KOLKATA: The West Bengal government will make Bengali mandatory for all official communications from September 1, chief minister Suvendu Adhikari announced in the Assembly on Monday,The CM was reportedly reading out a letter from Union home minister Amit Shah that urged states to promote the extensive use and development of Indian languages, news agency PTI reported.Adhikari said Shah had written to him asking the state government to ensure the wider use of Bengali at every level of administration.“From September 1, 2026, use of the Bengali language will be mandatory at every level of the state government,” the chief minister said.“We will use Bengali in all communications with the Centre and other states,” he said, adding that correspondence with the Union government would be in both Hindi and Bengali.At present, official communication with the Centre is generally carried out in English.Adhikari said that during Shah’s three-day visit to West Bengal, the Union home minister wrote to him in Bengali, referring to Bharatiya Jana Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee’s views on India’s linguistic diversity.“He was an ardent supporter of conservation, development, and the extensive use of Indian languages,” Shah said in the letter, which Adhikari read out in the House.According to the letter, Shah urged the state government to ensure that file management, notings, departmental communications and official orders, from the land and land revenue department to the chief minister’s office, are carried out in Bengali.He also suggested that Bengali be given priority in public services, digital governance, websites, mobile applications, media advertisements and other government communications.Adhikari said Shah further recommended extensive use of Bengali in FIR registration, complaint filing, citizen information and public awareness messages to strengthen public trust and participation in governance.“Instead of a foreign language, Bengali and Rajbhasha Hindi can be used in official communications with the central government,” the letter said.Referring to the functioning of the Union home ministry, Shah said file management, notings, departmental communications and government notifications are effectively conducted in Hindi, demonstrating that good governance is possible through Indian languages.“I believe that on the 125th birth anniversary of Syama Prasad Mookerjee, your government will take effective steps for the extensive use and development of Indian languages,” Shah said in the letter.He added that such measures would not only strengthen good governance but also contribute significantly to preserving Indian languages and culture.(With agency inputs)
