Bengal, Odisha battle for rasgulla likely to take a bitter, legal turn

KOLKATA : A bitter fight between Bengal and Odisha over the origin of the syrupy sweetmeat rosogolla, or rasagolla, or rasgulla as it is known in north India, is likely to reach the courts.

Bengal’s food processing minister Abdur Rezzak Mollah said his government will not “let Odisha claim the credit” for developing the rosogolla.

“Bengal is the origin of rosogolla... We have decided to move court. Let the court decide. We will pursue the matter till the very end,” Mollah told HT.

The battle intensified in 2015 when Odisha’s science and technology minister Pradip Kumar Panigrahi told media that more than one committee set up to trace the origin of the dessert pointed to ‘conclusive evidence’ that rosogolla existed in the state for about 600 years.

The debate over the origin of rasgulla, is not merely about protecting Bengali and Odiya sentiments. The bragging rights will translate into good business for confectioners in the state that wins.

According to a Bengal government official, the court petition will be filed in tandem with an application for Geographical Indication (GI) to cement the origin debate. A GI tag is an intellectual property identifier of sorts that recognises the origin of a product. For instance, Darjeeling has been given a GI tag for Darjeeling tea.

BENGAL GOVT OFFICIAL SAID THE PETITION WILL BE FILED IN TANDEM WITH AN APPLICATION FOR GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATION TAG TO CEMENT THE ORIGIN DEBATE

In the Darjeeling region, native tea growers can challenge the sale of a product claiming to be Darjeeling tea if it is not sourced from their gardens.

The Bengal government quotes nineteenth century history to claim rosogolla was invented by Nabin Chandra Das, a famous sweetmeat maker, in 1868.

Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee is keen on showcasing the dessert as Bengal’s ambassador on the global stage. Her idea has found support among sweet makers in the state.

The Odisha government, on the other hand, quotes historical researches to claim ‘rasagolla’ originated in Puri. Its first avatar was ‘kheer mohana’, which later evolved as ‘pahala rasagolla’.

On July 30, 2015, the Odisha government launched a socialmedia campaign #RasagollaDibasa to celebrate its origin. An exhibition and awareness event was also organised in Bhubaneswar by confectioners of Odisha.

Rosogolla has been available in Odisha’s mutts and temples for about six centuries, the Odisha minister had then said.