member of the North Dravidian subfamily of Dravidian languages. In the early 21st century, Kurukh was spoken by some 1.75 million people, predominantly in the Oraon tribes of the Chota Nagpur plateau of east-central India. Kurukh is also spoken in parts of Bangladesh. Lacking a written tradition, Kurukh is documented only since the European colonization of India, and in many areas it is being displaced by the Hindi language.