TMC pushes for renaming West Bengal to 'Bangla' during Zero Hour in Parliament

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has once again raised the issue of renaming the state of West Bengal to 'Bangla.' The matter was raised by TMC MP Ritabrata Banerjee during a Zero Hour mention in the Rajya Sabha. Banerjee noted that the West Bengal Assembly had unanimously passed a resolution in July 2018, urging the renaming of the state, but the proposal has not yet been approved by the Central Government.

Banerjee argued that the name 'Bangla' would better reflect the state's cultural and historical identity. He pointed to the 1947 partition of Bengal, which resulted in the formation of East Pakistan, now Bangladesh, and noted that the Indian side was called West Bengal. He stressed that since East Pakistan no longer exists, the name 'West Bengal' is outdated. "Our state's name needs to be changed. The mandate of the people of West Bengal needs to be honoured," Banerjee said, reinforcing the argument for the name change.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has also actively supported the renaming of the state. In 2018, she wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting that the proposal be approved. In her letter, she emphasized that renaming West Bengal to 'Bangla' would align with the state's identity, history, and culture, reflecting the aspirations of the people. The West Bengal Assembly’s resolution was passed in line with these views, with members unanimously voting for the name change.

The issue of renaming states is not new in India, with a number of cities and regions undergoing name changes in recent years. Examples include Bombay, which was renamed Mumbai in 1995; Madras, which became Chennai in 1996; Calcutta, which became Kolkata in 2001; and Bangalore, which was renamed Bengaluru in 2014. These changes were made to reflect the local cultural, historical, and linguistic identity. The last state name change occurred in 2011 when Orissa became Odisha, in response to the demands of the state’s people.

In addition to the demand for renaming the state, several other issues were raised during the Rajya Sabha session. Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MP Debashish Samantaray proposed granting national festival status to Bali Jatra, a festival celebrated on the banks of the Mahanadi River in Odisha. The festival marks the time when mariners from Odisha set sail to Southeast Asia in ancient times for trade and cultural exchange. Other issues discussed included the implementation of water conservation measures to address flooding in railway underpasses, the impact of climate change on agriculture, the need for new crop varieties to withstand erratic weather patterns, and the establishment of an AIIMS hospital in Kozhikode, Kerala. Additionally, TMC MP Sushmita Dev raised the issue of dredging the Barak River in Assam to facilitate the movement of goods via waterway.