Mamata Banerjee government has proposed a new name for West Bengal.
West Bengal may soon become just "Bengal" if the state government has its way. A big reason for a proposed name change is that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was fed up of having to speak last, or often not at all, at meetings.
Her cabinet on Tuesday agreed that the state, which is actually located in eastern India, should be renamed "Bengal" in English and "Banga or Bangla" in Bengali.
"It is a great idea...fantastic. We have the Royal Bengal tiger..." union minister Babul Supriyo of the BJP enthused.
Like many Bengalis, he is not so upbeat about what could be the vernacular name for the state.
"Banga (pronounced Bongo) is an instrument people play and we shouldn't have this name," he felt.
Many Bengalis share his misgivings. The alternative - Bangla - is a term used for local unbranded liquor and so, is problematic too.
"On one hand you have liquor on the other you have an instrument. We don't know which way to go," a teenager joked.
The state is currently called "Paschim Banga" or "Paschim Bangla" in Bengali.
Most approve of Bengal, saying it makes online applications easier.
Some are suggesting a referendum, however, given the huge debate the name change has triggered. Writer Nabanita Deb Sen says 'Banga' is nice but "too bald" and would prefer "Banga Bhumi" or "Banga Pradesh". Another writer said what's the point? A change of name is not going to change the state's GDP, she said, adding, "The term West Bengal is our history, our heritage. How can we erase that?"
For Mamata Banerjee, it means a jump up the queue. She has often complained that she rarely got a chance to speak in meetings because West Bengal came at the end of a list of 29 states.
The renaming will be discussed at an all party meeting on August 18 and then at a special session of the assembly on August 26. The state's Parliamentary Affairs Minister Partha Chatterjee said the government acted "for the sake of the people of the state, its heritage and culture as well as to promote and protect its interests at the national level."
In 2011 too, the previous Left government led by Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had cleared the renaming of the state to "Paschimbanga". It was never cleared. "My leader is Mamata, very different from Buddha," quipped Mr Chatterjee.
Independence and partition in 1947 led to the division of the province of Bengal into West Bengal, which stayed in India, and East Bengal, which is now part of Bangladesh.
The late writer Sunil Gangopadhyay has said of earlier attempts at name change, "If there is no East Bengal, how can there be a West Bengal?"