Members attend the Maithili mahasammelan in Ranchi. Picture by Prashant Mitra

Ranchi, June 22: Enthused by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s announcement to include Maithili language in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, the International Maithili Council today made fresh demands for the creation of a separate Mithila state in which six districts of Jharkhand would be included.

The council wants to combine the six districts with 21 districts of Bihar to form the proposed Mithila state. The Bihar districts include West and East Champaran, Sheohar, Sitamarhi, Muzaffarpur, Vaishali, Madhubani, Darbhanga, Samastipur, Supaul, Saharsa, Madhepura, Khagaria, Begusarai, Lakhisarai, Bhagalpur, Katihar, Munger, Banka, Kishanganj and Araria.

Founder president of the council Dhanakar Thakur, who is here to attend a convention on the issue, said: “A large number of Maithili-speaking people reside in the districts. There is a similarity of cultural traits among the people in the districts.”

Thakur, who has received an award from the Prime Minister for his work on diabetes, said the demand was justified. “It is impossible to think about the development of Mithilanchal without a separate state. Maithilis are neglected everywhere. The Bihar and Jharkhand governments have not done anything to protect our distinct identity and culture,” he said.

Thakur said while the Bihar government failed to implement a high court order for providing Maithili education to students of the region, the Jharkhand government was unable to promote the language in the state.

“Maithils, who constitute 10 per cent of the population of Jharkhand and 50 per cent of the Bihar population, are always neglected. They are being denied their rights by non-Maithilis. None of the governments could ensure the inclusion of Mathili in the Eighth Schedule,” he added.