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Row as Delhi Police refer to Bengali language as ‘Bangladeshi’
The TMC has accused the Home Ministry of "delegitimising" one of the mother tongues of the country.
A letter by the Delhi Police to Banga Bhawan at Chanakyapuri, seeking expertise to translate documents from “Bangladeshi” to Hindi and English, triggered a political row, with the West Bengal chief minister calling it an attempt to insult and defame West Bengal.
“Scandalous, insulting, anti- national, unconstitutional !! This insults all Bengali-speaking people of India. They cannot use this kind of language which degrades and debases us all. We urge immediate strongest possible protests from all against the anti-Bengali Government of India who are using such anti-Constitutional language to insult and humiliate the Bengali- speaking people of India,” Mamata Banerjee, chief minister of West Bengal, wrote on X.
The issue started when the Lodhi Colony police station in south Delhi arrested eight persons suspected to be Bangladeshis, illegally staying in India. An FIR was registered against them under various sections of the BNS, Aadhaar Act and Foreigners Act. Police also seized some documents from the accused persons.
During the investigation, the investigating officer of the case wrote a letter to the officer-in-charge of Banga Bhawan seeking expertise to translate the documents. “The identification documents (seized from the accused persons) contain texts written in Bangladeshi and are needed to be translated to Hindi and English. Now, for the investigation to proceed further, it is requested that an official translator / interpreter proficient in Bangladeshi National language may kindly be provided for the aforesaid purpose,” the letter by the Delhi Police read.
The Trinamool Congress, the ruling party in West Bengal, has demanded the suspension of the investigating officer of the case and sought a formal public apology from the Delhi Police, Bharatiya Janata Party and the Union home ministry.
Delhi Police said they are investigating the matter.
A senior Delhi Police officer, requesting not to be named, said, “We are looking into the letter. The investigating officer was investigating an illegal migrants case. Top officers have been informed and will take further action against the inspector.”
On July 28, TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee launched a Bhasha Andolan (linguistic movement) to protest against the alleged harassment of Bengali-speaking people in BJP-ruled states. Every weekend, TMC leaders have been directed to hold rallies over the issue till the state assembly elections in 2026.
She also previously attacked the Gurugram authorities, as many from West Bengal were allegedly detained in police camps, and their action against illegal immigrants triggered an exodus of Bengali-speaking people from the region.
"It is beyond shameful that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is defending a lawful police action against illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators by weaponising language and stoking sentiment. Let us be absolutely clear: all illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators and Rohingyas will be dealt with strictly, as per the law of the land. No political grandstanding or vote-bank politics will come in the way of protecting India’s sovereignty and national security," Amit Malviya, head of BJP's National IT cell, wrote on X.
