Bhumij speakers have traditionally lived throughout the Kherwarian area in the modern states of Jharkhand, Orissa and West Bengal.[9] While spoken by very few Bhumij people today, it was much more widespread historically. Those who lived east in Dhalbhum mostly shifted to the Bengali language and lost their local tongue, while those who lived around the Chota Nagpur Plateau held on to their language.[10] However, the number of Bhumij speakers has significantly declined since the early 20th century. This decline attributed to the classification of Bhumij as a dialect of Mundari language and the language replacement within the Bhumj society.
Bhumij was mainly an oral language until the development of the Ol Onal script by the Ol Guru Mahendra Nath Sardar between 1981-1992.
According to Ethnologue Bhumij is dialect of Mundari language.[11] Bhumij tribal people have protested for greater recognition and government funding for Bhumij-language education and public broadcasting resources.[12]
Note: In the 2011 census, for the first time, 34,651 respondents (primarily in Odisha) recorded Bhumijali as their mother tongue, likely as an alternative name for the Bhumij language. However, for census purposes, it was categorized under the Odia language, which resulted in a 42 percent decline in the number of Bhumij speakers.[13]
In January 2019, Bhumij was accorded the status of second language in the state of Jharkhand.[20]
States like Odisha, West Bengal and Bihar have a large number of Bhumij people, yet the Bhumij language has not been given the status of a state language in these states so far.[21]
