People of Darjeeling have started complaining of an attempt at “linguistic imperialism” by Bengal over the hills gaining predominance since the coming into power of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government in the state and are citing the instance of hoardings and posters being erected in the town issuing public notices on various schemes of the government.
The posters often display government schemes such as RupayCard, Jan Dhan Yojana as well as private notices. In any case, the choice of the language defeats the purpose of these notifications as the common Gorkha people are unable to read and understand what is written in Bengali, say residents of Darjeeling.
According to the agitated denizens of the hill town, besides smacking of an attempt to impose a form of “linguistic imperialism,” by attempting to promote the Bengli language over the locally prevalent Nepali language, these hoardings, seen in Chowrasta area, Gandhi road, Darjeeling bus stand and other places where there is high density traffic, were also marring the natural ambiance of the queen of the hill stations.
It is complained that ever since the Trinamool has come to power, Nepali has almost ceased to exist as an official language. Many people have repeatedly highlighted the undermining of Nepali language by the Bengal government, but to no avail. “The continued undermining of Nepali and languages other than Bengali not only highlights the deliberate attempt by the Bengal government to undermine our mother tongue, but also points to the imposition of Bengali in almost every sphere of official business, and thus perpetuating a form of linguistic imperialism in the region,” says a veteran of Darjeeling.
Finding that political parties have not taken up the grievances of the common people despite being apprised about them, Bishal Lama, who belongs to Darjeeling but is currently residing in Mumbai, has penned an online petition for the cause. The petition ‘Please mandate usage of Nepali in hoardings issued for public interest at Darjeeling’ has been openly forwarded to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, GTA Chief Executive Bimal Gurung, M.P. of Darjeeling S.S. Ahluwalia and the district authorities of Darjeeling. The petition, available at ‘change.org,’ has currently acquired 164 followers who have signed in for the cause. (HS)
Source: EOI
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| Hoarding in Bengli language over the locally prevalent Nepali language seen in Chowrasta |
According to the agitated denizens of the hill town, besides smacking of an attempt to impose a form of “linguistic imperialism,” by attempting to promote the Bengli language over the locally prevalent Nepali language, these hoardings, seen in Chowrasta area, Gandhi road, Darjeeling bus stand and other places where there is high density traffic, were also marring the natural ambiance of the queen of the hill stations.
It is complained that ever since the Trinamool has come to power, Nepali has almost ceased to exist as an official language. Many people have repeatedly highlighted the undermining of Nepali language by the Bengal government, but to no avail. “The continued undermining of Nepali and languages other than Bengali not only highlights the deliberate attempt by the Bengal government to undermine our mother tongue, but also points to the imposition of Bengali in almost every sphere of official business, and thus perpetuating a form of linguistic imperialism in the region,” says a veteran of Darjeeling.
Finding that political parties have not taken up the grievances of the common people despite being apprised about them, Bishal Lama, who belongs to Darjeeling but is currently residing in Mumbai, has penned an online petition for the cause. The petition ‘Please mandate usage of Nepali in hoardings issued for public interest at Darjeeling’ has been openly forwarded to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, GTA Chief Executive Bimal Gurung, M.P. of Darjeeling S.S. Ahluwalia and the district authorities of Darjeeling. The petition, available at ‘change.org,’ has currently acquired 164 followers who have signed in for the cause. (HS)
Source: EOI
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