KATHMANDU: The recently tabled bill on official languages of government work in Koshi Province has triggered strong demands for the inclusion of Bantawa and Chamling, two major languages of the Rai community.
The bill, registered in the provincial assembly on August 7, currently proposes only Maithili and Limbu as official languages for provincial government business. This has angered the Rai community, who argue that the exclusion of Rai languages undermines both their numerical strength and cultural presence in Koshi.
Issuing a statement, the Kirat Rai Yayokkha said: “Rai is one people, many languages. Weakening us by dividing our languages and excluding them from official use is unjust.” The organization demanded that the bill be amended to include Bantawa and Chamling as official working languages.
Several provincial assembly members from the Rai community have also pressed for amendments. Assembly member Rajan Kirati said language is not just a tool of communication but also a way of life.
“Our democratic constitution recognizes Nepal as multi-lingual, multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multicultural. If every language spoken in Nepal is a national language, why are Bantawa and Chamling not included when Rai are the largest group within the province?” he said.
According to the 2021 census, Koshi Province has 640,674 Rai speakers, compared to 579,347 Maithili speakers and 332,512 Limbu speakers. Linguists argue that Bantawa and Chamling are not only widely spoken but have developed curricula, textbooks, scripts and even university-level teaching, evidence of their capability to be adopted as official working languages.
“Dividing Rai languages into small fragments and treating them as insignificant is wrong,” said Dr. Taramani Rai, Associate Professor of Linguistics at Tribhuvan University. Similarly, cultural historian Bhogiraj Chamling claimed that both Bantawa and Chamling have proven capacity: “They are already taught from primary schools to universities. Excluding them from official use would be a grave mistake.”
The Language Commission has also recommended Bantawa and Chamling among 13 possible languages suitable for provincial government work in Koshi. Despite this, the provincial government chose to propose only Maithili and Limbu in its bill.
The controversy has revived wider grievances. The Rai community had already opposed the naming of the province as “Koshi,” arguing it ignored their identity. Leaders have now warned of fresh protests if their languages are not recognized.
The provincial assembly, which includes 11 Rai lawmakers, is expected to meet on August 18, where government ministers themselves may table amendment proposals to the language bill.
Article 7 of Nepal’s Constitution allows provinces to adopt, in addition to Nepali, “one or more other national languages spoken by a majority of people within the province” as official working languages, based on recommendations from the Language Commission.
For the Rai community, however, this debate is more than constitutional procedure. It is about cultural dignity, historical recognition, and their right to see their voices reflected in the daily functioning of the province they have long inhabited.
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