Siliguri mayor Gautam Deb has started the process to make it mandatory for all signages in the city to be written in Bengali along with other languages.

The move ostensibly is to preserve the language. However, the politics of identity in north Bengal was not lost on many, following the mayor’s latest announcement.

The mayor said that the proposal will be formally presented at the Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC) meeting soon.

“This proposal will be formally presented at the February board meeting. We aim to secure a unanimous adoption and issue the necessary notification by the beginning of March,” said Deb.

Sources said that during the ‘Talk to Mayor’ session on Saturday, a resident of Siliguri called on the mayor to make Bengali signage mandatory.

In response, the mayor said: “We have already taken steps in this direction. The proposal will be presented in the board meeting this month, and we will implement it with unanimous consent.”

Deb also cited that the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), too, had made it mandatory for all business establishments to put up signages in Bengali along with
other languages.

Even though SMC leaders have maintained that the “demand was longstanding” and was aimed to preserve Bengali which has now been recognised as a “classical language”, many pointed out the increasing influence of identity-based politics in
north Bengal.

“Identity-based politics is strong right from Darjeeling hills to Cooch Behar where demand for statehood is based on community identity. Against this backdrop politicians from Siliguri might not want to be left out,” said an observer.

Until the recent SMC polls, the TMC had struggled to dominate politics in urban areas.

Even though Siliguri is becoming cosmopolitan, the number of Bengali speakers is still the largest in the city.

Sanjay Chiruval, the chairman of the North Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industries, said they had suggested the inclusion of Bengali in signages to the previous administration.

“We had proposed this to the previous administration a long time ago. It’s true that the Bengali signage had been gradually disappearing. We welcome the SMC decision. Even if other languages are used, Bengali must be retained.”

Samrat Sanyal, the general secretary of Himalayan Hospitality & Tourism Development Network, appreciated the mayor’s move. “The initiative to keep Bengali with other languages like Hindi and English is a good step,” he said.