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Mamata Banerjee writes to PM Modi, seeks ‘Classical Language’ status for ‘Bengali’
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has shot off a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday urging him to include ‘Bengali’ as one of the classical languages of the country, stating ‘Bengali’ has its “roots in antiquity”.
In her two-page letter, she relied on the research that establishes ‘Bengali’ as a language that existed as early as 3rd-4th BCE.
“The Bengali people have a rich heritage and culture dating back to pre-historic times. There had always been claims to the antiquity of the Bengali language, but concrete research was not present to scientifically substantiate the claim. Now I am happy to present concrete evidence-based research to prove that Bengali as a language existed, even in writing, as early as 3rd-4th BCE”, Mamata Banerjee wrote in her letter.
While drawing reference to the Home Ministry notification that recognises languages such as Tamil, Sanskrit, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Odia the classical status, the chief minister has stressed that Bengali 2nd most spoken language in the country and 7th most spoken language in the world and qualifies to be “classified as a Classical language”.
"Though they have acknowledged several languages as classical languages, they have deprived Bengali of that respect. 2,500 years is not a joke. Bengali is already acknowledged as an international language. If languages from other states are notified as classical languages, why can't our language?”, Mamata Banerjee said during a press conference on Thursday.
She has sought for the intervention of the Prime Minister so that necessary directive can be given to the Home Ministry in order to recognise Bengali as a classical language. Mamata Banerjee has also blamed the erstwhile Left Front government for Bengali language not having received “its due as yet”.
During the 2021 Bengal assembly election, the political discourse has largely revolved around the Bengali pride or Ashmita. Mamata Banerjee claims if Bengali is given the acknowledgement of a classical language, a Centre of Excellence will be set up in the state in “honour of its rich heritage”
