Focus

Highlights

1. 1.

   As recorded in the 1991 Census, Bhili or Bhilodi was the most spoken language in Dadra and Nagar Haveli with 76,207 speakers or 55.03 per cent of the population. The next most spoken language was Gujarati with 30,346 speakers (21.91 per cent) followed by Konkani with 17,062 speakers (12.32 per cent). Hindi and Marathi made up the rest of the top five languages spoken with 6,992 (5.05 per cent) and 4,936 speakers (3.56 per cent) respectively.

2. 2.

   The most widely spoken mother tongue recorded in the 1991 Census was Varli with 67,678 speakers making up 48.87 per cent of the union territory’s total population. Other widely spoken mother tongues were Gujarati (30,346 or 21.91 per cent speakers), Konkani (17,062 or 12.32 per cent speakers), Dhodia (6,430 or 4.64 per cent speakers), and Hindi (6,338 or 4.58 per cent speakers).

3. 3.

   The survey notes seven tribal communities and their mother tongues as recorded in the 1991 Census. The communities were: Dhodia, Dubla and Halpati, Kathodi, Kokna, Koli and Kolgha, Naikda or Nayaka, and Varli. People from these communities noted one of these languages as their mother tongue: Bhili/Bhilodi, Gujarati, Hindi, Malayalam, Marathi, Punjabi, Bengali, Konkani, Urdu and others.

4. 4.

   The Varli language faced a classification issue, the survey notes. It was initially grouped under Marathi Grierson and later by Professor A.M. Ghatage but contested due to its lack of acceptance and mismatch with the linguistic reality of the union territory.

5. 5.

   Based on responses to the 1961 Census, the survey states that Varli speech in Dadra and Nagar Haveli and parts of Dharampur Tehsil in Gujarat is distinct from Marathi and Gujarati due to political isolation of the union territory under Portuguese rule. Linguistically, Varli here refers to two dialects, Dungar Varli and Davar Varli, and does not encompass the speech of Varlis in Thane district of Maharashtra.

   
   

   Focus and Factoids by Saakhi Rai.