent years.[14]

Indo-Gangetic Plain

References
1. ^ B.L. Sukhwal (1985), Modern Political Geography of India (http://books.google.com/books?id=HemAAAAAIAAJ), Stosius Inc/Advent Books
Division, "... In the Hindi heartland ..."
2. ^ Stuart Allan, Barbie Zelizer (2004), Reporting war: journalism in wartime (http://books.google.com/books?id=skdoYDs1e8AC), Routledge, ISBN 0415-33998-7, "... located in what is called the "Hindi heartland" or the "Hindi belt" of north and central India ..."
3. ^ B.S. Kesavan (1997), Origins of printing and publishing in the Hindi heartland (Volume 3 of History of printing and publishing in India : a story of
cultural re-awakening) (http://books.google.com/books?id=8JDgAAAAMAAJ), National Book Trust, ISBN 81-237-2120-X
4. ^ Fatihi, A.R. (September 9, 2003), Urdu in Gujarat (http://www.languageinindia.com/sep2003/urduingujarat.html), Language in India 3, retrieved
2007-07-16
5. ^ Madhya Pradesh (http://www.whereincity.com/india/madhya-pradesh/)
6. ^ Madhya Pradesh (http://www.zeenews.com/election09/state.aspx?sid=19&Isid=758&Nid=793)
7. ^ Facts about Marathi language (http://www.britannica.com/facts/5/1030475/Marathi-language-as-discussed-in-Madhya-Pradesh-state-India)
8. ^ Indore Culture (http://www.indorecity.net/culture/index.html)
9. ^ Maithili linguistic research (http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-81827123.html)
10. ^ Language, Religion and Politics in North India By Paul R. Brass (http://books.google.co.in/books?
id=SylBHS8IJAUC&pg=PA92&lpg=PA92&dq=people+of+bihar+are+bilingual&source=bl&ots=HokIS0TkmX&sig=ZZcr67QYEb5uvsfgopQOOhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindi_Belt

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nQzgM&hl=en&ei=2WCbS8WPCsG0rAeIm_WNAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9&ved=0CCUQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=people%20
of%20bihar%20are%20bilingual&f=false)
11. ^ "BJP sweeps out Congress in Hindi heartland" (http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-2806514_ITM). PTI - The Press Trust of
India Ltd. December 4, 2003.
12. ^ http://www.indianexpress.com/oldstory.php?storyid=78641
13. ^ http://www.123exp-geography.com/t/18624429910/
14. ^ The Rise of the OBC in Hindi Belt (http://www.jstor.org/pss/2658585)

External links
On The Problems Of The Hindi Belt: A Seminar (http://pd.cpim.org/2005/0403/04032005_nalini.htm)
III. INTRODUCTION TO HINDI (http://charm.cs.uiuc.edu/~bhatele/hindi/hindi_intro.htm)
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hindi_Belt&oldid=627634741"
Categories: Regions of India Linguistic history of India Belt regions North India
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