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West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Monday announced that Bengali will be made mandatory for all official work of the state government from September 1, 2026.
Speaking in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, the Chief Minister said official correspondence with the Central government would be carried out in Bengali as well as Hindi. He stated, "From September 1, 2026, Bangla is mandatory in official use...we will exchange official letters with the govt of India and other states in Bengali as well as in Hindi." He further advocated for greater use of Bengali in governance, saying the language should be used extensively in police and other public services to strengthen trust and improve public participation. Adhikari said Bengali should be used in police and law-and-order-related citizen services, including the registration of First Information Reports (FIRs), complaint registration, citizen information, and safety and public awareness messages. "In police and law-and-order-related citizen services as well, such as First Information Reports (FIRs), complaint registration, citizen information, and safety and public awareness messages, the extensive use of Bengali will further strengthen trust, convenience, and participation between the administration and the public," she said. The Chief Minister further said that Bengali and Hindi could be used in official correspondence with the Central government instead of foreign languages. "Furthermore, in official correspondence with the Government of India, Bengali and the official language Hindi can be used instead of foreign languages," Banerjee added. The initiative is aimed at fulfilling one of the commitments made in the party's manifesto for the Legislative Assembly elections, which promised to preserve Bengal's cultural heritage and promote the development of the Bengali language. "We will work with the Central Government to ensure that efforts are made at the international level to secure recognition of Bengali as one of the official languages of the United Nations," Union Home Minister Amit Shah had said while releasing the document. (ANI)
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