The West Bengal Official Language Act, 1961 was an act of the legislature of the State of

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...

Republic of India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, which accorded official status to the

Bengali language Bengali ( ), generally known by its endonym Bangla (, ), is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language native to the Bengal region of South Asia. It is the official, national, and most widely spoken language of Bangladesh and the second m ...

for all state business, including legislation, except in the three hill subdivisions of Darjeeling, Kalimpong, and Kurseong of the existing Darjeeling district in which the

Nepali language Nepali (; , ) is an Indo-Aryan language native to the Himalayas region of South Asia. It is the official, and most widely spoken, language of Nepal, where it also serves as a '' lingua franca''. Nepali has official status in the Indian st ...

was also recognised. It was passed during the chief ministership of B. C. Roy. The demands for Nepali had mainly come from the Nepali-speaking Gorkha majority communities of the Himalayan subdivisions of

Darjeeling Darjeeling (, , ) is a town and municipality in the northernmost region of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the easternmost province of Nepal, ...

Kalimpong Kalimpong (Hindi: कलिम्पोंग) is a town and the headquarters of an eponymous district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located at an average elevation of . The town is the headquarters of the Kalimpong district. The re ...

and Kurseong. In 1992, Nepali was recognised as one of

languages with official status in India There is no national language in India. However, article 343(1) of the Indian constitution specifically mentions that, "The official language of the Union shall be Hindi in Devanagari script. The form of numerals to be used for the official pur ...

by being included in the

Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India The Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India lists the official languages of the Republic of India. At the time when the Constitution was enacted, inclusion in this list meant that the language was entitled to representation on the Officia ...

Statement of the Act

West Bengal Act XXIV of 1961 THE WEST BENGAL OFFICIAL LANGUAGE ACT, 1961. 1 November 1961 An Act to provide for the adoption of the Bengali language as the language to be used for the official purposes of the State of West Bengal including purposes of legislation. It is hereby enacted in the Twelfth Year of the Republic of India, by the Legislature of West Bengal, as follows: — 1. (1) This Act may be called the West Bengal Official Language Act, 1961. :(2) It extends to the whole of West Bengal. 2. With effect from such date, not later than four years from the date of commencement of this Act, as the State Government may, by notification in the ''Official Gazette'', appoint in this behalf— (a) in the three hill subdivisions of the district of Darjeeling, namely, Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong, the

and the

, and (b) elsewhere, the Bengali language, shall be the language or languages to be used for the official purposes of the State of West Bengal referred to in article 345 of the

Constitution of India The Constitution of India (IAST: ) is the supreme law of India. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental ri ...

Notes

References

Sources

* * * *{{citation, last=Sen, first=Jahar, chapter=Appendix 5: The West Bengal Official Language Act, 1961, page=107–108, title=Darjeeling: A Favoured Retreat, year=1989, isbn=81-85182-15-9, location=New Delhi, publisher=Indus Publishing Company Language legislation Bengali language 1961 in Indian law West Bengal state legislation