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Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has announced that Bengali will become mandatory across all state government departments from September 1, in a move aimed at promoting the state’s mother tongue in official administration.
The Chief Minister said all government work—from the Land and Land Reforms Department to the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO)—will be carried out primarily in Bengali. The directive will also apply to citizen services, affidavits, mobile applications, FIRs, official notifications and other government communications.
Explaining the decision, Adhikari cited a letter from Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the 125th birth anniversary of Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee, saying the move aligns with the vision of promoting governance in people’s native languages.
He added that the West Bengal government will also correspond with the Centre and other states in Bengali, while continuing communication in Hindi where necessary. Translation facilities and other administrative arrangements are being put in place to ensure smooth implementation of the policy.
Calling the initiative a step towards better governance and greater public convenience, the Chief Minister said the new language policy would strengthen the use of Bengali in official administration while making government services more accessible to the people.
