RESOLUTION TO HONOUR BHIKHARI THAKUR MEMORY AND CONSTITUTIONAL RECOGNITION OF BHOJPURI BHOJPURI UNITED SANGHARSH MORCHA FORMED CALL FOR BLOWING OF CONCH FOR CONSTITUTIONAL RECOGNITION OF BHOJPURI LANGUAGE

RESOLUTION TO HONOUR BHIKHARI THAKUR MEMORY AND CONSTITUTIONAL RECOGNITION OF BHOJPURI

BHOJPURI UNITED SANGHARSH MORCHA FORMED

CALL FOR BLOWING OF CONCH FOR CONSTITUTIONAL RECOGNITION OF BHOJPURI LANGUAGE

21-DEC-ENG 3

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

ARA-------------------------Bhikhari Thakur Lokotsav started as a festival of cultural and social consciousness and is not only dedicated to the memory of Bhikhari Thakur, popularly known as Shakespeare of Bhojpuri language, but is also a serious effort towards the preservation and promotion of Bhojpuri language and folk culture.

The 24^th edition of Bhikhari Thakur Lokotsav 2024 concluded with historic and exciting finale this year. This cultural festival gave rise to a new resolve towards respect and promotion of Bhojpuri language and culture. During the programme, Bhojpuri Joint Sangharsh Morcha was also formed with an objective to wage decisive struggle for the respect and promotion of the mother tongue Bhojpuri.

Bhojpur workers from different parts of the country such as Navin Singh of Ranchi, Nand Lal Tripathi of Gorakhpur, Umashankar Sahu of Chhapara, Narendra Singh of Ara were included in this front formed with the aim of preserving and promoting Bhojpuri. At the function, Bhikhari Thakur Memorial Award was presented by Bhikhari Thakur Social Research Institute to MP, Sudama Prasad for his contribution to Bhojpuri language and culture. Apart from this, Bhikhari Thakur Cultural Forum also distributed other annual honours to a folk singer of Gorakhpur, Ankita Pandit, theatre artist Ambuj Kumar, litterateur Jarandarn Mishra and others.

The fragrance off Bhojpuri folk singing also felt during the cultural programme organized on the occasion. A folk singer, Ankita Pandit of Gorakhpur, enthralled the audience with her Shiv Bhajan and Aalachari. Kamlesh Vyas mesmerised everyone with songs composed by Bhikhari Thakur and Devi Pachra. These presentations added a different colour to the ceremony and gave the audience a deep feeling of belonging to Bhojpuri culture.

Organizing Secretary, Ravi Kumar Suraj assured about the silver jubilee of this festival to be held next year and it will be celebrated in a more grand manner. A souvenir will also be published on this occasion. MP’s representative Dilraj Pritam also assured that he will provide all possible support for the Shailendra Memorial.

The festival proved that people’s dedication towards Bhojpuri language and culture is increasing day by day. The organization of the silver junilee of Lokotsav next year and the proposal to install the painting of Bhikhari Thakur in the local area further increased the importance of this event. Narendra Singh expressed his gratitude to all the guests and participants and added that Bhikhari Thakur Lokotsav 2024 was not only a symbol of respect for Bhojpuri Language and Culture, but also it was a step ahead in the direction where Bhojpuri will get its rightful place.

This festival is not limited to mere entertainment but also is being seen as the beginning of a decisive movement demanding identity and constitutional recognition of Bhojpuri language. The speakers called upon all the agitating organizations to unite under one umbrella and make this campaign successful. This Lokotsav is also not merely a medium to keep Bhojpuri literature and folk art alive but also encourages social and cultural unity. This even can prove to be a milestone for Bhojpuri language and culture if dedicated efforts are made through it. The speakers said that this event is a platform to get constitutional recognition of the identity of Bhojpuri language and culture along with cultural festival and it gave the message that collective efforts are needed to save Bhojpuri language and folk culture and to recognize their importance at the national level.