West Bengal could soon be known as `Bangla`; state Assembly passes bill to change name

KOLKATA: If things go right, West Bengal could soon be known as 'Bangla'. 

The West Bengal Assembly on Thursday passed a resolution to change the state's name from West Bengal to 'Bangla'. The resolution will now be forwarded to Ministry of Home Affairs. 

Once approved by the Home Ministry, West Bengal will officially be known as 'Bangla'.

The proposal was first mooted in 2016. 

Last year, West Bengal cabinet ministers had cleared the proposal change the state's name to Bangla. 

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had suggested that West be named Bangla in Bengali, Bangal in Hindi and Bengal in English. However, the centre had rejected the proposal.

The current proposal is the state will be known as 'Bangla' in all languages. 

One of the reasons put forward by the state to support its name change is that West Bengal always appears last in a list of states in alphabetical order.