How Modernisation Deleted Bhariati Dialect

In a report published recently, it has been found that India has lost around 250 languages in the last 50 years and 196 more have been declared endangered by UNESCO

On a sweltering summer evening, Inder Chalthiya and the other members of his tribe were out in the wild, preparing for a ritual of sacrificing an animal to the village gods. Inder was responsible for handling the final moments of the goat. He was supposed to follow the instructions given by a tribe elder but could not understand properly what the elder said in the local tongue and the animal lying on its back moved. Inder is a college student and a member of Bharia tribe, a Primitive Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG). He was home to take part in the rituals of a wedding in his family but he faltered at the last moment as he couldn’t understand the Bhariati dialect, which is used by members of his tribe.

ON THE DECLINE

The members of the group are confined to the Patalkot region in the Chhindwara district of Madhya Pradesh. They inhabit 12 villages spread across the foothills of the Satpura mountain range in Tamia block of the district. Inder belongs to the modern generation of the Bharia tribe who have never spoken the native Bhariati dialect, even at home as the conversations have shifted to Hindi.

While there are 3,300 Bharias, only about 20-30 can speak and understand the dialect without a script.