Bishnupriya Manipuri, also known as Bishnupriya Meitei or simply as Bishnupriya, is an Indo-Aryan language belonging to the Bengali–Assamese linguistic sub-branch. It is a creole of Bengali language and Meitei language (officially known as Manipuri language) and it still retains its pre-Bengali features. It is spoken in parts of the Indian states of Assam, Tripura and Manipur as well as in the Sylhet Division of Bangladesh. It uses the Bengali-Assamese script as its writing system. Bishnupriya Manipuri, being a member of the Eastern Indo-Aryan languages, was evolved from Magadhi Prakrit. So, its origin is associated with Magadha realm. The Government of Tripura categorized Bishnnupriya Manipuri under the "Tribal Language Cell" of the State Council of Educational Research and Training. Its speakers are also given the "Other Backward Classes" status by the Assam Government and notably, there is no legal status of the Bishnupriyas in Manipur. In the 2020s, the Bishnupriya speaking people started demanding that the Assam Government should give them the status of “indigenous people” of Assam and treat the same like other indigenous communities of the state. According to Sahitya Akademi honorary fellow British linguist Ronald E. Asher and Christopher Moseley, Bishnupriya is a mixed language spoken by former Bengali immigrants, with substantial Meithei lexicon but basically Bengali structure and reduced morphology. According to English linguist and historian Andrew Dalby, Bishnupriya (also known as "Mayang") is historically a form of Bengali language once current in Manipur. According to American linguist David Bradley's research works published by the Department of Linguistics, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies in the Australian National University, Bishnupriya is spoken by former Bengali subjects, with some Manipuri lexicon and reduced morphology. History and development Bishnupriya is a member of the Māgadhan languages (Eastern Indo-Aryan languages), having origin associated with Magadha. Bishnupriya is one of the Bengali–Assamese languages Bengali–Assamese: Bengali-Gauda Rarhi (Standard Bengali) Bangali (Dhakaiya Kutti) Bishnupriya Manipuri Chakma Chittagonian Hajong Manbhumi Noakhailla Rohingya Sundarbani Sylheti Tanchangya Varendri Kamarupic: Assamese (Kamrupi, Goalpariya) Rangpuri, Surjapuri, Rajbanshi KP Sinha, who has done considerable research on Bishnupriya Manipuri, disagrees with the theory of Bishnupriya being associated with the Manipur (Mahabharata) and is of the opinion that the language was originated through Magadhi Prakrit. It is found from his observations that the language has retained dominant characteristics of Magadhi. According to Sinha, pronouns and declensional and conjugational endings seem to be same as or closely related to those