Mamata Banerjee seeks classical language status for Bengali, writes to PM Modi

Mamata Banerjee. File Pic

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to give Bengali the status of a classical language as it has 'qualified' the criteria set by the Centre.

In her letter to the PM, Banerjee presented a research document that claimed to fulfil all the four criteria set by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

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"I take this opportunity to present before you a summary (kindly see enclosure) of a scholarly work undertaken by us in 4 volumes, which dates the origin of 'Bangla' and Bengali language to the 3rd-4th BCE. In sum, the research shows that our is a classical language with roots in antiquity, and we seek its recognition as such," the West Bengal CM said.

She further noted that apart from being the national language of a country (Bangladesh), an official language of our State and the second most spoken language in India, is also the 7th most spoken language in the world.

"The Bengali people have a rich heritage and culture dating back to pre-historic times. There had always been claims about the antiquity of the Bengali language, but concrete research was not present to scientifically substantiate the claim. Now, I am happy to present concrete evidence-based research to prove that Bengali as a language existed, even in writing, as early as, 3rd-4th BCE," the letter reads.

She further expressed her confidence that the PM Modi would appreciate the scholarly work presented by the West Bengal government and ensure that Bengali gets its due recognition accordingly.

At present, only six languages enjoy the 'classical' status: they include all the south Indian languages -- Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam -- and Sanskrit and Odia. Tamil was the first to be accorded the status in 2004, following a long-standing demand by the Dravidian parties, and Odia was included in the list in 2014.

As per the Centre's guidelines, a language must meet some requirements to be declared as 'classical'. They include the high antiquity of its early texts/recorded history over 1500-2000 years; a body of ancient literature/texts, which is considered a valuable heritage by generations of speakers; a literary tradition that's original and not borrowed from another speech community; and being distinct from modern, without discontinuity between the classical language and its later forms or its offshoots.

Banerjee also said that Bengali's classical status is supported by its rich, historical evolution encompassing both oral and written traditions.

She further claimed that evidence from archaeological findings, inscriptions, references in ancient Sanskrit and Pali texts, and a substantial body of pre-seventh-century Bengali literature underpins its classical heritage.

"Moreover, concrete proof of written Bengali dating back to the 3rd-4th century BCE further testifies to its ancient origins and development, aligning it with the criteria established for recognizing Classical Languages in India," she said.

As per the CM, the research presented by her government before the Centre shows that Bengali retains its fundamental syntactic structure as well as its distinct morphological and phonological patterns, throughout its course of evolution at least from the 3rd BCE.

"I would be grateful if you kindly issue necessary instructions to the Ministry of Home Affairs so that the claim of Bengali language as a Classical Language is accepted at the earliest," she added.

The second chapter of the research done by West Bengal government looks into the evidences of earliest settlements in Bengal right from the pre-literate past (pre-5th to 3rd century BCE) in order to establish the ancestry of the speech-community called the Bengali.

It also says that the available archaeological and historical evidences which bear testimony to the cultural representation of stone tools spread across the archaeological time periods of Lower, Middle and Upper Palaeolithic ages and thereafter, conclusively establish the settlement of people in the territory of what is known today as West Bengal.

The third chapter clearly establishes the presence of a community called the Bengali at different geographical sites of present-day Bengal from pre-historic to the historic times through archaeological and historical evidence.

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