Rajbangshis want separate board, recognition of language

Roy, the chairman of a local primary school, has also asked for the immediate publication of a white paper on the activities of Rajbangshi Bhasa Academy — set up by the state government in 2011.

The identity politics of Rajbangshis is intertwined with the demand for a separate state, which culminated through violent protests such as the Kamtapur movement and the Greater Cooch Behar movement. The community, estimated to be two crore in number, is spread across Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri, North Dinajpore and South Dinajpore districts and the plain lands of Darjeeling in West Bengal; Goalpara and Dhubri districts of Assam and Rangpur and Dinajpur districts of Bangladesh.

Maintaining that linguistic and cultural preservation has always been key to all demands of the community, Roy said: “We want the state to form a development board. Like other boards, it can also work for the socio-economic development of the community and help in conserving its cultural heritage.”

The memorandum has demanded that priests in the Rajbangshi community be provided a monthly allowance like Muslim clerics, the process of issuing SC certificates to youths be expedited, life and works of Thakur Panchanan Burma be included in history syllabus in schools and schools switch to the Rajbangshi language as mode of instruction.