WBCS Exam Protest: Bangla Pokkho, a Bengali nationalist organization, has held a protest rally against the state government’s decision to include Hindi and Urdu as languages in the West Bengal Civil Service (WBCS) examination. The organization has demanded that the Bengali language be made compulsory in the WBCS examination.
The protest rally was held in Kolkata on Sunday. The rally started from the Rabindra Sadan Exide Crossing and ended at Hazra More. The participants in this rally raised various slogans highlighting the importance of the Bengali language and strongly protested this decision by the government.
Main Demands
The main demands of Bangla Pokkho are:
- Bengali Compulsory: The Bengali language must be included as a compulsory subject in the WBCS examination.
- Passing Marks: It must be mandatory to secure a certain number of marks in the Bengali language paper out of 300 to pass the examination.
- Example of Other States: States like Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar have made their respective state languages compulsory in their civil service examinations. Bangla Pokkho believes that the West Bengal government should also follow the same policy.
Organization’s Statement
Garga Chattopadhyay, the general secretary of Bangla Pokkho, said, “If other states can make their own language compulsory in their civil service examinations, then why can’t West Bengal?” He added that this decision of the state government is an attack on the culture and language of Bengal.
Future Steps
Bangla Pokkho has warned that if the state government does not accept their demands by 2026, they will start a larger movement. They have stated that this movement will be spread to every district of West Bengal and the general public will also be included in it.
This protest rally has given rise to a new debate about the language and culture of West Bengal. Now it remains to be seen what steps the state government takes on this issue and whether it fulfills the demands of Bangla Pokkho.
