Jayakant Mishra (20 November 1922 – 3 February 2009) was an Indian scholar and author. He was a professor of English at

Allahabad University The University of Allahabad is a Central University located in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. It was established on 23 September 1887 by an act of Parliament and is recognised as an Institute of National Importance (INI). It is the 4th oldest mode ...

, and an advocate for the

Maithili language Maithili ( , ) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in parts of India and Nepal. It is native to the Mithila region, which encompasses parts of the eastern Indian states of Bihar and Jharkhand as well as Nepal's Koshi Province, Koshi and Madhesh P ...

, where he

petitioned A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication. In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to an official ...

the

Government of Bihar Bihar Government is the State governments of India, state government of the States and territories of India, Indian state of Bihar and its nine Divisions of Bihar, divisions which consist of Districts of Bihar, districts. It consists of an execut ...

to make its language instruction available for primary schools in the area. He worked tirelessly for the statehood of Mithila in India carving out from Bihar and Jharkhand from 1994 till his death.

Early life

Mishra was born on 20 November 1922, in

Varanasi Varanasi (, also Benares, Banaras ) or Kashi, is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.* * * * The city has a syncretic tradition of I ...

.Mishra's birth month as stated as November by daughter Lila, although his friend Dhanakar Thakur has mentioned December. His father, Umesha Mishra, and grandfather, Pandit Jayadev Mishra, were both

mahamahopadhyaya Mahamahopadhyaya (Sanskrit: महामहोपाध्याय) is an honorific title given to prestigious scholars by the Government of India. Prior to 1947, the title was bestowed by the British Raj, and before them, by the kings of ancien ...

titled scholars. Umesha Mishra studied Maithili and

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

. In 1923, the Mishras moved to

Allahabad Prayagraj (, ; ISO 15919, ISO: ), formerly and colloquially known as Allahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi, Varanasi (Benar ...

Career

In 1943, Mishra completed his M.A. degree in English Language and Literature at

. In 1944, he joined their faculty as a lecturer in the Department of English and Modern European Languages. With Dr. Amarnath Jha as his thesis advisor, Mishra wrote his PhD dissertation on the history of

Maithili literature Maithili literature is the entire collection of poetry, novels, short stories, documents and other writings in the Maithili language. The most famous literary figure in Maithili language, Maithili is the poet Vidyapati (1350–1450), who wrote ...

. Mishra continued in the faculty at Allahabad until 1983, when he retired as professor and head of their English department. From 1985 to 1988, he was the visiting professor of English at

Sagar University Dr. Hari Singh Gour University (DHGV), formerly University of Saugar and more popularly known as Sagar University or University of Saugar, is a central university in the city of Sagar, the state of Madhya Pradesh or (MP), India. It is one of ...

. In 1986, he served on The All India Board for Research Awards in Humanities at

Mysore Mysore ( ), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Mysore district and Mysore division. As the traditional seat of the Wadiyar dynasty, the city functioned as the capital of the ...

. From 1992 to 1994, he served as the Dean of the Faculty of Languages and Social Sciences in Chitrakoot Gramodaya Visvavidyalaya. Mishra was the editor for ''Vrihat Maithili Shabdakosh'' (वृहत मैथिली शब्दकोश/বৃহৎ মৈথিলী শব্দকোষ), the first Maithili-English dictionary. In 1973, he published the first part of the glossary, which covered words that began with "a". The dictionary would later be published in two volumes. The Maithili words were written in

Devanagri Devanagari ( ; in script: , , ) is an Indic script used in the Indian subcontinent. It is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental writing system), based on the ancient '' Brāhmī'' script. It is one of the official scripts of India and ...

and

Tirhuta The Tirhuta also known as Mithilakshar or Maithili script has historically been used for writing the Maithili, an Indo-Aryan language spoken by almost 35 million people of cultural Mithila. It was also used to write the Sanskrit language. The ...

scripts, along with equivalent phonetics in English. It is considered an important landmark in Maithil literature. According to article 350A of the

Indian constitution The Constitution of India is the supreme legal document of India, and the longest written national constitution in the world. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and ...

, each State should provide facilities where primary education students can receive instruction in their local language. On 3 September 1998, Mishra filed civil writ CWJC-7505/1998 at the

Patna High Court The Patna High Court of Judicature at Patna (commonly known as Patna High Court) is the High Courts of India, High Court of the Indian state, state of Bihar. It was established on 3 February 1916 by British colonial government and was later aff ...

, against the

for not providing minimum primary education in Maithili medium to the Maithili-speaking region of Bihar.Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

Early life

Career

Legacy

Personal life

Works

Awards

Notable positions

See also

Notes

References

Sources

External links