How Bengal is embracing a stronger Bengali identity with policies, protests

From granting more prime time slots to Bengali movies in theatres and multiplexes to mandating the use of Bengali in business signage, West Bengal is promoting the language like never before, reshaping itself into a more assertively Bengali state.

The assertion is even seeping into the grassroots through public protests, risking a deepening divide between Bengalis and non-Bengalis.

50 per cent of prime time slots

Now, 50 per cent or more prime time slots in theatres and multiplexes across the state will be reserved for Bengali language movies.

Also read: Denied by design? Why proving citizenship is a trial and tribulation for the poor

The decision was taken at a meeting held by state minister Aroop Biswas at the directive of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee with producers, filmmakers, exhibitors and distributors last week.

The period between 2 pm and 9 pm is generally regarded as prime time in theatres.

The move is seen as a fulfilment of a long-pending demand of the Bengali film industry, colloquially known as ‘Tollywood’, a reference to the Tollygunge area in Kolkata, where most major studios are located.

For long, Bengali filmmakers have been complaining about the difficulty in securing prime time slots in theatres, despite existing regulations requiring exhibitors to screen Bengali films in at least 120 shows a year.

Also read: SIR, other issues: Governor steps in as Bengal govt, EC head for showdown

Coinciding with the chief minister’s recent call for a “second language movement”, several leading film personalities of the state wrote to her last Wednesday (August 6), highlighting the alleged discrimination.

‘Dhumketu’ vs ‘War 2’ release clash

The trigger for the latest tussle over prime time slot is believed to be release of upcoming Bengali film Dhumketu on August 14, which clashes with Hrithik Roshan’s big-budget Hindi film War 2.

The distributor of the Hindi film had allegedly demanded that it be allotted all four shows in single-screen theatres across the state, sidelining the regional release, prompting leading figures in Tollygunge to seek the chief minister’s intervention.

The Federation of Cine Technicians and Workers of Eastern India (FCTWEI), in a social media post, thanked the chief minister for the slot allocation.

Also read: Harassed in BJP states, Bengali migrants return home to empty job promises

“Primacy given to Bengali movies is, however, not necessarily driven primarily by the intent to promote regional films,” alleged West Bengal Pradesh Congress spokesperson Chandan Ghosh Choudhury.

While welcoming the increased slot allotment, he alleged that the broader intent behind the state government’s move to address a long-pending issue at this juncture is clearly part of an ongoing attempt to create linguistic polarisation.

His view was backed by political commentator and writer Mohammad Saduddin, who said it should be seen in the larger context of the politics of language that has gripped the state ahead of Assembly elections due in less than a year.

Recent decisions by several TMC-ruled municipal corporations to strictly enforce the use of Bengali signages in businesses and their functioning are also part of that attempt to reshape the political landscape, they alleged.

Ultimatum to business establishments

Kolkata mayor and Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim on Friday (August 8) issued a two-month ultimatum to business establishments in the city to display their names in Bengali alongside other languages of their choice, failing which their signboards would be pulled down.

Municipal corporations of Siliguri, Durgapur, and Asansol have also made the use of Bengali in signboards mandatory.

Also read: TMC pans Delhi Police for calling Bengali ‘Bangladeshi language’

The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has also directed all councillors to speak only in Bengali during monthly sessions, aligning with the TMC’s broader state-wide campaign to protect Bengali identity. KMC chairperson Mala Roy recently issued an order in this regard.

The linguistic-identity assertion is no longer limited to just policy pushes. Parallel street movements are also taking shape, adding an aggressive edge to the language debate sparked by a series of attacks on Bengali-speaking migrant workers in several BJP-ruled states.

At the forefront of the movement, which is gradually evolving into an anti-Hindi agitation, is Bangla Pokkho, a Bengali advocacy group founded in 2018.

Of late, the group has expanded its presence in several districts of the state.

Protests over laying off of Bengali workers

In recent months, it has staged protests at banks demanding Bengali language forms, rallied outside railway offices over the absence of Bengali signage, and led street marches calling for 100 per cent reservation in government jobs and 90 per cent in other sectors for residents of West Bengal, along with making the 300-mark Bengali language exam mandatory in the West Bengal Public Service Commission.

On Monday (August 11), the advocacy group organised a protest rally in the Haldia industrial region and dock area, accusing four companies of laying off Bengali workers in favour of hiring outsiders. It also submitted deputations to these companies, demanding the mandatory recruitment of Bengali workers.

On the same day, another unit of the organisation held a demonstration in front of the Durgapur Municipal Corporation, demanding the mandatory use of Bengali on all signboards, along with 90 per cent reservation for “sons of the soil” in all non-government jobs and contractual work within the corporation's jurisdiction.

“More than two crore migrant workers are employed in West Bengal, while over 20 lakh Bengalis are being forced to migrate to other states for work. This clearly shows that there is work in Bengal, but not for Bengalis,” claimed Garga Chatterjee, general secretary of the Bangla Pokkho.

Also read: Bengali migrant workers ‘assaulted’ in TN on suspicion of being illegal immigrants

“Bengalis are being attacked outside the state, while people from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Jharkhand occupy millions of jobs and opportunities here. This cannot be allowed to continue,” the organisation declared at a rally in Kolkata on Saturday (August 9).

Protests at football matches

Even football stadiums are turning into platforms for protest. During their Saturday match at Salt Lake Stadium, Mohun Bagan’s supporters unfurled a powerful banner protesting the alleged attacks on the Bengali language and people.

The display came just two days after East Bengal fans made a similar statement during their match against Namdhari FC.

The Mohun Bagan stands featured a striking tifo bearing lines from a Rabindranath Tagore song:

“Bangalir pon, Bangalir asha, Bangalir kaj, Bangalir bhasha — Satya houk, Satya houk, Satya houk, hey Bhogoban." (The resolve of the Bengali, the hope of the Bengali, the work of the Bengali, the language of the Bengali — let it be true, let it be true, let it be true, oh God.)

Beneath it, another banner declared:

"Deshta karor baaper noy, noyko jaater khela, ei Bangali-i ghuchiechhilo paradhinatar jwala."

(This country belongs to no one’s father, nor is it a communal game. Bengalis helped erase the ignominy of subjugation.)

Also read: BJP's Hindutva gets Bengali makeover: PM Modi leads cultural re-evaluation

Durga Puja pandals to showcase Bengali culture

Durga Puja committees are also creating pandal themes that boldly assert Bengali culture and language, capturing the contemporary narrative and its challenges.

Moving beyond cultural revival and policy advocacy, Bengali linguistic assertion is increasingly turning vitriolic, particularly on social media, with growing instances of hate speech and identity-based trolling.

Social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram are also abuzz with a war of words between Bengalis and non-Bengalis, a clear sign of growing societal tensions.

“All responsible quarters must ensure that the slanging match does not escalate into a larger ethnic conflict," opined Debashis Chakrabarti, a political columnist and Commonwealth Fellow (UK).

Strongly condemning the attacks on Bengali-speaking people in BJP-ruled states, Ghosh Choudhury said the Trinamool Congress is trying to gain political mileage from the issue instead of trying to find a solution.

The Congress has demanded that an all-party meeting be convened on the issue to put an end to these attacks, he told The Federal.