Kolkata, Jan 11 (IANS): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking the inclusion of Bengali in the list of classical languages of the country.

In her letter, a copy of which is available with IANS, the Chief Minister, in support of her plea, has pointed out that besides being a national language and the official state language in West Bengal, Bengali is also the second most-spoken language nationally and the 7th most spoken language globally.

She also claimed that Bengali also fulfills all the four criteria to be classified as a classical language.

According to her, the case for Bengali’s classical status is supported by its rich historical evolution encompassing both oral and written traditions.

"Evidence from archeological findings, inscriptions, references to ancient Sanskrit and Pali texts, and a substantial body of the pre-seventh-century Bengali literature underpins its classical heritage," the letter had read.

In another letter to the Prime Minister also written on Thursday, the Chief Minister has requested the PIM’s intervention in declaring the Gangasagar Mela at Sagar Islands in South 23 Parganas district as a National Fair.

She has also requested the Prime Minister to take time off the busy schedule and make a trip to Sagar Island during the fair days. In this letter, she has also pointed out that it takes huge expenditure to organise the Gangasagar Mela and currently it is fully funded from the state government exchequer without any kind of financial support from the Union government.