West Bengal to make Bengali compulsory for official communication from September 1 | Today’s news
The West Bengal government will make Bengali mandatory for all official communications from September 1, 2026. The announcement was made at a rally on Monday where Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari also read a letter from Union Home Minister Amit Shah urging the state to expand the use of Indian languages in public administration, PTI reported.
The Chief Minister said in the House that Bengali will be used at all levels of government from September 1. He added that all official communication with other states would also be in Bengali, while correspondence with the Union government would be in both Bengali and Hindi.
At present, official communication between the Government of West Bengal and the Center is generally in English.
Amit Shah calls for wider use of Bengali in governance
According to PTI, the decision follows a letter written by Amit Shah during his recent three-day visit to West Bengal. The Union Home Minister reportedly wrote the letter in Bengali, referring to Bharatiya Jana Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee’s vision of promoting Indian languages while preserving the country’s linguistic diversity.
In the letter, Shah proposed that Bengali should be widely used at all levels of government, including the management of files, official records, departmental correspondence and government orders, from the Land and Land Revenue Department to the Chief Minister’s office.
He also recommended giving preference to Bengali in public services, digital governance, government websites, mobile applications, media advertising and other official communications.
Focus on services to citizens and preservation of culture
According to PTI, Shah further suggested that Bengali should be widely used for registration of First Information Reports (FIRs), filing of public complaints, issuance of citizen information and dissemination of informational messages to improve public participation in governance.
The letter also stated that official communication with the Center could be conducted in Bengali and Hindi Rajbhasha, rather than relying solely on a foreign language. Shah noted that the Union Home Ministry already effectively conducts file management, inter-departmental communication, official notes and government announcements in Hindi, proving that administration in Indian languages is both practical and effective.
Referring to the 125th birth anniversary of Syama Prasad Mookerjee Shah, he expressed the hope that the West Bengal government would take concrete steps to promote the widespread use and development of Indian languages. According to PTI, such measures would strengthen good governance while preserving India’s linguistic and cultural heritage.
A day before the assembly was announced, Shah inaugurated the Word Museum in Kolkata, where he emphasized the importance of learning at least one Indian language apart from the mother tongue, saying linguistic diversity was essential to preserve India’s civilizational identity.
