Rajbongshi (language)

Infobox Language
name=Rajbongshi/Rajbanshi/Kamatapuri/Goalpariya
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pronunciation=
states=India, Bangladesh, Nepal
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speakers=2,982,280
familycolor=Indo-European
fam2=Indo-Iranian
fam3=Indic (Indo-Aryan)
fam4=Eastern Zone
fam5=Bengali-Assamese
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iso2b=
iso2t=
iso3=
script=
rank=
nation=
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extinct=
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Rajbonshi is an Eastern Indic language spoken in India, Bangladesh, and Nepal.

Rajbonshi belongs to the Indo-European language family. According to a 1991 census, it was spoken by 3 million people. [ [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=rjb Ethnologue report] ]

Other names of the language are Kamtapuri, Rajbangsi, Rajbansi, Rajbongshi, Tajpuri.

Dialects

The main dialects are Western Rajbanshi, Central Rajbanshi, Eastern Rajbanshi and Rajbanshi Hills also known as Koch language.

The central dialect has majority of speakers and is quite uniform. There are publications in this language. The western dialect has more diversity. Lexical similarity is 77% to 89% between the three dialects. But the one spoken in the hills has some influence of the local tribal languages and differs quite a bit from the other three. Rajbonshi also shares 48% to 55% of its vocabulary with Hindi, and 43% to 49% with Nepali.

A complete reference grammar of the Rajbonshi language can be consulted at and downloaded from the link "asketcho.pdf" at https://oa.doria.fi/handle/10024/33737.

People and Kingdom

The Kamata kingdom appeared in the western part of the older Kamarupa kingdom in the 13th century, after the fall of the Pala dynasty. The rise of the Kamata kingdom marked the end of the ancient period in the History of Assam and the beginning of the medieval period. The first rulers were the Khens, who were later displaced by Alauddin Hussain Shah, the Turko-Afghan ruler of Bengal. Though Hussain Shah developed extensive administrative structures, he could not maintain political control and the control went to the Koch dynasty. The Koches called themselves Kamateshwars (the rulers of Kamata), but their influence and expansions were so extensive and far reaching that their kingdom is sometimes called the Koch Kingdom ruled by then Koch Rajbongshi Kings and Prince.

Koch Kingdom/Kamatapur

The Kamatapur is the ancient name of the Koch-Dynasty which includes the present divided Kamatapur kingdom which includes the entire North-Bengal of the West Bengal, most of the parts of present Assam and adjoining parts of Bihar, Nepal,Bhutan and the present parts of the ancient Rongpur of Bangladesh. Kamatapur is a state demanded by the Rajvanshi/Rajbongshi/Koch-Rajbongshi people of entire pre historic Koch Dynasty which includes the parts of entire North-Bengal most of the parts of present Assam, ^{[Citations needed]} adjoining parts of Bihar, Nepal, Bhutan and Present Rongpur of Bangladesh which was earlier part of the Great Koch Dynasty which was ruled by the Great Koch-Rajbongshi Kings Such as His Highness Maharaja NaraNarayan, Nipendra Narayan, Prince Chilaray. The entire Population of this driscriminated community is demanding their rights which this community deserved as per the ancient and pre historic of India and History of Cooch Behar. The people who are residing in west Bengal have long claimed discrimination by the West Bengal government has led to the poor state of affairs in the region. ^{[Citations needed]}

Among the demands include recognition of their vernacular Kamtapuri, establishing a separate university, development of education and the setting up of a separate state. The demand has led to the setting up of the Kamtapur Peoples Party to attain statehood.

Rajbongshi

Koch Rajbongshi is an ancient tribe originally from the ancient Koch Kingdom. The Rajbongshi Tribe is referred to as Koch Rajbongshi/Rajbanshi/Rajvanshi. The word Rajbongshi means literally "Royal community". They have a rich cultural heritage and their own language.

Habitation and Language

The homelands of this ancient tribe include West Bengal, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and various North Eastern parts of India. Because of migration this community can be found in various parts of India and in other parts of the world. The Rajbongshi/Rajbanshi language is spoken by 2,982,280 people according to a 1991 census report for Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar, Darjeeling, Malda, Murshidabad; Assam, Goalpara District; Bihar, Purnia District, in India. The language is also spoken in Bangladesh and Nepal. Other names of the language are Kamtapuri, Rajbangsi, Rajbansi, Rajbongshi and Tajpuri. The Rajbanshi language has a complete grammar.

Dialects

The main dialects are Western Rajbanshi, Central Rajbanshi, Eastern Rajbanshi and Rajbanshi hills also known as koch language.

The central dialect has majority of speakers and is quite uniform. There are publications in this language. The western dialect has more diversity. Lexical similarity is 77% to 89% between the three dialects. But the one spoken in the hills has some influence of the local tribal languages and differs quite a bit from the other three. Rajbanshi also shares 48% to 55% of its vocabulary with Hindi, and 43% to 49% with Nepali.

Religion and Beliefs

The Rajbongshi were primarily animists but they have adopted different religions and beliefs in the course of time. Some follow Sanatana/Hinduism nowadays, some are Christians and some have stuck to animism.

Royal History

The Kamata kingdom appeared in the western part of the older Kamarupa kingdom in the 13th century, after the fall of the Pala dynasty. The rise of the Kamata kingdom marked the end of the ancient period in the History of Assam and the beginning of the medieval period. The first rulers were the Khens, who were later displaced by Alauddin Hussain Shah, the Turko-Afghan ruler of Bengal. Though Hussain Shah developed extensive administrative structures, he could not maintain political control and the control went to the Koch dynasty. The Koches called themselves "Kamateshwars" (the rulers of Kamata), but their influence and expansions were so extensive and far reaching that their kingdom is sometimes called the Koch Kingdom. ^{[Citations needed]}

Notes & References

* [http://www.coochbehar.nic.in Cooch Bihar official site]

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