Crisis in the Indigenous Rajbanshi S. C. Community of Bengal

Article; Tapas Sarkar:

Like other indigenous people, Rajbanshi community is a mass tolerant indigenous and ethnically oriented community which has been, geographically and demographically, residing in different areas in diverse situations. As the four states of India- Bengal, Assam, Bihar, and Meghalaya are identified as Rajbanshi resident regions, and simultaneously the same community is also dwelling in Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal with minimal existence. Whithersoever they are living, they are confronting extreme identity crisis being divided by political and geographical conditions. With this context the Rajbanshi community of the six districts of Bengal (Cooch Behar, Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, and, especially Malda, Dakshin Dinajpur, and Uttar Dinajpur), are currently undergoing through traditional, cultural, social, and historical identity crisis surreptitiously containing the same language, identical culture, and similar but constantly modified tradition from generation to generation keeping their silent struggle with the main stream Kolkata centric Bengali society, and the flourishing attitude of modernization, and globalization. 

    The main objective of this proposed study would be to help in understanding (a) why Rajbanshi community is still not able to unify themselves and identify their own values, (b) how the rejection of self-identification has become a normal issue, and (c) how rootlessness and heart ache for home has created dualism in the mind of this community.

Modernization and globalization have always been altering the ideologies, systems and beliefs of the Rajbanshi people. On the other hand, Rajbanshis have always been deprived of many legitimate rights, in fact they have now become the rigorous victims of politically geographical division of their homelands which is considered as the major hindrance in identifying their people ethnically one. The continuous inclusions of foreign dress codes, new habits, culture, modern taste of art, and aesthetic have insidiously been leading them to be distorted and dismantled with their past glorious culture, and heritage creating a crucial identity crisis in them and within themselves. That is why Rajbanshis need to ponder about themselves and their own community to make them conscious of their situations, and to identify them to the world where they have ever been unidentified as what they actually are.

    In literal sense the word ‘Rajbanshi’ connotes “royal community”. Rajbanshis, as their origin, identify themselves as the successors of the ancient Koch Rajbanshi or Rajvanshi or Rajbanshi tribe originally belonged to the Koch kingdom in the northern part of Bengal. In the 13th century, with the fall of Pala dynasty the Kamata Kingdom emerged and then the Koch dynasty came to power with an administrative structure given by Alauddin Hussain Shah, the contemporary Turko-Affghan rular of Bengal. During the period of Maharaja (king) Naranarayan and his brother Shukladhwaj Singha (known as Chilarai), the Koch kingdom expanded its empire up to Assam. Later, due to the Indian partition, division of states, migration, relocation and immigration, Rajbanshi people dispersed in different geographical fragments with expurgated identities. In the early 90s of the ninetieth century, with the establishment of Kshatriya Samity, Panchanan Barma, earlier known as Panchanan Sarkar, led Rajbanshi people to attain Kshatriya and Brahminical values in the Rajbanshi people and identified them as Rajbanshi Kshatriya. After, with several demands and political debates, from the economically backwardness view point, Rajbanshis were categorized under the Scheduled Caste category by the Indian Constitution (S. C.) Order, 1950. 

    In the present time, though there are nearly eighty lakh Rajbanshis living in the six districts of Bengal, their language has not yet been given that much importance and recognition; they are still being identified by the main stream Bengali language and attitude. This negligence of self-identification gives birth of several political and non-political organizations like Kamtapur People’s Party, Greater Coochbehar, Koch Rajbanshi Sanmilani, All Koch Rajbanshi Students Union, Kantapuri Association, and Vishwa Rajbanshi Unnayan Mancha, in demanding a separate Kamtapur state which will be consist of Northern part of Bengal and West Assam. Notwithstanding, the Rajbanshis are continuously suffering from backwardness in economy, education, and other social status as most of the Rajbanshis live in rural areas especially depending upon farming; they face poverty, lack of education, and failure in competition with the main stream society. 

    Lack of education is a severe problem of Rajbanshis. Still, many of them believe that education is just a luxurious and costly thing as they are still economically weak; to support their family young generation is intended to earn money than accepting academic knowledge. 

    Their language, which is called Rajbanshi or Kamtapuri is considered inferior having no plenty written literature on its own. They feel ashamed with their own language as it is not given preference neither by the central nor the state. Though, in Koch Behar district, a university has been established under the name of Panchanan Barma, and the recent Government of Bengal has sanctioned some preliminary schools in Rajbanshi language, it is problematic in solving their issues till it is political. 

    Deficiency of written literature is a barrier in identifying Rajbanshis’ origin culture and tradition. To have a critical study of this community a researcher needs to depend upon their oral literature, festivals, and ceremonies, but these are becoming marginalized along with their marginalization. 

    Rajbanshis are still backward, not because they are unaware or ignorant, rather they are politically bound in thinking themselves as inferior, less valued, and unpolished community because of geographical fragmentation and Kolkata centric Bengalianism mind set. 

    The crisis of the Rajbanshis is not only political, lingual, or geographical, it has now become psychological. Because, many highly educated Rajbanshis think that there is nothing of dignity in their community, and consciously or unconsciously they are rejecting their own ancestral language, culture, and tradition to be shifted to the main stream Bengali modernity causing a crucial identity crisis to their own society for its future existence. This is like a double victimisation of Rajbanshis, within Bengal as whole and within themselves as part. “Rajbanshis kill rajbanshi’s indigenous identity with the attitude of the Main Stream Bengalianism, extreme globalization, and postmodernist world views”. So, what would be their identity in future? Would not this identity be a deathly-crucial shifting from the origin to the imposed identity of others? 

    Ancestral identity or tradition means the transference of beliefs, behaviours, and customs from one generation to other; and this transmission of tradition is necessary for a society. Because, if the transmission process is end, a society or community either seize to exists or it will reach at the fag-end. So, critical research and preservation of Rajbanshi language and its emerging literature is crucially significant. Otherwise, the continuous rejection of self-identification will lead this ancient community to be succumbed by itself.