Kolkata: West Bengal may soon be known as Bengal in English and Bangla or Banga in Bengali. After decades of deliberation, the first concrete step of renaming the eastern state was taken on Tuesday, with the cabinet adopting the resolution.
But before that, the proposal will be discussed at an all-party meeting where the assembly speaker will be present.
The name of the state capital — and national capital till 1911 — Calcutta was changed to Kolkata in January 2001 by the Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee-led Left Front government.
“The change in name will be to protect the interests of the state,” minister Chatterjee said.
Sirshendu Mukhopadhyay, a renowned Bengali author, said: “This is actually no change in name. We are merely going back to the old name.”
He was referring to the pre-Independence era when a united West Bengal, Bangladesh and some parts of India’s northeast were together known as Bengal.
Lyricist and film director Anindya Chatterjee suggested that there should be a referendum to consider the change of name.
