
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Tuesday raised the issue of renaming West Bengal as 'Bangla' in the Rajya Sabha, calling the change essential to reflect the state's cultural heritage and history. TMC MP Ritabrata Banerjee mentioned the matter during Zero Hour, highlighting that the West Bengal Assembly had unanimously passed a resolution in July 2018 to rename the state, yet the central government had not acted on it.
Banerjee noted that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, arguing that the renaming would align with the history, culture, and identity of the state, while also reflecting the aspirations of the people of Bengal. He emphasized that after the 1947 partition, the Indian side was named West Bengal, and the eastern part was known as East Pakistan, which later became Bangladesh in 1971.
"Today, there is no East Pakistan," Banerjee pointed out, stressing the need to change the state's name in light of this historical shift.
The issue of renaming states is not new in India. The last time a state name was changed was in 2011 when Orissa became Odisha. Other cities, too, have undergone name changes, such as Bombay to Mumbai in 1995, Madras to Chennai in 1996, Calcutta to Kolkata in 2001, and Bangalore to Bengaluru in 2014.
The TMC’s demand for renaming West Bengal to 'Bangla' is seen as a reflection of the region's cultural identity, with supporters arguing that the new name would honour Bengal's history and its people’s aspirations. Banerjee also pointed out that the central government has yet to take any steps to honour the 2018 resolution passed by the West Bengal Assembly.
In addition to this issue, other matters were raised in the Rajya Sabha, including demands for national festival status for Odisha's Bali Jatra, cheaper ethanol for consumers, the dredging of the Barak River in Assam, and a call for better water conservation techniques to address flooding issues.