Entering the second half of the Monsoon Session in the Assembly on Tuesday, the Trinamool Congress (TMC)-led West Bengal Government is poised to introduce a motion that designates April 15, the onset of the Bengali new year – known as Poila Boisakh – as Paschim Banga Dibas (West Bengal Day).The party also intends to propose the adoption of a Rajya Sangeet (state anthem) in the near future, as confirmed by TMC leaders. Many states already have their own anthems, and the proposed anthem for West Bengal would encompass the states essence and culture, inside sources told media personnel.This decision to celebrate April 15 as the foundation day of the state follows a recent confrontation between the Mamata Banerjee government and the Raj Bhavan. The latters assertion of June 20 as the states foundation day stirred controversy, notably after the BJP raised the demand.The TMC countered the proposal by saying that June 20 evokes sorrow and bloodshed as it marks the partition of Bengal into West Bengal and East Pakistan (later, Bangladesh).On June 20, 1947, the Bengal Assembly witnessed two distinct meetings by its legislators. One faction opted to remain with India, while the other chose to align with Pakistan.At the time, Mamata Banerjee articulated her perspective in a letter to Governor CV Ananda Bose, writing, “The state was not founded on any particular day, least of all on June 20. Contrarily, the state was formed through the infamous Radcliffe Award, which was given legitimacy by the departing colonial / imperial government … Since Independence, we in West Bengal have never commemorated or celebrated any day as the Foundation Day of West Bengal. Rather, we have seen the Partition as a result of the unleashing of communal forces that could not be resisted at that point of time.”The TMCs stance was reiterated by its spokesperson, Kunal Ghosh, who criticised the Governor for destroying Bengali traditions and insulting the history and people of Bengal.The Communist Party of India (Marxist) also criticised the development as a distortion of history and blamed it on BJPs politics.Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari from the BJP countered that celebrating June 20 was justified.West Bengal sets up parliamentary committee to decide on Paschim Banga Dibas dateThe decision to decide on a day for Paschim Banga Dibas was decided by a parliamentary committee set up by the West Bengal Assembly, Bengal Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sovandeb Chattopadhyay said. The committee was constituted by West Bengal Assembly Speaker Biman Banerjee, with Deputy Speaker Asish Banerjee as the convenor and Harvard University Professor and Netaji Subhas Chandra Boses grandnephew Sugata Bose as an advisor.The committee has already sent its proposal to the state government, who will decide on the final outcome.The decision to establish a state formation day and a state anthem follows in the TMCs policy of evoking Bengali pride before elections. The party, led by Mamata Banerjee, has often invoked this sentiment, from commemorating Bengals luminaries to championing the “Ma, Mati, Manush (Mother, Soil, People)” slogan. In the face of its chief rival, the BJP, the TMC has strategically employed Bengali pride, accentuating the local versus outsider narrative during the 2021 Assembly elections.
