I came across an interesting book in the library.  I am posting
some (paraphrased) items and quotes from the book.  These are NOT my
opinions, I have tried to provide page numbers wherever I could.

-- Milind Saraph

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John Beans, A Comparative Grammar of the Modern Aryan Languages of India,
Munshiram Manoharilal, 1966, (published in Sept 1871).

Languages covered: Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Marathi, Oriya, 
                   Punjabi, Sindhi

Words in these languages are divided into 3 classes:

1. Tatsama (or "same as it"): These are words used in modern languages in
   the same form as they appear in Sanskrit except for pronunciation.

2. Tadbhava (or "of the nature of it"): These are words derived from Sanskrit
   and changed. 

3. Desaja or ("country-born"): Borrowed from aborigines or invented in 
   post-Sanskrit times.

Until 15 th century Punjabi, Gujarati and Oriya were little more than Hindi 
dialects (p 18).  The proportion of Tatsama words is greatest in Bengali, 
Oriya and Marathi; less in Hindi and Gujarati and least in Punjabi and 
Sindhi.  Brahmins are and were comparatively rare in Sindh and Punjab.
Prakrits in use in both place, especially in Sindh were known for their
corruptness. Due to constant turmoil in these regions there was no 
opportunity or inclination for literary pursuits (p 30-31).

Hindi has the largest number of Tadbhava words, it started with tolerably
pure form of Prakrit and had 400 more years than Sindhi and Punjabi to
undergo developmental changes, which can not be called corruptions.  Hindi
is legitimate heir of Sanskrit.  Although the inflections of nouns and verbs
remained purely and absolutely Hindi, a large quantity of Persian, Arabic
and Turkish words found a place.  On the basis of inflectional and phonetic
elements Hindi is purely Aryan dialect.  The Hindi vs Urdu argument (when 
this book was written) simply means that writers ought not to import 
Persian/Arabic words but use old Sanskrit Tadbhava words (p 32).

With the exception of Prithviraj Rasan by Chandi Bardai probably composed
in 12 th century, almost all the literature consists of "long, tiresome
religious poems."  None of this (including Ramayana by Tulsi Das) is
worth reading.

Bengali, when it first began to be written three centuries ago, very closely 
resembled Hindi still spoken in eastern Bihar. The excessive number of 
Tatsamas in Bengali and Oriya indicate a great poverty in the language.  
Although at the time of writing the book, the literary activity in Bengal 
surpassed all the other Aryan languages, Bengali, until very recently had 
no accepted standard of language.  In Bengali, nobody speaks the high-flown 
or semi-Sanksrit style employed by Sanskritists.  The early 
scholars in Bengal accepted the assertions by Pandits that corrupted words 
should be restored to their original Sanskrit shape.  In this process, 
Tadbhava words were banished and Tatsama words were dug up from their 
graves.  Orissa followed Bengal's lead and the Tatsama words flooded these 
languages (p 35-38).

"Bengali and Oriya are like overgrown children, always returning to
suck the mother's breast, when they ought to be supporting themselves
on other food.  Consequently the written Bengali, afraid to enter boldly
on the path of the development, hugs the ancient Sanskrit forms as 
closely as it can, and misleads the reader by exhibiting as genuine 
Bengali what is merely a resuscitation of classical Sanskrit (p 53)."

Bengali has outdistanced all other provinces in literary activity; this
can be attributed to kirtans of Chaitanya in 15 th century.

"The Bengali is the most elegant and easiest to write of all the 
Indian alphabets.  It is very little changed from the Kutila brought
down from Kanauj by the Brahmans whom King Adisur invited to Bengal 
in the latter part of the eleventh century." (p 62)

"That the Bengalis posess the power as well as will to establish a
national literature of a very sound and good character, cannot be 
denied, ..." (p 87)

Oriya literature begins with Upendro Bhanj, whose date is not known exactly.
"-- the Oriya seldom reads, and not one man in a hundred can write his
native language without falling into grossest errors of spelling and
grammar at every turn."

" [written Oriya] is ... the ugliest, clumsiest and most cumbersome." 
(p 62)

In Marathi, preponderance of Tatsama words is less because Muslim 
invasions occured later and the Brahmins there made an effort to retain
the language.  Because of richer vernacular, the process of resuscitation
of Sanskrit words has not progressed much (p-38).

The earliest known Marathi literature is due to Namadeva and Dnyaneshwar
in about 1290 A.D.  Sridhar (1571 A.D.) deserves a mention because of his
voluminous Pauranic paraphrases.  There is nothing original or striking
in Tukaram's poems (1609 A.D.) although he is very popular.  Poems of
Moropant (1720 A.D.) are highly esteemed.  In modern times, "Marathas"
have not produced any original works in modern style.

"Marathi is one of those languages which one may call playful- it delights
in all sorts of jingling formations, and struck out a larger quantity of
secondory and tertiary words, diminutives, and the like, than any of 
the cognate tongues." (p 38)

Narsingh Mehta (15 the century) is considered the best poet of 
Gujarati language .  "In modern times the Gujaratis, though rather a 
backward people as times go, have been stimulated into activity."

"With regard to the Arabic and Persian element, however, it must be
observed that in all languages it is still an alien.  It has not woven
itself into the grammar of any of them.  All the Arabic words in Hindi
or any other language are nouns, or participal forms used as nouns.
... In those changes which indigenous nouns undergo in the preparation
of their base or crude form for receiving case appendages, the alien
Arabic or Persian word is only affected in very few and exceptional
circumstances." (p 41).

"The claim of Panjabi to be considered an independent language rests
primarily on its phonetic system, and its stores of words not found in
Hindi, than upon any radical difference in its structure or inflections"
(p 49-50).

Though Nanak is generally pointed to as the earliest author in Punjabi, 
few of his writings survive.  There is nothing distinctly Punjabi about the
Granth.  For the most part it is an anthology culled from the writings
of Hindi poets, such as Kabir, Namadev, and others, and consequently the
language is pure old Hindi.

In Sindhi, ballads by wandering bards are the only literary material.

"Sindhi has remained till modern times almost unwritten.  The rude 
scrawls in use among the mercantile classes defy analysis, .. (p 55)"

Commenting on modern literary works the author (p 87) says:
"There are many more, too many perhaps for a country which has so 
recently emerged from semi-barbarism; but civilization, or a curious
imitation of it, is a plant of fast growth in India, and all we can
do is to hope that much that is worthless may die out, while what remains
may be strengthened and pruned."