The Hindi Belt or Hindi Heartland is a loosely defined linguistic region in North and Central India where Hindi languages are widely spoken, either as primary or secondary languages.[1] [2][3] It is sometimes also used to refer to states whose official language is Standard Hindi.
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Sometimes it is also used to refer to states whose official language is Hindi. Only Gujarat has Hindi as official language outside Hindi Belt.[4] It is not necessary that their mother tongue is Hindi. For instance Rajasthani people speak Rajasthani language which has roots in Old Gujarati and to communicate with outsiders they use Hindi. In Bihar people speak Bhojpuri, Magahi, Maithili and Angika. In Haryana people speak both Hindi and Haryanvi. In Himachal Pradesh people know both Hindi and Pahari. In Madhya Pradesh, a large number of people speak Hindi and the second most important common language is Marathi.[5][6][7]Other common languages include Malwi, Punjabi and Sindhi.[8] It is also interesting to note that people from these states are mostly bilingual. For instance, there is a large population in Bihar that speaks both Hindi and Maithili and there is a significant population which is well versed in English, making them bilingual & multilingual.[9][10] With the influence of English people are becoming multilingual.
The Hindi belt is often considered as covering the following states of Northern Indian region were Hindi is spoken[11],[12],[13]:
| State | Native Language |
|---|---|
| Bihar | Hindi, Angika, Vajjika, Bhojpuri, Magahi and Maithili. |
| Uttar Pradesh | Hindi (Awadhi, Bagheli, Bundeli, Bhojpuri, Braj bhasha, Kannauji, Khari boli) |
| Haryana | Hindi (Haryanvi dialect), Punjabi and Rajasthani language in some parts |
| Rajasthan | Rajasthani language |
| Himachal Pradesh | Pahari |
| Uttarakhand | Kumaoni, Garhwali, Hindi |
| Chhattisgarh | Chhattisgarhi language, Hindi |
| Jharkhand | Santali language, Hindi |
The Union Territory of Chandigarh and the National Capital Territory of Delhi also lie in this belt.
The states of Indo-Aryan languages Punjab, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Orissa, West Bengal and Jammu and Kashmir are equally familiar with Hindi, but are not regarded as a part of the Hindi belt for their official language is not Hindi but one of the other Indo-Aryan languages .
The heartland supports about a third of India's population and occupies about a quarter of its geographical area. The population is concentrated along the fertile Ganges plain in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Bihar.
Although the vast majority of the population is rural, significant urban cities include Chandigarh, Panchkula, Delhi, Lucknow, Kanpur, Jaipur, Agra, Varanasi, Indore, Bhopal, Patna and Ranchi. The region hosts a diverse population, with various dialects of Hindi being spoken along with other Indian languages, and multi-religious population including Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs along with people from various castes and a significant tribal population. The geography is also varied, with the flat, alluvial Gangetic plain occupying the northern portion, the Vindhyas in Madhya Pradesh demarcating the southern boundary and the hills and dense forests of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh separate the region from West Bengal and Orissa.
The heartland is located in North and Central India. The highly fertile, flat, alluvial Gangetic plain occupies the northern portion, the Vindhyas in Madhya Pradesh demarcate the southern boundary and the hills and dense forests of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh lie in the east.
The region has a predominantly sub-tropical climate, with cool winters, hot summers and moderate monsoons. The climate does vary with latitude somewhat, with winters getting cooler and rainfall decreasing. It can vary significantly with altitude, especially in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh.
Over years political development in some of these states are dominated by caste based politics. In several parts, upper caste people had greater hold on political life of common people. But this trend has changed in recent years.[14]