Tag: Bengali

Baithaki Bangla to strengthen cultural ties between two sides of Bengal: WB CM

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WB CM Ms Mamata Banerjee arrived at Dhaka yesterday after 17 long years to attend the Bhasa Divas ceremony.

She has been invited as the chief guest of the ceremony by the Bangladesh Government. This is her first visit to Bangladesh as the Chief Minister of West Bengal.

 

Stregthening cultural ties 

‘Baithaki Bangla’ was the first engagement of the Chief Minister which was a platform for interaction between the luminaries of both the countries from the world of literature, drama, music. She would be later meeting the President and the Prime Minister of Bangladesh during her stay.

The cultural fraternity of both sides of Bengal met and discussed how to strengthen cultural ties and standing relations between West Bengal and Bangladesh.

Rising above borders 

WB CM Ms Mamata Banerjee called this initiative as a ‘meeting of minds’. At Baithaki Bangla, the CM said that no border in the world can divide the hearts of two Bengals. She proposed a series of steps to cement the cultural bond between her state and Bangladesh, including the construction of a “Bangabandhu Bhaban”, a building to be named after the country’s founder Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

“Political geography has divided us, but there is no division in our two minds. I feel proud to be a part of the Bhasa Divas celebration,” she said during her interaction with litterateurs and cultural figures.

 

Here is what she tweeted after Baithaki Bangla: 

 

Bhasa Andolon has strengthened ties between West Bengal and Bangladesh: WB CM

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WB CM Ms Mamata Banerjee today laid the foundation stone of ‘Bhasa Smarak ’near the Birla Planetarium to pay homage to the martyrs of language movement.

The WB government had set up a ‘Bhasa Shaheed Smarak’ at Deshapriya Park earlier, but this one will at the heart of the city. After laying the foundation stone she said, “this Smarak will be a replica of the Dhaka University one and Jogen Chowdhury will modify it a bit. I am proud I will be in Bangladesh on 21 Feb. Thanks to UN for declaring it International Mother Language Day.”

Earlier in the day she addressed the press at the West Bengal Assembly. “The Bhasha Andolan strengthens the relationship between the two countries which share a large history and culture. I want the cultural, business, transport relationship with Bangladesh to develop further”, she said.

She expressed her gratitude to the Bangladesh Government for inviting her. She added, “I feel proud that the Bangladesh Government has extended invitation to us on the occasion of Bhasa Divas. The day is very significant in the history of Bangladesh. We have a very good cooperation with the Bangladesh authorities. I will be meeting the Bangladesh President and the Prime Minister.”

She also spoke about pending issues of border enclave and fishermen. WB CM Ms Mamata Banerjee has talked with the Union External Affairs Minister. She said, “We have requested the Center to prepare a rehabilitation package for the people living in the border enclave. Due to crossing of geographical boundaries, fishermen from both India and Bangladesh get arrested. We have been releasing the Bangladeshis, mostly fishermen, held as prisoners from time to time. Bangladeshi Government is also reciprocating.”

 

“West Bengal will act as bridge for cultural exchange between Bangladesh and India. In West Bengal we celebrate the Bhasa Divas by paying respect to all languages. I pay my tributes to “Bhasha Shahids” she added.

 

CM Ms Mamata Banerjee will be leaving for Dhaka later today. She has been invited as the chief guest of “Bhasa Divas” ceremony at the Central Shaheed Minar.

 

primary education

Primary education – Bengal shows the way

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West Bengal is steadily coming out of the shadows of the CPM misrule in every sphere, be it education, health or industries.

The Annual Status of Education Reports 2014 (ASER) states that in the fields of reading English and Bengali and solving arithmetic at primary level, students of the State are far ahead of the National Average.

The survey was conducted among 5.70 lakh students aged between 3 and 16, from 16 thousand 497 villages of 577 districts in the country.

In the criteria where third standard students could read books of the first standard, the national average in 2012 had been 40.4 while Bengal’s average was 45.6. In the 2014 survey, the national average is 40.3 whereas the State’s average is 56.2.

In the criteria where fifth standard students could read books of the third standard, the national average in 2012 had been 48.3 while Bengal’s average was 48.9. In the 2014 survey, the national average is 48.1 whereas the State’s average is 53.1.

In the criteria where third standard students could do arithmetic like subtraction, the national average in 2012 had been 19.8 while Bengal’s average was 25.1. In the 2014 Survey, the national average has fallen to 17.3 whereas the State’s average rose to 33.0.

Incidentally, the school dropout rate among girl students has also decreased in the State after the introduction of Kanyashree project in 2012.

 

Image courtesy: The Hindu