Koch Rajbanshi organisations submitted a memorandum seeking ST status, Rajbanshi language recognition and other demands in Assam
Guwahati: Various Koch Rajbanshi organisations submitted a memorandum to Assam Guardian Minister Ashok Singhal at the Circuit House, seeking Scheduled Tribe (ST) status for the community, recognition of the Rajbanshi language and other demands.
Representatives of the Koch Rajbanshi Sahitya Sabha, Koch Rajbanshi Lekhika Sabha and Koch Rajbanshi Students’ Association were among those who submitted the memorandum.
Koch Rajbanshi Sahitya Sabha president Dwijendra Nath Bhakat said granting ST status to the community remained their primary demand. The organisations also sought clarity on whether the Assam government’s report on the issue had been forwarded to the Centre and why the process remained pending.
The groups further demanded that the upcoming Dhubri-Phulbari bridge be named after a historical Koch Rajbanshi ruler, preferably Maharaja Biswa Singha or Maharaja Parikshit Narayan.
They also urged the government to ensure proper identification of the community and its language during the ongoing Census, with the community recorded as Koch Rajbanshi and the language as Rajbanshi.
Another key demand was the inclusion of Rajbanshi in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. Bhakat urged the state government to take up the matter in the Cabinet and Assembly before forwarding a recommendation to the Centre.
The organisations also called for measures to promote the Rajbanshi language in Assam, citing initiatives undertaken in West Bengal.
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