Mamata Banerjee government proposes to rename West Bengal as 'Bengal'

State assembly agrees to name change; may be called ‘Banga’ or ‘Bangla’ locally

Kolkata: The Mamata Banerjee government yesterday proposed to rename West Bengal as “Bengal”, dropping “West” from its name, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Partha Chatterjee said. The state Assembly has already approved the proposal.

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee

“For the sake of the people of the state, its heritage and culture as well as to promote and protect its interests at the national level, we have proposed to rename West Bengal as Bengal in English and ‘Banga’ or Bangla in Bengali,” Chatterjee said.

In Bengali, the state is currently referred to as “Paschim Banga” or “Paschim Bangla”.

Chatterjee said a special session of the assembly would be convened to discuss the renaming of the state. “On August 29 and 30, we will discuss the issue and urge all to accept the new name,” added Chatterjee. The government in 2011, too, had undertaken a similar exercise, adopting “Paschimbanga” as the name of the state.

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