Chhattisgarhi language

Chhattisgarhi (Devanagari: छत्तीसगढ़ी) is a language spoken in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh, by 17.5 million people. It is an Eastern Hindi language with heavy vocabulary and linguistic features from Munda and Dravidian languages. Chhattisgarhi is also known as Dakshin Kosali and Kosali as in ancient time Chhattisgarh was known as Dakshin Kosal.Chhattisgarhi has been known by the name Khaltahi to surrounding hill-people and by the name Laria to speakers in neighboring regions of Odisha to Chhattisgarh. The speakers are concentrated in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh and in adjacent areas of Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and Jharkhand. Chhattisgarhi cultural and political movements, with origins going back to the 1920s, affirmed Chhattisgarhi linguistic and cultural identity and sought greater autonomy within India. This came about in 2000 when 16 districts of the state of Madhya Pradesh became the new state of Chhattisgarh.