Bengali must on all signboards of shops in Kolkata by September 30, says municipal corporation

The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has ordered all business establishments, commercial institutions, and shops across the city to display signboards prominently in Bengali. 

The notification says the State’s official language should be at the top of all hoardings, signboards and signage. The order has to be complied with by September 30. The new notification by the Municipal Commissioner recalls an earlier order, dated December 30, 2024, in which shops and institutions were “requested” to include Bengali on their signboards.

The development comes at a time when the Trinamool Congress is pushing for Bengali Asmita (language and culture) in an attempt to counter the State’s principal Opposition party, the BJP. The TMC has linked the recent attack on Bengali migrants in different parts of the country as an attack on Bengali Asmita. Last week, the Assembly passed a resolution on attack on Bengali migrants where Bengali language and identity dominated the debate.

Senior Trinamool Congress leader and Mayor of Kolkata Municipal Corporation Firhad Hakim has appealed to the people to put signages in Bengali and added it was not just a question of language, but also a matter of cultural identity. “This decision is aimed at ensuring that the people of Kolkata and the entire Bengal can feel the presence of their language everywhere,” he added. The Mayor warned that the Corporation would not hesitate to cancel the licence of shops that refuse to use Bengali in the prescribed format.

Recently, Kolkata Municipal Corporation Chairperson Mala Roy has emphasised that all the work during a municipal session, including questions and answers, should be in Bengali. Ms. Roy, also an MP from Kolkata South, has even given special instructions to the councillors not to ask questions in any language other than Bengali.