Much to the disappointment of people of Odisha, West Bengal has won the claim over the origin of the sweetmeat Rasagola as the neighbouring State has been awarded the Geographical Indication (GI) tag.
The Food Processing Industries and Horticulture Department of the West Bengal Government had in September 2015 written a letter to the Geographical Indications Registry office in Chennai seeking official seal over its claim. It said that the way Rasagola is made in West Bengal is different from that of other States.
As officials of the GI Registry said Rasagola is the creation of Bengal and is in any way not of Odisha, reports said.
The West Bengal Government had sought the GI tag for what they called “Banglar Rasogolla” (Bengal’s Rasagola) in its application before the Intellectual Property office in 2015.
While Odisha staked its claim over the mouthwatering desert, the West Bengal Government claimed that Rasagola was invented by Nabin Chandra Das of that State in 1868.
Earlier, the Odisha Government had asked its Science and Technology Department to apply for patent as well as GI tag for the State’s Rasagola. A committee set up by the department conducted research on the origin of Rasagola and finally concluded that the sweet had its origin in Odisha. The research cited that Rasagola existed in Odisha since 15th-16th century as it has been mentioned in the ‘Dandi Ramayana’. But despite historical proof and evidence about origin of Rasagola, the State Government did not proceed further to get its claim recognised.
Jagannath cult scholar Asit Mohanty had already submitted a 100-page report claiming that Rasagola originated in Odisha. In the report to the State Government, he contended that the sweet’s reference was found in ‘Dandi Ramayana’, a version of the epic adapted by Balaram Das in the 16th century. The report claimed that Rasagola is being offered to gods in mutts and temples for over 600 years.
Since last couple of years, traders in Odisha have been celebrating ‘Rasagola Dibas’ on the auspicious occasion of Niladri Bije of lord Jagannath.
However, the West Bengal Government maintained that there is no relation between the Rasagola prepared in their State and the one offered to lord Jagannath.
Now, it remains to be seen how the Odisha Government reacts to the latest development.