It is our duty to protect our language: Education minister Bratya Basu
Times of India | 19 December 2024
Kolkata: Bengal accepts any language but it is wrong if there is any attack on the Bengali language, state education minister Bratya Basu remarked during his inaugural speech at the ‘Bhasa Mela' on Thursday.
This statement came after two incidents were reported this month — one on a metro coach between two women and the other at a metro ticket counter in Howrah — which went viral on social media. Without mentioning any of the incidents, Basu said, "In our state, people can speak in Hindi without any resistance from the people of Bengal because it is our culture to be tolerant, and we respect all the languages in our state. However, it's not right to attack my language, which is an offence as well. Language can expand in different forms and structures but it's our duty to protect our language."
Referring to the last Sensex report, Basu said 123 languages were registered in Bengal. "There is a tendency to promote one nation through culture and language but the beauty of the Indian constitution is its pluralistic nature, which was the dream of B R Ambedkar, who drafted the Constitution. We should honour and be tolerant of all languages," he added.
Monoranjan Byapari, MLA and writer, said, "There are attempts to attack and infiltrate the Bengali language. I am being threatened to speak in Hindi, to converse in Hindi. As a Bengali, I will speak in Bengali, if I can't, it's better to die." Abul Basar, a Bengali writer, also spoke about protecting language.
The Union cabinet, on Oct 4, approved the granting of classical language status to Bengali. To celebrate this recognition, a two-day language festival was organised by the Institute of Language Studies and Research (ILSR) under the West Bengal State Council of Higher Education Department. The event will be held on Dec 18 and 19 at Rabindra Tirtha auditorium.
Basu on Thursday alluded to the recent incidents of Bengali-versus-Hindi language clashes in public places in Kolkata, warning against the dangers of linguistic chauvinism eroding people's faith in a multicultural society.
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