Rechristening West Bengal, the Mamata Way: Didi Didi Bongo Bongo

The TMC regime’s proposal to rename West Bengal Bangla is a recipe for confusion and merriment, writes Shuma Raha.

(Photo: Lijumol Joseph/ The Quint)

Fifteen years after Calcutta became Kolkata, it’s now West Bengal’s turn to bite the dust. Yesterday chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s Cabinet passed a proposal to rename the state as simply, Bengal. In Bangla (the language), the state will be called either Bangla or Banga.

Now, slicing off “West” from West Bengal makes eminent good sense. That “West” had been forlornly trailing Bengal ever since the Partition of the country in 1947. That’s when the word lost its mojo completely. Once its twin East Bengal had become East Pakistan, West Bengal became a curious geographical misnomer. West Bengal? Then was there an Eastern variety lurking somewhere? And if not, why was this eastern state called West Bengal?

Was the Name a Misnomer?

It was a directional conundrum for the new generation of Indians who had to go back to history if they wanted to make sense of it (the Brits had split the Bengal province into East and West in 1905). Even after 1971, when East Pakistan won its independence from the rulers in Islamabad and became Bangladesh, “West” Bengal survived – like a vestigial memory lingering long after the area’s geography had evolved.

So who can protest if that archaic “West” finally gets the boot? Even those who howled with indignation when Calcutta became Kolkata in 2001 will see the rationale here. Besides, consider the time saved when clicking on “Bengal” in a drop down menu. Scrolling all the way down to “West Bengal” is seriously painful every time.

Unfortunately, every silver lining has a cloud. In this case, it’s the Trinamool Congress government’s decision to persist with English and Bengali versions of the state’s name. In what is bound to be a recipe for confusion and merriment, Pashchim Banga, which is what the state is called in Bangla, will now change to Bangla or Banga.

In local patois, bangla refers to country liquor, a fact that has caused much mirth on social media. (Photo Courtesy: West Bengal Excise Department)

‘Banga’ versus ‘Bangla’

Take the name “Bangla”.

a) It will seem like an abridged edition of next-door neighbour Bangladesh – not very helpful if you want a distinct identity for your state.

b) Bangla is also the vernacular word for the Bengali language. So it will be like calling Gujarat, Gujarati or Bihar, Bihari.

c) In local patois, ‘bangla’ refers to country liquor, a fact that has caused much mirth on social media. Of course, one could argue that a shot of that potent concoction, even if in name, could make you forget the dismal economic affairs of the state.

Banga, on the other hand, has a slight advantage over Bangla. It harks back to the region’s ancient name, when it was part of the triptych of Anga, Vanga and Kalinga, roughly encompassing modern day Bihar, Odisha, West Bengal and Bangladesh. It also sounds different from Bangladesh.

However, Union minister Babul Supriyo tweeted that Banga, pronounced “Bongo”, will sound like the musical instrument, bongo. He has a point. Besides, it will lend official sanction to “Bong” – the slightly pejorative, fun name for Bengalis everywhere.

Fetish for Name Change

• The name West Bengal was a geographical misnomer after East Pakistan became Bangladesh in 1971.
  
• Among the name proposed, ‘Banga’ would be more appropriate than ‘Bangla’, the latter vernacular name smacking of regionalism.
  
• Changing the name of a place, street, city, etc is intended to get rid of colonial monikers, often associated with British times.
  
• Rechristening is a political ploy to impress a certain section of voters and give a false sense of pride.
  
• India has been witness to a spate of such name changes with Bombay being renamed Mumbai, Madras being renamed Chennai and so on.
  

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Bannerjee pays tribute to Dr Bidhan Chandra Roy on his birth and death anniversary in Kolkata, 1 July, 2016. (Photo: IANS)

Dropping Colonial Monikers

The question is, why is the TMC government complicating matters by continuing with separate English and Bengali names for the state? No other Indian state exhibits this schizophrenic bilingual hang-up. Also, if doing away with colonial monikers is what such name changes are all about, why keep the plummy sounding “Bengawl”? (It’s like dawl, which is how Anglo-Indian nuns used to pronounce the humble daal in my school days.)

Or maybe the TMC doesn’t have such an issue with all things colonial? Probably not, given that the government has constructed a hideous replica of the Big Ben in Kolkata – no doubt in an effort to make the city into another ‘Lawndawn’.

Political Frenzy

Politicians take to name changes like cats to catnip. It’s the simplest way to make a political, nativist statement, one with oodles of aam aadmi appeal. Or, at least, that’s what they think. And India has seen a raft of such changes: Bombay to Mumbai, Madras to Chennai, Baroda to Vadodara, Gurgaon to Gurugram… the list goes on.

Hence, it was high time West Bengal or Pashchim Banga too got a makeover. Yes, one worries about the potential muddle over Bangla, the bhaasha (language), and Bangla, the baasha (home).

But if anyone can wrap her head around such muddles, it is Mamata Banerjee. Remember how she renamed a road after filmmaker Satyajit Ray and called it Satyajit Ray Dharani? It was a classic instance of linguistic legerdemain, replacing boring, old sarani (road) with a startling new dharani (earth).

I’m betting Didi will speak and all confusion over Bengal, Bangla, Banga et al will vanish. Just wait for the Word.

(The writer is a senior journalist based in Delhi. She can be reached at @ShumaRaha)

Also read:
West Bengal to Bongo? Twitter’s Going Bonkers Over the Name Change
After Gurugram, Will India Become ‘Hindustan’?