In a calculated political move ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee launched a statewide 'language movement' to protest what she calls the “continuous oppression of Bengali-speaking people” in several Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states. The movement officially began on Saturday, July 27 and is set to continue with protest programmes every Saturday and Sunday across the state.
The epicentre of this renewed agitation is Rabindranath Tagore’s Bolpur, Birbhum, where the Chief Minister arrived on Sunday afternoon to kick off a series of administrative and political events. The most prominent among them will be a protest march scheduled for Monday, in which Mamata herself will lead a three-kilometre-long procession.
According to party sources, the Chief Minister’s visit to Birbhum carries both political and administrative weight. On Monday afternoon, she will preside over an administrative review meeting at the 'Gitanjali' meeting house, assessing the progress of key government welfare schemes like Swasthya Saathi, Lakshmi Bhandar and Karmashree.
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Later in the day, around 4 PM, Mamata will lead the protest march starting from the Bolpur Tourist Lodge intersection to the Jamboni intersection. At the conclusion of the rally, she will garland the statue of Rabindranath Tagore and address the public. On Tuesday, July 29, she will attend a government event in Ilambazar before returning to Kolkata.
The protest movement comes amid growing allegations of mistreatment of Bengali speakers in Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra— all BJP-governed states. The Chief Minister had earlier reacted strongly to the issue at a July 21 public meeting in Kolkata, declaring, “We will not accept this insult to the Bengali language.”
Tensions in Birbhum have already started to rise ahead of her visit. Trinamool Congress leaders are viewing this campaign as a politically significant move, especially as the 2026 state elections approach.
Adding fuel to the fire, international human rights organisation Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused the Centre of deliberately targeting and deporting Bengali-speaking citizens. Mamata amplified the charge by sharing the report on her X handle, writing, “Now, even international human rights organisations have started taking note of the linguistic terrorism unleashed in India. This must stop at once!”
Political analysts suggest that this campaign could significantly influence both local administration and political dynamics in Birbhum. “We are eagerly waiting to see what message the leader gives before the 2026 assembly elections,” said Ashish Banerjee, Chairman of the Birbhum TMC Core Committee.
With emotions running high and political stakes rising, all eyes are now on Birbhum— where language, identity, and politics are once again at the heart of West Bengal’s electoral battleground.
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