West Bengal has submitted an application for a GI (Geographical Indication) tag for the Rasgolla to stake claim to the origin of the famous sweet and beat Odisha in this respect.
West Bengal Science and Technology Minister Rabiranjan Chattopadhyay reportedly said in Kolkata on Tuesday, "We have filed an application for GI on September 18 with full support from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee."
Both Odisha and West Bengal have been competing in staking their claim on the Rasgolla's land of origin.
The Odisha Government recently decided to form three committees to counter West Bengal's claim as the birthplace of Rasgolla. But the West Bengal Minister said his State Government is not considering forming any such committees at the moment.
West Bengal claims that Nabin Chandra Das had introduced the Rasgolla in 1868 while the Odisha Government asserts that the tradition of offering this sweet by lord Jagannath to Goddess lakshmi on the day of Niladri Bije (the day when the deities return to their abode after the annual Rath Yatra) is at least 300 years old indicating it was much older than the 150-year history of Bengal's Rasgolla.
The West Bengal Minister is quoted to have stated, "Bengal is the birthplace of Rasgolla, and we have prepared a detailed dossier on its origin based on evidences from the Das family and historian Haripada Bhowmik. There is no question on the origins as far as Bengal is concerned".