Siliguri, July 7 -- With India's caste census scheduled to begin on August 1, a fresh debate has emerged across the Rajbanshi-dominated districts of North Bengal over how members of the community should identify themselves during the enumeration, particularly with regard to their caste and mother tongue.
The Rajbanshi community is an indigenous, historically agrarian ethnic group spread across the sub-Himalayan plains of India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan.
Several organisations and intellectuals have launched awareness campaigns across the plains of North Bengal, including Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar, North Dinajpur, South Dinajpur and Malda, urging members of the community to declare their caste as Rajbanshi and their mother ton...