Nobel laureate economist Amartya Sen has spoken out on the alleged harassment of Bengali speakers in India, saying he would not object if sent to Bangladesh.
“I hear these days that if you speak Bengali, you are sent to Bangladesh,” Sen said on Friday. “Well, if I speak French, will they send me to France? I don’t know French, but if they send me to Bangladesh, I won’t mind. My ancestral home is in Dhaka.”
Sen’s comments come amid growing tensions over language and identity politics. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has repeatedly alleged that Bengali-speaking communities are being harassed in states ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Her remarks have highlighted a widening cultural and political divide, where the BJP’s emphasis on a Hindi–Hindutva narrative often clashes with the linguistic and cultural identity of non-Hindi states.
The remarks were made during the relaunch of The United Spiritual Pursuit of Hindus and Muslims in India, a book by Sen’s grandfather Khitimohan Sen, at the Amartya Sen Research Centre in Salt Lake. Addressing an audience that included students, Sen stressed that linguistic and cultural diversity must be respected across India.
“Wherever a person comes from, they have the right to be respected,” Sen said. “India must not forget this. Whether someone is Punjabi, Tamil or anything else, dignity must be upheld. If people from West Bengal are obstructed or disrespected in another state, there must be strong protest. But protest should not create new problems for others.”
He cautioned against harsh administrative actions that could harm ordinary citizens. “The rights of the poor cannot be ensured by unfair means. Many in our country lack proper documents. In trying to fix one mistake, you cannot make seven others,” he said.
Sen also rejected attempts to label Bengali as a “Bangladeshi language” and warned against harassment of Bengalis outside West Bengal. “I never claim Bengalis are the greatest. But it is important to highlight what Bengali is, where the language came from and the valuable aspects of Bengali civilisation,” he said.
The Salt Lake event was attended by students from schools, colleges and universities, who engaged with Sen in a Q&A session. His remarks come at a sensitive time, as language and citizenship issues continue to feature prominently in Indian politics.