Assam CM dismisses ‘Bengali as Bangladeshi language’ row, says issue politically motivated

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday, August 31 refuted the controversy surrounding the labeling of Bengali as a “Bangladeshi language.” Addressing a public gathering in Silchar, Sarma asserted that there is no conflict between Assamese and Bengali communities in the state, emphasizing that divisive narratives are being created for political mileage.

“There is no Assamese versus Bengali issue in Assam; we are all Hindus. These matters are raised by leaders like Sushmita Dev for their political benefits. If I contest from Silchar, I will win with a margin even larger than in Jalukbari,” Sarma said.

The Chief Minister further questioned the rhetoric equating Bengali with Bangladeshi, citing historical and cultural references. “How can Bengali be termed Bangladeshi? Was Rabindranath Tagore from Bangladesh or West Bengal? Prime Minister Modi has granted classical language status to Bengali. How can the BJP insult the Bengali language and its people?” he remarked.

His statement comes amid a political storm triggered by the Delhi Police describing Bangla as “Bangladeshi language” in an official communication. The remark drew severe criticism from the Trinamool Congress (TMC), which accused the BJP of undermining Bengali identity.

Adding to the row, BJP IT cell head and party’s co-observer for West Bengal, Amit Malviya, defended the Delhi Police’s phrasing. In a social media post, he argued that “there is no language called ‘Bengali’ that neatly covers all variants,” claiming that the term “Bengali” denotes ethnicity rather than linguistic uniformity. He further stated that the use of “Bangladeshi language” was merely shorthand to identify linguistic markers of illegal immigrants, and not intended as a slight against Bengali spoken in West Bengal.

Meanwhile, during his visit to Silchar, CM Sarma also dedicated a grand statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and unveiled the statue of Mangal Pandey, the heroic figure of India’s 1857 freedom struggle.