Bengali mandatory for all West Bengal official communications from Sept 1
The West Bengal government will make Bengali mandatory for all official communications from September 1. Announcing the decision, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari cited Union Home Minister Amit Shah's letter urging wider use of Bengali and other Indian languages in governance
Kolkata: The West Bengal government will make all official communications in Bengali from September 1, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said in the Assembly on Monday and read out Amit Shah’s letter, which suggested taking steps for the extensive use and development of Indian languages. He said Union Home Minister Amit Shah had, in the letter, urged him to take steps for extensive use of the Bengali language at every level of state 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 communications with the Union government will be in Hindi along with Bengali.
Currently, official communications with the Centre are generally conducted in English. Adhikari said that during the Union home minister’s three-day visit to West Bengal, the Union home minister wrote him a letter in Bengali, highlighting Bharatiya Jana Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee’s views on language diversity.
“He was an ardent supporter of conservation, development, and the extensive use of Indian languages,” said Shah in the letter, which Adhikari read out in the House.
The Union home minister suggested in the letter that it was especially necessary to ensure that from the land and land revenue department to the chief minister’s office, file management, noting, departmental communications and orders are in Bengali.
Shah mentioned that Bengali language should be given priority in public services, digital administration, and other communications, websites, mobile apps, media advertisements and other governmental interactions.
The chief minister said Shah urged that the Bengali language should be used extensively in the registration of FIRs, complaint filing, citizen information, and public awareness messages to strengthen the people’s faith in and their participation with the administration.
“Instead of a foreign language, Bengali and Rajbhasha Hindi can be used in official communications with the central government,” the letter said.
Noting that file management, notings, departmental communications, and government notifications are effectively done in Hindi in the home ministry, Shah said in the letter that this experience strengthens the possibility of good governance using 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,” he said in that letter to Adhikari. Shah said that such steps will not only strengthen good governance, but also contribute significantly to preserving Indian languages and culture.
A day earlier, the Union home minister inaugurated the Museum of Word here and stressed the need for learning at least one Indian language besides one’s mother tongue as he batted for preserving the country’s linguistic diversity to safeguard its civilisational identity.
