WEST BENGAL to BANGLA : How does this name change sound?

West Bengal is all set to become 'Bangla' with all parties in the state giving a clean-chit to the name-change bill in the assembly on July 26, 2018. However, it is still on hold until the Central government passes it as well.

The Indian Home Ministry has to give it a final nod. The proposal to change the name of the state was placed by the ruling party Trinamool Congress.

 

The West Bengal assembly on Thursday unanimously passed a resolution, recommending that the state is renamed Bangla, following up on a two-year-old effort to move the state up the alphabetical order of India’s states. The state government will now forward the proposal to the Centre, which notifies new names of places including states.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee told the assembly that the Centre had recently informed the state that it can accept only one name. The Centre’s response came after the state government wrote to it in August 2016 suggesting three names: Bangla (in Bengali), Bengal (English) and Bangal (Hindi). The assembly chose Bangla.

 

Evolution

Earlier, the state government had proposed a bill with three names Bangla (in Bengali), Bengal (in English) and Bangal (in Hindi); however, it was rejected by the Centre.

In 2011, the Mamata Banerjee government's proposal of renaming West Bengal as "Paschim Bango" was also turned down by the Centre.

Therefore, in 2018, the government has decided to rename West Bengal as Bangla in all languages.

 

 

Reactions

Bangladeshis appeared indifferent to the West Bengal government's decision to rename the state today, considering it an internal matter of India, although some scholars feared the change could create confusion among the native people in the region across both sides of the border. Bangladesh's ruling Awami League's Joint General Secretary Mahbubul Haque Hanif said the decision was not their concern as they are not related to it.

"We are neither North Bengal nor South Bengal, we are independent Bangladesh and so their decision will not affect our status or identity and neither it is conflicting to our interest," he told PTI.

 

 

Mamata Banerjee has been angling for a new name for her state for some time now. One of her reasons is that West Bengal comes last in state lists, which means the Chief Minister gets to speak last in meetings, or often not at all. Speaking in the state assembly today, she said that the name 'Bangla' was chosen as "it is the identity of Bengal".  "We cannot say Bangal because it will be a problem for non-Hindi speaking people,"

"So many states have changed their names. There was talk about renaming the state during the Left Front rule. We too had taken a decision earlier. I do not want to go into any controversy. Rather, I would say that let us pass the resolution unanimously and send it to the Centre for its approval," Ms Banerjee said.

It may mean a bump up for the chief minister but the name "Bangla" also has a downside. Many Bengalis find it difficult to overlook the other meaning of the word; Bangla is a term used for local unbranded liquor.

The state is currently called "Paschim Banga" or "Paschim Bangla" in Bengali.