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Bengal

Promotion of languages: Bengal Govt fostering unity in diversity

Kolkata: Since coming to power in 2011, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress Government has ensured all-round development of Bengal, and like other aspects, the issue of language has also been given equal attention.
The government, under the inspiration of Ms Banerjee, has ensured that the linguistic diversity of the state is preserved. Several dialects and languages have been given recognition while academies have been formed for some, too, according to a Trinamool Congress statement here today..
West Bengal Official Language (Amendment) Act, 2012, has been enacted for providing languages like Urdu, Nepali, Gurumukhi (Punjabi), Odia, Santhali, etc. the status of official language in areas having more than ten per cent people speaking these languages, in effect, redressing the long-pending demand of the people speaking these languages to interact in their mother tongue in government offices.
Thus the legislation honours the sensibility of the people speaking these languages and recognises Kurukh – the language of the Oraon tribal community – as a State Official Language.
An expert committee has been constituted to look into the issue of recognition of Kamtapuri (Rajbanshi) as a State Official Language and the budgetary allocation of West Bengal Urdu Academy has been enhanced by over five times, during the past six years.
Adoption of schemes for the promotion of Urdu and promotion of languages other than Bengali have been executed.
The state's first Hindi-medium general degree college at Banarhat in Jalpaiguri district has started functioning from August, 2014 and Santhali as a subject in the State Eligibility Test (SET) conducted by the West Bengal College Service Commission in 2015 has started, besides introduction of Urdu in several colleges.

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