Protests erupt over shortage of Bengali teachers in Jharkhand schools

The Jharkhand Banglabhashi Unanyan Samity on Wednesday staged a demonstration in front of the East Singhbhum district collectorate protesting the alleged lack of Bengali language teachers and textbooks in schools in the state.

Activists of the Samity, which is the central committee of over 100 organisations of the Bengali community of Jharkhand, also opposed the proposed renaming of Dr Syama Prasad Mukherjee University in Ranchi.

A memorandum addressed to Chief Minister Hemant Soren was handed over to the deputy commissioner demanding that Bengali be taught in schools and adequate textbooks in the language be made available.

Juran Mukherjee, general secretary of the Samity's East Singhbhum unit, criticised Education Minister Ramdas Soren for his alleged misleading remarks about Bengali-speaking students in the state.

A delegation of the Samity had recently met the education minister to apprise him about the problems faced by Bengali language students across Jharkhand.

During the meeting, Soren had said there were no Bengali-speaking students and asked the Samity to bring such students to schools, then the government would provide textbooks and teachers, Mukherjee said in a statement.

"It is completely incorrect and misleading. His remark has sparked widespread opposition in the society," the statement said.

Mukherjee claimed that out of 24 districts of the state, 16 were predominantly Bengali-speaking, while Bengali-speaking students were present in every school.

The Samity alleged that a deliberate conspiracy was being hatched to marginalise the Bengali language since a separate Jharkhand state was formed two-and-a-half decades ago.

Mukherjee strongly demanded that appropriate measures be taken to preserve the Bengali language in the state.

He said the Samity opposes the state government's decision to rename the Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee University in Ranchi, hailing the Bharatiya Jana Sangh founder as a great nationalist and educationist.