KOLKATA: Giving recognition to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who urged the West Bengal government to promote the extensive use of Bengali across all levels of office administration, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Monday announced the state's new language policy.
Announcing in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, the Chief Minister said Bengali would be used mandatorily for all official communications from September 1.
Suvendu said that Bengali would now be used in all official correspondence, letters, orders, circulars and notifications across the state.
"From September 1, 2026, use of the Bengali language will be mandatory at every level of the state government and other correspondences with the Centre and other states," the Chief Minister said.
"We will use Bengali in all communications with the Centre and other states," he said, adding that communication with the Union government would be carried out in Hindi along with Bengali. At present, official correspondence with the Centre is generally conducted in English.
Suvendu said Shah wrote to him in Bengali during the latter's recent three-day visit to north Bengal and Kolkata, highlighting Bharatiya Jana Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee's vision for preserving India's linguistic diversity.
He read out Shah's letter in the House, adding, "He was an ardent supporter of conservation, development, and the extensive use of Indian languages."
In the letter, Shah suggested that Bengali should be used extensively in governance, including file management, official notifications, departmental communications and orders across all departments under the Bengal government.
Shah recommended giving priority to Bengali in public services, digital governance, official websites, mobile applications, media advertisements and other government communications, including the filing of FIRs, complaints and public awareness programmes, to strengthen public trust and participation in governance.
"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 governance but also help preserve India's linguistic and cultural heritage.
On Sunday, Shah inaugurated the Museum of Word at the National Library in Kolkata, where he stressed the importance of learning at least one Indian language in addition to one's mother tongue, saying linguistic diversity is essential to safeguarding India's civilisational identity.
In 2024, the Centre had recognised Bengali as a classical language.
The Bengal BJP government's decision to introduce its language policy and use Bengali extensively in all official communications and correspondence within less than three months of the formation of the Suvendu Adhikari cabinet on May 9 is significant against the backdrop of the Trinamool Congress repeatedly accusing the saffron party of being "anti-Bengal."