West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Monday announced that Bengali will become mandatory for all levels of state government work from September 1, describing the move as an effort to strengthen the language’s role in governance and administration.
Making the announcement in the Legislative Assembly, the Chief Minister said Bengali would become the primary language for all official communication within the state government.
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What will change from September 1?
According to Adhikari, all internal communication across state government departments, autonomous bodies and administrative offices will be conducted in Bengali.
He added that correspondence sent to the Central Government will be prepared in both Bengali and Hindi.
“This decision has been taken to strengthen further the use of the Bengali language in the state’s official system,” Adhikari told the Assembly, adding that the government would standardise official communication in Bengali across all levels of administration.
The Chief Minister also referred to a letter received from Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who, according to Adhikari, stressed the importance of promoting Bengali in administrative work while recommending greater use of Hindi for communication between the Centre and states.
Why did the CM mention the 1993 police firing report?
During his address, Adhikari also announced that the state government would release the full report of the July 21 Commission later in the day.
The commission was constituted after the change of government in 2011 to investigate the July 21, 1993 police firing in Kolkata, in which 13 Youth Congress workers were killed during a protest against the then Left Front government.
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The inquiry panel submitted its final report in December 2014, concluding that no senior Left Front leaders or police officials were responsible for the firing. The report has not been made public until now.
The announcement comes a day ahead of the annual July 21 Martyrs’ Day observance in West Bengal.
FAQs
Q1. When will Bengali become mandatory for West Bengal government work?
The new policy will come into effect from September 1, according to Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari.
Q2. In which language will the Bengal government communicate with the Centre?
The state government will send official correspondence to the Central Government in both Bengali and Hindi, while internal government communication will primarily be in Bengali.
