Mamata Banerjee said four volumes of scientific evidence were sent to Centre to back the demand (File)
Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking the Centre to officially list Bengali as a "classical language".
The Chief Minister said that based on scientific research, it has been established by her team that Bengali had its origins 2,500 years ago.
"I have written to the Prime Minister. We have done research and assembled scientific facts that show that the Bengali language originated in the last 2,500 years. We feel Bengali deserves to be classified as a classical language by the government," Ms Banerjee said at a press conference.
The Chief Minister said her government has sent "four bulky volumes" of scientific evidence to the central government, establishing Bengali is an ancient language.
"We took time to assemble all the scientific facts. We will be sending the four bulky volumes of scientific evidence to the government," she said.
Hitting out at the central government, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief said that though the central government has acknowledged several languages as "classical language", it has deprived her state of that respect.
"Though they have acknowledged several languages as classical languages, they have deprived Bengali of that respect. 2,500 years is not a joke," she said.
She said that when languages from different states are recognised as 'classical' languages, why Bengali can't be given the same recognition?
"Bengali is already acknowledged as an international language. If languages from other states are notified as classical languages, why can't our language?" she questioned.
Lashing out at the Communist Party of India (Marxist) government that ruled the state before she came to power, Ms Banerjee said, "Those who were in the government earlier had not thought of it and did not discuss it. They did not show any interest."
The Chief Minister said that if Bengali is given the acknowledgement of a classical language, a Centre of Excellence will be set up in the state.
"If Bengali is acknowledged as a classical language, a Centre of Excellence will be formed. Bengali is one of the world's most important languages. We have been able to establish how ancient it is through our research," she said.
This is not the first time that Mamata Banerjee has rallied behind Bengali for it to be recognised as a classical language.
Earlier in 2020, she urged the Centre to give Bengali the status of a classical language, just as the state recognised Hindi, Urdu, Gurmukhi, Ol Chiki, Rajbanshi, Kamtapuri, and Kurukh languages.
"Bengal government has constantly persevered to undertake inclusive development for all by giving recognition to Hindi, Urdu, Gurmukhi, Ol Chiki, Rajbanshi, Kamtapuri, and Kurukh languages. I urge the Centre to follow suit by also including Bengali as a classical language in NEP 2020," Mamata Banerjee said in a tweet on Hindi Diwas in 2020.
Tamil was the first language in India to be accorded the "classical language" status in 2004. Sanskrit, Kannada, Malayalam and Odia are the other languages that have been declared "classical languages" by the Centre.
To be accorded the "classical language" status, a language must have high antiquity of its early texts or recorded history over 1,500-2,000 years, a body of ancient literature or texts considered as valuable heritage by generations of speakers, original and not borrowed literary tradition. The classical language and literature must also be distinct from modern, that is, there may also be a discontinuity between the classical language and its later forms or its offshoots.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)