There would have been no independence without Bengal says W.B. CM

Highlighting the unnecessary targeting of people for speaking in Bengali, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday (August 14, 2025) said there would have been no independence without Bengal.

“Among the people who were jailed during freedom struggle maximum were from Bengal. 70% of those in the cellular prison at Andaman and Nicobar were from Bengal. We have kept a replica of those names at the Alipore Museum,” the Chief Minister said, addressing a gathering to mark 12 years of Kanyashree Dibas.

Ms. Banerjee said that the Union government was free to act against foreigners but spoke against unnecessary targeting of people for speaking in Bengali. The Trinamool Congress chairperson highlighted that a few days ago a family was denied a room at Noida for speaking in Bengali. “I respect other languages, then why will you not respect my language,” she asked.

The remarks by the Chief Minister come at a time when several cases of targeting of Bengali migrant workers have surfaced in different states across the country. Some migrant workers have been pushed back into Bangladesh but later repatriated after the intervention of Stater authorities. The Trinamool Congress has launched a sustained movement on the issue calling it an attack on “Bengali identity”.

PIL on migrant workers

During the day, a Division Bench of Supreme Court comprising Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi heard a public interest litigation filed by Samirul Islam, the chairperson of West Bengal Migrant Welfare Board on the unlawful detention, torture and harassment against thousands of Bengali-speaking migrant workers in BJP ruled states. “The Supreme Court has directed all the States and the Union government to file an affidavit in response to the allegations mentioned in the PIL. The court will hear the case again on 25.08.2025,” Mr. Islam told The Hindu.

Kanyashree Dibas

Speaking at the gathering organised on the occasion of Kanyashree Dibas the Chief Minister said so far 93 lakh students have taken benefit of the ‘Kanyashree’ scheme and it would surpass 1 crore next year.

As part of the scheme, school girls in the age group of 13 to 18 are provided ₹1,000 annually and given a one-time grant of ₹25,000 when they turn adult, provided that they are engaged in an academic or occupational pursuit and are unmarried. The West Bengal government observes ‘Kanyashree Dibas’ on the eve of the Independence Day every year to celebrate Kanyashree, a conditional cash transfer scheme for school going girls aimed at reducing child marriage and drop outs.

West Bengal is among the States in the country which accounts to highest number of child marriages. A study on child marriage in India published in the Lancet in 2024 noted the overall decrease in child marriage across the country but pointed out that four States, mainly Bihar (16.7%), West Bengal (15.2%), Uttar Pradesh (12.5%), and Maharashtra (8.2%) accounted for more than half of the total headcount burden of child marriages in girls.