Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday alleged that Bengali-speaking people were being harassed and branded as “infiltrators” in some states, and asserted that her government would not allow anyone’s rights to be taken away.
Addressing a programme to mark International Mother Language Day in memory of language martyrs, the Trinamool Congress chairperson said while she respects every language, “none has the right to show disrespect to our language in this way.”
“We respect every language. Around 1.5 crore people from different states have been living in Bengal in harmony for years. We are committed to safeguarding their interests. Then why are Bengali-speaking people being attacked and harassed as infiltrators in several places over the past few months?” she asked.
Banerjee said Bengal was the land of icons such as Ramakrishna Paramhansa, Rabindranath Tagore, Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Surya Sen, Rajanikanta Sen, Lalon Fakir and Swami Vivekananda, and questioned whether speaking in Bengali had become a “crime”.
“Why is Bengali asmita being dishonoured? Why are the rights of Bengalis being snatched?” she said, apparently alluding to the deletion of names of people from West Bengal during the Special Intensive Revision exercise of electoral rolls.
Without naming the BJP, she alleged that an “anti-religious, particularly anti-Bengal group” was trying to undermine the state’s identity. “Bengali was included in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution in 1950. The language did not come from anyone’s mercy,” she said.
Banerjee also accused central agencies of attempting to “occupy Bengal by force” and said her party would not bow before “draconian powers”. “We only bow before the people,” she added.
Claiming that a majority of martyrs in the freedom struggle were from Bengal, she said, “You forget this truth as you don’t have any such role,” in an apparent swipe at the BJP.
The chief minister said the classical language status for Bengali came later than for some other languages and credited the efforts of the state government and Education Minister Bratya Basu for securing the recognition.
She also alleged that writers and poets from Bengal were being overlooked by the Sahitya Akademi in recent years.
The CM claimed that Sahitya Akademi did not choose any Bengali books last year, since one penned by her was on the list.
Highlighting her government’s approach, Banerjee said recognition had been extended to languages such as Rajbanshi, Nepali, Gurmukhi, Ol Chiki, Hindi and Urdu in the state.
Describing “Amar Ekushe” as a symbol of humanity, she said it was a tribute to those who laid down their lives for the right to speak and express themselves in their mother tongue.
Earlier in the day, the chief minister laid wreaths at the language martyrs’ memorial at Deshapriyo Park. Cultural performances marked the occasion.
