A recent letter from the Delhi Police referring to the Bengali language as the "Bangladeshi language" has ignited a political firestorm, with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Trinamool Congress (TMC) General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee lambasting the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for what they call a deliberate insult to Bengali identity. The controversy, emerging amid TMC's ongoing campaign against the alleged harassment of Bengali-speaking migrant workers in BJP-ruled states, is amplifying the narrative of Bengali pride as the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections approach.
The Controversial Delhi Police Letter
The controversy stems from a letter issued by Inspector Amit Dutt of Lodhi Colony police station, addressed to the officer in charge of Banga Bhawan, New Delhi. The letter requested a translator for the "Bangladeshi language" in connection with an ongoing investigation. An excerpt from the letter reads:
"In connection with the investigation of a case, there is a requirement of a translator for the Bangladeshi language. It is requested to provide a translator to assist in the interrogation process at the earliest." The reference to Bengali as "Bangladeshi language" has been widely condemned by TMC leaders as an affront to Bengal’s cultural and linguistic heritage, with many viewing it as indicative of a broader pattern of discrimination against Bengali-speaking communities.
Mamata Banerjee took to X to express her outrage, framing the incident as part of a systematic attack on Bengalis by the BJP-led central government. She called it “scandalous, insulting, anti- national, unconstitutional”. While highlighting that Bengali is her motor tongue, she stated: “the language of Rabindranath Tagore and Swami Vivekananda, the language in which our National Anthem and the National Song (the latter by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay) are written, the language in which crores of Indians speak and write, the language which is sanctified and recognised by the Constitution of India, is now described as a Bangladeshi language”. She called it an insult to all Bengali-speaking people of India and urged for strongest possible protest.
Abhishek Banerjee, TMC’s national general secretary, escalated the attack, demanding an apology from Amit Shah and the suspension of the officer responsible. In his X post, he wrote: "This is not a mere clerical error, It is yet another CALCULATED ATTEMPT by the BJP to defame Bengal, undermine our cultural identity and equate West Bengal with Bangladesh for narrow political propaganda. It is a direct violation of Article 343 and the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. There is no language called “Bangladeshi.” To call Bangla a foreign language is not just an insult- It’s an attack on our identity, culture and belonging. Bengalis are not outsiders in their own homeland. This is why we call the BJP BANGLA BIRODHI and ZAMINDAR. They do not respect India’s diversity. They thrive on division”. He also demanded an apology from Delhi police.
The Delhi Police letter controversy is the latest flashpoint in TMC’s ongoing campaign highlighting the alleged targeting of Bengali-speaking migrant workers in BJP-ruled states such as Odisha, Maharashtra, Delhi, and Haryana. Mamata Banerjee has repeatedly accused the BJP of orchestrating a "linguistic terror" campaign, claiming that Bengali migrants are being unfairly labeled as illegal immigrants, detained, and even deported to Bangladesh. The Delhi Police have faced significant backlash but have not issued a direct clarification regarding the "Bangladeshi language" reference in the letter. Interesting the probe by the Delhi police, for which they required a translator, pertains to the case of the arrest of 8 individuals by the Lodhi Colony police station, suspected to be Bangladeshi. The investigation required decoding of certain documents written in Bengali, for which they had put forth the request. The eight arrested people have been booked under Foreigners Act and have been sent to Judicial Custody.
