Rosogolla Belongs to West Bengal, But There's a Catch

For long there has been a tussle between Odisha and West Bengal about the origins of the Rasagulla. Both states claim that this popular chenna-based sweet was created in their state. Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee's tweet on 13th November claimed to have laid to rest this tussle for now.

Sweet news for us all. We are very happy and proud that #Bengal has been granted GI ( Geographical Indication) status for Rosogolla

— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) November 14, 2017

The sweet and syrupy debate has been settled in favour of West Bengal. But here's the catch - the GI tag has been granted only for "Banglar Rasogolla" which translates to ' Rasogolla of Bengal', not to the Rasgulla in general.

According to a report in IANS, a state government official from Odisha said that West Bengal has got the GI tag for 'Banglar Rosogolla' and not for Rasgulla in general. The official was quoted saying, "If we apply for GI tag, we can get it for Odisha Rasagola. So, the origin of Rasagola is not settled in anyone's favour."

Unlike West Bengal, the Odisha government is yet to apply for the GI tag in its favour.

The decision has been made under the GI Act that authenticates products to either geographical locations or to communities or societies. The battle between Odisha and West Bengal began in the year 2015 when Odisha's Science and Technology Minister Pradip Kumar Panigrahi had pointed that the origin of the sweet rosagolla existed for about 600 years and that it was originated in Puri.

In response to this, the West Bengal government quoted 19th century history to claim that rosogolla was invented by Nabin Chandra Das, a popular sweetmeat maker in the year 1868.

Here are some reactions from Twitter after Chief Minister, Mamta Banerjee broke this news earlier.

Only in kolkata how cute are Bongs #Kolkata#kolkataairport#rosogolla#traveldiariespic.twitter.com/y44LoXAKzv

— लंदन योगिनी (@londonyogini786) November 12, 2017

Odias were too busy making and devouring #Rasagola to bother about applying for GI! This will be a better excuse than any #Odisha govt will offer.
Bengal was sorted and won a sweet victory for #Rosogollapic.twitter.com/KzA64mmL01

— Newspauper (@ippusultan) November 14, 2017

bengalies be like - apne toh humse humara guroor chhin liya
how could we let that happen? #rosogolla

— Roop (@asliroop) November 14, 2017