West Bengal to make Bengali mandatory for all State Government work from September 1

The West Bengal government has announced that Bengali will become mandatory for all state government work from September 1, reinforcing the language's role in official administration across the state. The decision was announced by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, who said Bengali, the state's mother tongue, will be the primary language used in government offices and official communication. However, Hindi will continue to be used for correspondence with the Central government whenever required.

The move aims to strengthen the use of Bengali in governance while preserving the state's linguistic and cultural identity. Officials said the policy will apply to day-to-day functioning of state government departments and public offices, ensuring that administrative work is primarily conducted in Bengali.

The government believes the initiative will make official communication more accessible to the majority of residents and encourage greater use of the regional language in public administration. Detailed implementation guidelines are expected to be issued before the policy comes into effect on September 1.

The announcement marks a significant step in promoting Bengali as the principal language of governance while maintaining bilingual communication where necessary for interactions with the Centre.