Koch-Rajbongshis

11.03.2025

Koch-Rajbongshis

Why in the news?  

              Ahead of the Home Minister's three-day visit to Assam, the Koch-Rajbongshis have renewed their demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

About Koch-Rajbongshis:

• Koch Rajbongshi is an ancient tribe originally from the ancient Koch kingdom.
• The Rajbongshi tribe is referred to as Koch Rajbongshi, or Rajbanshi, or Rajvanshi.
• The word "Rajbongshi" literally means "royal community".
• Considered as indigenous people of South Asia, at present they live in lower Nepal, Northern Bengal, North Bihar, Northern Bangladesh, the whole of Assam, parts of Meghalaya, and Bhutan.
• These modern geographical areas were once part of the Kamata kingdom ruled by the Koches for many centuries.
• The community is variously designated as OBC (Assam), SC (Bengal), and ST (Meghalaya).

Language of the tribe:

• The Rajbongshi/Rajbanshi language is spoken by one crore people, according to a 2001 census.
• It has a complete grammar.

Religion and Beliefs:

• They are largely Hindus with lots of their own deities and rituals.
• A large section of Koch Rajbanshi became followers of Islam, and the present Muslims of North Bengal, West Assam and Northern Bangladesh are of Koch Rajbanshi origin.
• There are also Christian and Buddhist Koch Rajbanshis.
• The primary livelihood of the tribe is agriculture and farming. They live very close to nature because of the fact that primitively they were ‘Animist’ and the same significance is still prevailing among the tribe.

                                                              Source: The Hindu

Consider the following statements regarding the Koch-Rajbongshis, recently seen in the news:

Statement-I: They are an ancient tribe originally from the ancient Koch kingdom.

Statement-II: They are classified as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) of Assam.

Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

A.Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, and Statement-II is the correct explanation for Statement-I.

B.Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, and Statement-II is not the correct explanation for Statement-I.

C.Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect.

D.Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct.

Answer C