The West Bengal Chief Minister has decided to make significant changes to government school textbooks. The West Bengal government has announced several significant changes to government school textbooks starting with the new academic session. These proposals include changes to the words used in government school textbooks. The committee has suggested prioritizing the use of words like “Jal” instead of “Pani,” “Baba” instead of “Abba,” and “Maa” instead of “Ammi,” meaning these words will now receive prominence.
This decision was made by the committee under the leadership of West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. Professor Debashish Chatterjee of Kalyani University chairs the committee and was also involved in the decision. He states that words that are more commonly used in common Bengali spoken language will now be prioritized in government school textbooks.
What is the reason behind the changes?
You might be wondering what the purpose of changing words is. According to the committee, Bengali textbooks should contain words that are commonly used in the state’s spoken language. This will promote the common language. Based on this, some words are being changed.
While the government believes that the word changes are intended to promote the common language spoken in the state, critics believe that language is not limited to a single source or tradition; many words in Indian languages also come from Sanskrit, Arabic, Persian, Turkish, and other languages.
Changes will also be made to history books
The proposed amendments are not limited to vocabulary alone; there has been discussion about making these changes to history books as well.
Changes to Literature Textbooks
The proposal also states that some words will be changed in Bengali literature textbooks, and some works have also been recommended for change. Furthermore, there is also talk of removing lessons related to the Singur land movement and the Kanyashree scheme, which were included during the previous government’s tenure. Critics argue that this is a cover-up.
Changes may be implemented by January 2027
According to committee chairman Debashish Chatterjee, the target is to have the first edition of the new text books for government schools ready by January 2027, meaning they will be released next year.
