West Bengal mandates Bengali from Sept 1
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Live Events as a Reliable and Trusted News Source Addas a Reliable and Trusted News Source Add Now! (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Monday announced that the state government will make Bengali, the state's mother tongue, mandatory for all state government work from September 1. Hindi will also be used for official correspondence with the Central government.The government will make the use of Bengali mandatory across all public communication channels, including citizen services, digital governance systems, application forms, certificates, portals, websites, mobile applications, training materials, public signage, press releases and other official communication, from September 1.In public services related to police and law and order—such as First Information Reports (FIRs), grievance registration, citizen data and safety, and public awareness messages—the extensive use of Bengali will also be ensured.Adhikari said Union Home Minister Amit Shah had written to him, suggesting the wider use of Bengali in administration."This ongoing year marks the 125th birth anniversary of Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee, a great educationist, statesman and profound thinker of India," the Chief Minister read from Shah's letter."Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee was a staunch advocate for the preservation, development and widespread application of Indian languages.
It was his firm conviction that Indian languages must find their rightful place in administration, education and public life because a democratic governance system can only be effective and people-centric when it operates in the native language of its people," Adhikari read out in the Assembly.Adhikari said Shah had encouraged "the effective and widespread use of the Bengali language across every level of administration in West Bengal. In particular, it is imperative to ensure that at every level of administration—from the Land and Land Reforms Office to the Chief Minister's Office—file processing, note-taking, official correspondence and government orders are conducted in the Bengali language."The Chief Minister said that for official correspondence with the Government of India, Bengali and Hindi, the official language, can be used instead of a foreign language."File processing, official correspondence, government orders and other administrative work are performed with complete proficiency and ease in Hindi," the letter added. "This experience further reinforces the potential for good governance through Indian languages."Adhikari said the Department of Official Language in the Ministry of Home Affairs has a well-established Indian Languages Section (Bharatiya Bhasha Anubhag), and that its multilingual translation software, Anuvaad Sarathi, could be useful for state governments.
The BriefWire