The West Bengal state government has recently taken an important decision under which words of Persian and Arabic origin used in Bengali textbooks taught in schools will be reviewed and then removed. Under this decision, words like ‘pani’, ‘rangdhanu’, ‘kitab’, ‘imarat’, ‘asman’, ‘fajar’, ‘ghusl’ and ‘dost’ included in Bengali textbooks will be reviewed, a decision on their removal will be taken later.
The state government is calling the exercise an attempt to restore the “standard” or traditionally used Bengali vocabulary, but this has sparked a political battle in the state. The exercise is being described as an attempt at cultural intervention and political “purification” of the Bengali language.
Review of textbooks from class 1 to 10
Under this exercise, the State Curriculum Committee is reviewing textbooks for classes 1 to 10. According to insiders, the committee held a three-day meeting in August to identify words that some members had “forcibly included” in Bengali textbooks. It is being said that the revision of syllabus proposed for the next academic session will be limited to only 10 per cent, with special emphasis on changes in the terminology of textbooks.
Communal division can occur in language itself
The opposition is opposing this exercise by the state government. Opposition legislator and Indian Secular Front leader Naushad Siddiqui has criticized the move, calling it an attack on democracy, Bengal’s mixed culture and history. He argues that the Bengali language developed from the amalgamation of Sanskrit, Persian, Arabic, Portuguese, English and many other linguistic traditions. He says that simply removing words based on religious or foreign origin can lead to communal divisions in the language itself.
No decision against any community
At the same time, supporters of the government say the review is not against any community. They argue that words that are less common in West Bengal or are believed to have been included in textbooks for political reasons should be replaced with words more familiar to local students.
There was a controversy over using a rainbow instead of a rainbow for the rainbow.
In fact, earlier the controversy over the use of Rangdhonu instead of ‘Ramdhanu’ for the rainbow in Bengal became more heated. Due to this change, a major political and cultural controversy arose in 2017. At the time, state education officials said the word ‘Rangdhonu’ was used because it literally means “bow of colours”, while critics alleged that the word ‘Ram’ was deliberately removed for political reasons.
What do the experts say?
Academics and language experts are divided on the matter. Those who support the proposed changes say that words like ‘asmaan’, ‘fajar’, ‘ghusl’ and ‘dost’ are not used much in everyday Bengali language in West Bengal. He argues that school textbooks should use language that children can easily understand and feel connected to.
While experts opposing it say that languages like Bengali, English, Hindi, Nepali, Urdu, Oriya, Santhali and Telugu have been included in school education. The West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education also officially publishes study materials in several languages including Urdu, Persian and Arabic. In such a situation this change is unnecessary.
