The Bihar land survey has hit an unanticipated hurdle related to the Kaithi script, leading to more turmoil in the rural areas. Common people are panicking as they do not know how to tackle the situation.

Most of the old land-related and other official documents in Bihar are in Kaithi script, which was widely used by the common people, but has practically vanished from society. Few people live who can read it. Moreover, the documents pertaining to land profusely use quaint Persian words that are no longer in public use.

With the land survey going on, the people are unsuccessfully trying to get their land deeds, khatian (record of rights) and other related papers translated from Kaithi to Hindi or English.

“My land in Darbhanga district is in the name of my great grandfather and the documents are in Kaithi script. I had to run from pillar to post to find someone who could read and translate it. I somehow managed to find an expert in Chhapra town and got it translated for a fee, but even he could not understand a portion of the document. I am now searching for another expert, but have been unable to do so,” Saurabh Shukla, a Patna-based entrepreneur, told The Telegraph.

While finding people having the knowledge of Kaithi script is an uphill task, another problem is the hefty amount being charged by them. Those who are not well-off are unable to afford it.

“My land deed is in Kaithi script. I found a katib (deed writer) in Begusarai district who could translate it, but he demanded ₹25,000 that too after much haggling. I am unable to pay this kind of money,” said Rameshwar Yadav of Teghra.

The Kaithi script was used across a broad spectrum of languages, including Maithili, Bhojpuri, Magahi, Angika, Hindi, Persian and several others for around 800 years from around 1200AD to the late 1960s. It was also a mode of primary education.

Afghan dynasty emperor Sher Shah Suri made it his court script in 1540AD along with Persian for a vast stretch expanding from the present day Bihar, Jharkhand, parts of Bengal and Odisha to Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh which were part of his kingdom. This was done for the ease of rule.

The Mughals continued with Kaithi in the region and the later rulers, including the British, also followed them.

“Kaithi script was the soul of Bihar. The FIRs, government applications, primary education, letters, documents, folk songs, memoirs, diaries in the state, and everything related to ryots (landholders) in the state used to be in Kaithi script since the time of Sher Shah to the British period,” Bihar Legislative Council nodal officer and a researcher on Kaithi script, Bhairab Lal Das, told The Telegraph.

“After subjugating the people, the colonial rulers conspired to remove Kaithi from the centre of the people’s life in the region and impose English. The governments after Independence also paid little attention towards protecting and promoting Kaithi. Slowly those who understood it passed away and the script came to the verge of extinction...,” Das added.

With chaos reigning supreme, the Bihar revenue and land reforms department, which is conducting the survey, had decided to beat the clock by providing training to officials in understanding and deciphering the Kaithi script.