Silchar: The Barak Democratic Front (BDF) has welcomed the Assam Legislative Assembly’s decision to recognise Hindi as an official associate language but has strongly questioned why Bengali, the mother tongue of nearly one-third of Assam’s population, has not been granted similar recognition.

In a press statement issued on Tuesday, BDF Media Cell Convenor Jaydeep Bhattacharya said the recent inclusion of Hindi alongside Assamese, English and Bodo was a positive step. However, he objected to the Assembly Speaker’s reported description of Hindi as the “national language”, stating that India has no national language and that all 22 languages listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution enjoy equal constitutional status.

Bhattacharya said the issue was not about the numerical strength of language speakers. While Bodo speakers account for around 4 per cent of Assam’s population and Hindi speakers around 7 per cent, he questioned why the state government had shown no interest in extending official associate language status to Bengali, which is spoken by nearly one crore people in the state.

Responding to the argument that Bengali already enjoys official language status in the Barak Valley, Bhattacharya pointed out that Bodo also has official status within the Bodoland Territorial Region but was still granted recognition at the state level. He also noted that Bengali’s official status in the Barak Valley was achieved only after the historic Language Movement and the sacrifice of eleven language martyrs, rather than through a voluntary government decision.

He said that granting Bengali official associate language status across Assam would not bring major material benefits but would serve as an important symbol of respect and recognition for the state’s second-largest linguistic community. Such recognition, he said, should be reflected in the Legislative Assembly, government signboards and official administrative work.

The BDF leader further claimed that Bengali voters played a significant role in the ruling party’s success in the recent Assembly elections across both the Brahmaputra and Barak valleys, and therefore the government has a responsibility towards the community.

Expressing concern over what he described as the growing marginalisation of Bengalis in Assam, Bhattacharya alleged that the community has been steadily losing its socio-economic and political rights. He cited the low number of Bengali candidates fielded by political parties in recent elections, the inclusion of only one Bengali minister in the Assam Council of Ministers, alleged discrimination in government employment and the reduction in Bengali representation following the recent delimitation exercise.

Calling for greater unity and awareness, Bhattacharya urged Bengali MLAs and MPs from the Barak Valley to raise the issue in the interest of the community. He also appealed to ordinary citizens to become more vocal in defending their linguistic and cultural rights.

He said that while other ethnic and linguistic communities in Assam and the Northeast actively safeguard their collective interests by setting aside political differences when necessary, the Bengali community has often remained indifferent to its own concerns. Unless this changes, he warned, Bengalis in Assam will continue to be treated merely as a vote bank while their legitimate rights and dignity remain overlooked.

The statement was issued by Hrishikesh Dey, Convenor of the Barak Democratic Front (BDF).