New Delhi: The West Bengal state cabinet has okayed a proposal to rename the state to 'Bengal' in English and 'Bangla' or 'Banga' in Bengali. The proposal is set to be forwarded to the Centre after it is ratified by the Assembly in a special session that is to be called soon.
The long-standing demand for a change in the name of the state received the nod of the state Assembly on Tuesday. The proposal would be taken up in the special session of the Assembly, where it likely to get a nod given the ruling Trinamool's majority.
West Bengal would become 'Bengal' in English if the final proposal received the nod of the Centre, which would have to bring a Constitutional amendment to effect the change.
In Bengali, the state is presently referred to as 'Pashchim Bengal'. The proposal would look to change it to either 'Bangla' or 'Banga' in Bengali. This move would match the change in spelling of the state capital from 'Calcutta' to 'Kolkata' to reflect the local pronunciation.
The appendage of the word 'West' in the name of the state may be seen as a hangover of colonial times. The British had partitioned the Bengal province into Hindu-dominated West Bengal and Muslim-dominated East Bengal.
East Bengal is not referred to by its name anymore, having become East Pakistan at Independence and then the country of Bangladesh since 1972. This has negated the need for the word 'West' in West Bengal's name.
A similar Independence era nomenclature had been dropped in the case of Punjab, both by India and Pakistan. West Punjab in Pakistan and East Punjab in India were both renamed 'Punjab' by the two countries.
The long-standing demand for a change in the name of the state received the nod of the state Assembly on Tuesday. The proposal would be taken up in the special session of the Assembly, where it likely to get a nod given the ruling Trinamool's majority.
West Bengal would become 'Bengal' in English if the final proposal received the nod of the Centre, which would have to bring a Constitutional amendment to effect the change.
In Bengali, the state is presently referred to as 'Pashchim Bengal'. The proposal would look to change it to either 'Bangla' or 'Banga' in Bengali. This move would match the change in spelling of the state capital from 'Calcutta' to 'Kolkata' to reflect the local pronunciation.
The appendage of the word 'West' in the name of the state may be seen as a hangover of colonial times. The British had partitioned the Bengal province into Hindu-dominated West Bengal and Muslim-dominated East Bengal.
East Bengal is not referred to by its name anymore, having become East Pakistan at Independence and then the country of Bangladesh since 1972. This has negated the need for the word 'West' in West Bengal's name.
A similar Independence era nomenclature had been dropped in the case of Punjab, both by India and Pakistan. West Punjab in Pakistan and East Punjab in India were both renamed 'Punjab' by the two countries.