Mamata Banerjee extends greetings to people on Hindi Diwas

On this occasion, Banerjee listed several initiatives such as the establishment of the Hindi Academy, the setting up of a Hindi University in Howrah, Hindi-medium colleges in Banarhat and Naxalbari, and the introduction of Hindi postgraduate courses in several colleges.

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday extended her greetings to people on Hindi Diwas, and said her government respects all languages.

She also highlighted several initiatives taken by her government for the welfare of Hindi-speaking people in the state, including the recognition of Hindi as an official language in areas where 10 per cent of the population speaks the language.

"Today is Hindi Diwas. On this occasion, I extend my heartfelt greetings to all my Hindi-speaking brothers and sisters. Every year, we celebrate Hindi Diwas with reverence. We are respectful towards all languages," Banerjee posted on X.

She also said, "In this context, let me mention that since 2011, we have taken several steps for the development of Hindi-speaking people in the state. In areas where more than 10 per cent of the population speaks Hindi, provisions have been made to use Hindi as an official language."

Banerjee said her government has also recognised Santali, Kurukh, Kudmali, Nepali, Urdu, Rajbanshi, Kamtapuri, Odia, Punjabi, and Telugu as official languages.

"We have also made efforts to promote the Sadri language," she said.

She noted that higher secondary question papers and secondary exams at Rabindra Mukta Vidyalaya are now available in Hindi.

Social security schemes have been extended to Hindi-speaking workers in the unorganised sector, Banerjee said.

Hindi Diwas is observed on September 14 every year to commemorate the adoption of Hindi as one of the official languages in India.