December 8, 2025
Ritabrata Banerjee’s Zero Hour mention on making Poila Baisakh the foundation day of Bengal
Sir, I rise to raise this Zero Hour submission demanding that ‘Poila Boishakh’ (Bengali New Year) be accorded the status of the Foundation Day of our State, West Bengal.Poila Boishakh is intrinsically linked to our culture, our heritage, and our commerce relations. On the day of Poila Boishakh, events like the ‘Mangal Shobhajatra’ (auspicious procession) take place, through which Bengalis resonate the triumph of life. In 2023, the West Bengal Legislative Assembly passed a resolution designating Poila Boishakh as West Bengal’s Foundation Day; the Assembly determined this through a resolution. Sir, our ancestors began settling in Bengal from further east 5,000 years ago. In our veins runs 5,000 years of DNA, 2,000 years of language, and 1,200 years of written history. Sir, Bengal means the first Renaissance outside of Europe. Bengal means the roots of logical, argumentative thought. Bengal means Asia’s first college, the then Hindu College, today’s Presidency. Bengal means Asia’s first university, the Calcutta University. Bengal means Asia’s first medical college, the Calcutta Medical College. Bengal means the Nobel Prize for Rabindranath Tagore as the first non-white person. Now, unfortunately, that language of Rabindranath is being insulted by labelling it a ‘Bangladeshi language.’ It is being said that there is no language called ‘Bangla.’ Sir, I wish to mention here — our demand is for this reason — specifically starting from the ‘Mangal Shobhajatra’ to our Poila Boishakh, that this day is a day to celebrate the triumph of life. The people of Bengal, from the hills to the sea, they want what the West Bengal Assembly has demanded, Ms. Mamata Banerjee has demanded that Poila Boishakh be marked as the Foundation Day of West Bengal.And those who are constantly insulting Rabindranath and Raja Ram Mohan Roy, I say to them, those who call Raja Ram Mohan Roy a … I will speak of abindranath, Sir, the greatest Bengali of a thousand years… Sir, I am sticking to the subject. Regarding Poila Boishakh, Rabindranath himself mentioned in his poem ‘1400 Saal’ (The Year 1400), when Rabindranath was writing ‘1400 Saal’, as he ended that poem, the greatest Bengali of a thousand years wrote: ‘A hundred years from today, Who are you, sitting and reading my poem…’ Rabindranath says: A hundred years from today, the new poet singing songs in your homes, I send my spring’s greeting into his hands,May my spring song, on your spring day, Resound for a moment,In your heartbeats, in the new buzz of bees,In the rustle of leaves, a hundred years from today…’ Please give recognition to Boishakh, Sir.”
