Bengali Literature

Govt to make all communications in Bengali from Sep 1: CM Adhikari

The West Bengal government will make all official communications in Bengali from September 1, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari announced in the state Assembly on Monday. He said that Union Home Minister Amit Shah had, in a 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. Adhikari said that during Shah's three-day visit to West Bengal, the Union home minister wrote him a letter in Bengali. In it, Shah said that Bharatiya Jana Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee firmly believed that Indian languages should have a proper place in the administration, education and public life. A day earlier, the Union home minis

British MP slams Bengali signage at London station, Elon Musk backs stance

Rupert Lowe, MP for Great Yarmouth and a member of Reform UK, shared a photograph of the sign featuring both English and Bengali on his official X account

Academics hail Centre for granting classical language status to Bengali

Academics and Bengali identity advocacy groups have hailed the decision of the Centre to accord classical language status to Bengali language expressing hope that it will facilitate in greater use of the language in official communication and examinations. Eminent indologist and linguist Nrisingo Prasad Bhaduri said he hoped that after the honour, at all India level, there will be greater use of the language in competitive examinations, more use of synonyms of familiar English terms in science and economics and present day students will feel encouraged to use these Bengali synonyms in their exams. Thanking West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Bhaduri said after he and other academics drew her attention to the fact that Bengali was not accorded classical language status despite having thousands of years of history from the day of its origin and evolution. "The state government submitted voluminous documents in this regard very promptly and the recognition came in 6-7 months ...

Extremely glad for classical status to several languages, says PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said he was "extremely glad" the Union Cabinet has conferred classical language status on Assamese, Bengali, Marathi, Pali and Prakrit, and asserted his government cherishes India's rich history and culture. The government said classical languages serve as a custodian of Bharat's profound and ancient cultural heritage, embodying the essence of each community's historical and cultural milestone. In a post on X, the prime minister said, "Our Government cherishes and celebrates India's rich history and culture. We have also been unwavering in our commitment to popularising regional languages." "I am extremely glad the Cabinet has decided that Assamese, Bengali, Marathi, Pali and Prakrit will be conferred the status of Classical Languages," he added. Modi said each of them are beautiful languages, highlighting India's vibrant diversity. Marathi is India's pride, he said as he congratulated people on this "phenomenal language" being accorded the

Rabindranath Tagore's 83rd Death Anniversary: All about the Bard of Bengal

Today, August 7, 2024, marks Rabindranath Tagore's 83rd Death Anniversary. The world remembers him as a poet, painter, composer, playwright, and social reformer

Rabindranath Tagore Jayanti 2024: Date, celebration, quotes and more

Rabindranath Tagore Jayanti 2024: Tagore was a great poet, writer, philosopher, novelist and more. Here's all you need to know about the Nobel laureate

The genius in his labyrinth

Nandan Dasgupta's book dispels misconceptions surrounding Michael Madhusudan Datta, shedding light on the life and literary contributions of one of Bengal's most talented poets

Book Lovers Day 2023: History, Importance, Quotes, and Everything

National Book Lovers Day is celebrated every year on August 9 to raise awareness about the importance of books and the unique place they hold in our lives

Timeless stories in Bangla literature

As a school student, this writer experienced Rabindranath Tagore's masterly art of story-telling while reading The Holiday or The Homecoming as part of the curriculum

My current tryst with Kolkata

It's easier to get kebabs in Kolkata than mangsho and luchi; paneer is more mainstay than shukto. Bengali biryani might be fine but most places serve oily rolls in the name of kathis

'Indecent' exposures

When we think of Bengali literature these days, we tend to consider works produced mostly in Kolkata or Dhaka