Where is the Rajasthani Bhasha, Sahitya and Sanskriti Academy located?

Correct — option (1), Bikaner.

The Rajasthani Bhasha, Sahitya evam Sanskriti Akademi is at Bikaner.

The Art and Culture Minister's written reply on the department's demand for grants, laid on the table and printed as an appendix to the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly's proceedings of 9 April 2012, says it was established at Bikaner on 25 January 1983 to work in the field of Rajasthani language, literature and culture.

A member speaking in the Rajasthan Assembly on 22 March 2017 called it a Rajasthan government undertaking, the Rajasthani Bhasha, Sahitya evam Sanskriti Akademi, Bikaner.

Bikaner had an earlier Rajasthani body as well. The Linguistic Survey of India volume on Rajasthan (Registrar General of India) records a Rajasthani Bhasha-Sahitya Akademi (Sangam) at Bikaner, set up in 1972 as a separate unit of the Rajasthan Sahitya Akademi.

The Academy's location is option (1), Bikaner.

The idea to remember: Rajasthani language academy — Bikaner (1983); Rajasthan Sahitya Akademi — Udaipur (1958).

Why the others are wrong

• (2)
  Jaipur — Jaipur is home to a different State academy, not this one. The same 2012 Assembly statement records that the State government set up the Rajasthan Sanskrit Akademi, Jaipur, in 1980, on Sanskrit Day.

  The Rajasthani language academy it places at Bikaner.

• (3)
  Udaipur — Udaipur has the older Rajasthan Sahitya Akademi. The Linguistic Survey of India volume on Rajasthan says the Rajasthan Sahitya Akademi (Sangam) was established at Udaipur in 1958, with the journal Madhumati.

  The Rajasthani Bhasha, Sahitya evam Sanskriti Akademi is a separate body, at Bikaner.

• (4)
  Jodhpur — Jodhpur is not where the Academy is located; the 2012 Assembly statement places it at Bikaner. The academy that statement names at Jodhpur is a different one, the Rajasthan Sangeet Natak Akademi, set up in 1957.

  Jodhpur's link to Rajasthani studies is academic: the Linguistic Survey of India notes that Rajasthani has been introduced as a full-fledged department at Jai Narayan Vyas University, Jodhpur.

Rajasthan supports its languages through separate State academies. The State government's statement in the 2012 Assembly record lists several: a Sanskrit Akademi at Jaipur (1980), an Urdu Akademi (1979), and the Rajasthani Bhasha, Sahitya evam Sanskriti Akademi at Bikaner (25 January 1983).

The same statement records a Punjabi Bhasha Akademi set up on 7 March 2006 to protect Punjabi language, literature, art and culture.

For Rajasthani, two bodies are easily confused. The Linguistic Survey of India says the Rajasthan Sahitya Akademi (Sangam) was established at Udaipur in 1958, with the journal Madhumati.

Bikaner had an earlier body too: the Survey records a Rajasthani Bhasha-Sahitya Akademi (Sangam) there, set up in 1972 as a separate unit of that Akademi.

Key facts

• The State government's statement in the Rajasthan Assembly record of 9 April 2012: the Rajasthani Bhasha, Sahitya evam Sanskriti Akademi was established at Bikaner on 25 January 1983.
• Linguistic Survey of India (Rajasthan): a Rajasthani Bhasha-Sahitya Akademi (Sangam) was set up at Bikaner in 1972 as a separate unit.
• Linguistic Survey of India (Rajasthan): the Rajasthan Sahitya Akademi (Sangam) was established at Udaipur in 1958; its journal is Madhumati.
• The 2012 Assembly statement: the State government set up the Rajasthan Sanskrit Akademi, Jaipur, in 1980.
• The 2012 Assembly statement: a Punjabi Bhasha Akademi was set up on 7 March 2006.

Common traps

• Confusing the Rajasthan Sahitya Akademi (Udaipur, 1958) with the Rajasthani Bhasha, Sahitya evam Sanskriti Akademi (Bikaner, 1983).
• Assuming a State academy must sit in the capital. The Sanskrit Akademi is at Jaipur, but the Rajasthani language academy is at Bikaner.
• Mixing the Bikaner body's two dates. The Linguistic Survey records the Sangam unit in 1972; the State government dates the Akademi's establishment to 25 January 1983.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  According to the Linguistic Survey of India volume on Rajasthan, the Rajasthan Sahitya Akademi, whose journal is Madhumati, was established at —

  • (a)Bikaner
  • (b)Jodhpur
  • (c)Udaipur
  • (d)Ajmer
  Answer(3) — The Survey says the Rajasthan Sahitya Akademi (Sangam) was established at Udaipur in 1958, with Madhumati as its journal. Bikaner (1) has the Rajasthani Bhasha, Sahitya evam Sanskriti Akademi. Jodhpur (2) is named for the Rajasthani department at Jai Narayan Vyas University, and Ajmer (4) is not the city it gives.
• practice — not a real PYQ

  On which date was the Rajasthani Bhasha, Sahitya evam Sanskriti Akademi established at Bikaner, according to the State government's statement in the Rajasthan Assembly record?

  • (a)25 January 1983
  • (b)30 March 1983
  • (c)25 January 1972
  • (d)7 March 2006
  Answer(1) — The statement gives 25 January 1983. 1972 (3) is the year the Linguistic Survey gives for the earlier Sangam unit at Bikaner, and 7 March 2006 (4) is the date the Assembly statement gives for the Punjabi Bhasha Akademi. 30 March 1983 (2) is not the date recorded.