Khalistani terrorist, linked to Punjab police station attack, arrested in Delhi
Those killed in the Pilibhit encounter were believed to be operatives of the Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF), also suspected to be behind a separate grenade attack on a police outpost in Punjab in November 2024.- EndsTrending Reel
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Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Del cops are right, there's no language called Bengali: Malviya
Kolkata: There is no language called 'Bengali', said BJP's Bengal minder Amit Malviya on Monday. Leading Bengal BJP's efforts to defend Delhi Police 's choice of words in its notice seeking translators for "Bangladeshi national language", Malviya posted on X, "Bengali denotes ethnicity, not linguistic uniformity," adding, "There is, in fact, no language called 'Bengali' that neatly covers all these variants. " Criticising Trinamool for "inciting linguistic conflict", Malviya wrote: "Delhi Police is absolutely right in referring to the language as Bangladeshi in the context of identifying infiltrators. The term is being used to describe a set of dialects, syntax, and speech patterns that are distinctly different from the Bangla spoken in India. The official language of Bangladesh is not only phonologically different but also includes dialects like Sylheti that are nearly incomprehensible to Indian Bengalis. " "So, when the Delhi Police uses 'Bangladeshi language', it is a shorthand for the linguistic markers used to profile illegal immigrants from Bangladesh — not a commentary on Bengali as spoken in West Bengal," he added. You Can Also Check: Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in Kolkata "For context, 'Ananda Math' was written in Bangla of the era, against the backdrop of the Sanyasi Rebellion. The iconic 'Vande Mataram' was composed separately in Sanskrit and later incorporated into the novel. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 22 Illustrations of a Husband and Wife in Everyday Life Watch More Undo 'Jana Gana Mana', originally composed and sung as a Brahmo hymn, was written in Sanskritised Bangla," posted the BJP neta. Malviya went on to add: "Mamata Banerjee's reaction to Delhi Police referring to the language used by infiltrators as 'Bangladeshi' is not just misplaced, it is dangerously inflammatory. Nowhere in the Delhi Police letter is Bangla or Bengali described as a 'Bangladeshi' language. To claim otherwise and call upon Bengalis to rise against the Centre is deeply irresponsible. Mamata Banerjee should be held accountable — perhaps even under the National Security Act — for inciting linguistic conflict. " Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya had said on Sunday that there was nothing wrong with the choice of words. "If you pick up a book written by Subodh Sarkar and another by Shafikul Islam of Bangladesh, you will get to know the difference instantly. Speaking in Bangla is no qualification for being a citizen of India or a bona fide voter."
New Indian Express
3 hours ago
- New Indian Express
'Scandulous': Mamta Banerjee reacts sharply on 'Bangladeshi language' row; Stalin shows solidarity
West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee sharply criticized the Delhi Police's reference to Bengali as 'Bangladeshi language' in a correspondence related to the arrest of eight alleged Bangladeshi nationals in the capital. TN CM echoed her sentiments in the fight against the assault on 'non-Hindi' languages at large.
India Today
7 hours ago
- India Today
Legal arrest, linguistic misstep: Delhi Police FIR stirs 'Bangladeshi language' row
A legitimate arrest of an illegal immigrant in Delhi has spiralled into a politically charged controversy, after an internal communication by the Delhi Police allegedly referred to Bengali as a "Bangladeshi language". The error, though seemingly minor, stirred a political storm, especially in poll-bound West Bengal, where language and identity are deeply intertwined. The alleged error pitted the Centre and the Trinamool Congress against each LANGUAGE THAT DOES NOT EXISTThe controversy erupted with an internal police note during the investigation of an FIR registered on March 11, 2025. The document referenced evidence in the "Bangladeshi language" — a term that has no linguistic basis. The official language of Bangladesh is Bengali, which is also widely spoken in Indian states like West Bengal, Tripura, and parts of semantic slip was swiftly politicised. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee took to X (formerly Twitter), writing, "See now how Delhi police, under the direct control of the Ministry of Home, Government of India, is describing Bengali as 'Bangladeshi' language!"THE FIR THAT SPARKED ROW The case involves 27-year-old Mohammad Jewel Islam, a Bangladeshi national arrested from the Bhogal–Jangpura area in South Delhi. According to the FIR filed at Lodhi Colony Police Station, Islam had entered India illegally in 2021 via the Cooch Behar border in West Bengal, without valid interrogation, Islam submitted a Bangladeshi National ID (No. 3325183683) and the identity cards of his mother and brother, confirming his Bangladeshi citizenship. He had procured an Aadhaar and PAN card in Delhi using allegedly forged documents, with the help of an agent from Hazrat has since been booked under the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Foreigners Act, and the Aadhaar Act. Seven more individuals were arrested in connection with similar document-related GAP THAT'S OVERSHADOWING THE CASEWhile the arrest and evidence appear legally sound, the fallout from the language misstep has dominated headlines. The mention of "Bangladeshi language" was not part of the FIR, but a note accompanying a translation request. However, it has become the focal point of political argue that such errors reflect a lack of cultural and linguistic awareness within enforcement bodies. Film personalities and community leaders across the Bengali diaspora have condemned the terminology as reductive and harmful, particularly in a country as linguistically diverse as VS PROFILING: WHERE'S THE LINE?The case has raised uneasy questions about how identity is perceived in law enforcement. While the FIR process demonstrated procedural diligence, the reference to language has sparked concerns over ethnic is no language called "Bangladeshi." Bengali, the official language of Bangladesh, is also a constitutionally recognised Indian language. Dialects such as Sylheti, Rarhi, Rajbanshi, and Chittagonian are spoken across both India and Bangladesh, often with indistinguishable warn that using language as a proxy for nationality is dangerous. In a multilingual country like India, dialects don't follow borders. A resident of Cooch Behar or Malda may speak in a dialect nearly identical to someone from across the border in Rajshahi or Khulna. Mistaking that for evidence of foreignness risks criminalising speech and misidentifying OF SPEECH: WHY DIALECT CAN'T DECIDE CITIZENSHIPThe Bangladeshi national's arrest was based on tangible documents, not speech. Yet, the fallout underscores a deeper flaw: the assumption that language can denote citizenship. This case highlights the urgent need for training law enforcement in linguistic and cultural competence.A speaker's dialect cannot serve as biometric data. As experts and politicians have pointed out, legitimate Indian citizens across Tripura, Assam's Barak Valley, and Meghalaya speak dialects like Sylheti, which are also common in POLICE'S SILENCE, BJP'S REBUTTALThe Delhi Police has not issued a formal statement on the language error, allowing political parties to dominate the narrative. The BJP defended the terminology, with National Information in-charge Amit Malviya writing on X, "Nowhere in the Delhi Police letter is Bangla or Bengali described as a 'Bangladeshi' language."advertisementMalviya added, "Delhi Police is absolutely right in referring to the language as Bangladeshi in the context of identifying infiltrators.' However, his comment that 'dialects like Sylheti are nearly incomprehensible to Indian Bengalis" triggered Susmita Dev responded sharply: 'Now BJP calls Sylheti a Bangladeshi language... We have lived in this region since 1874 as part of Assam, and before that, Bengal. Zero knowledge of history.' Congress's Gaurav Gogoi also joined in, saying, 'Today the BJP IT cell insults the Bengali language spoken by lakhs of people in Tripura, Meghalaya and the Barak Valley of Assam.'WHAT THIS COMES AROUND ASThis case underscores how fragile public trust becomes when administrative errors collide with questions of identity. In the context of West Bengal's politics, where language is central to cultural and political identity, such a mistake is seen as more than a bureaucratic enforcement agencies acknowledge the complexity of India's linguistic landscape, and communicate with greater precision, even a misused word risks overshadowing legitimate law enforcement work — turning proof into politics and mistakes into movements.- EndsMust Watch
