The Quest for Identity of the Rajbanshi Community in Assam and West Bengal

Abstract

The present study The Quest for Identity of the Rajbanshi Community in newlineAssam and West Bengal is an attempt to study the Rajbanshi Community s identity newlinemovement in lower Assam and North Bengal. Apart from its significant impact on the newlinesocio-political history of Assam and West Bengal, the Rajbanshi Community s newlineidentity movement is instrumental to a very large extent in bringing similar identity newlineaspirations among other communities in Assam and West Bengal. To understand the newlineproblem a field study was conducted from November 2019 to November 2020. For newlinethis purpose, an adequate size of the sample was drawn from different socio-cultural newlineand literary organizations including the common people who could throw light on this newlineissue. Moreover, this work has been done keeping in mind all probable aspects related newlineto the problem while analyzing the relevant Government official documents, news newlinepapers and interpretations of different people of the Rajbanshi community many of newlinewhom are directly involved with the movement. newlineIdentity is a concept that means belongingness. It is not a fixed or determined newlinestructure. Identity is built through intimate interaction between individuals, society, newlineand history. As a social constitute every type of identity undergoes changes with newlinechanges taking place in society, culture, technology, and political system. In general, newlineidentity is defined with the self of uniformity or sameness and non-uniformity or newlinedifference. Sameness focuses on the self of identity whereas the difference focuses newlineon the other of identity. In recent years, discourses on Indian Federal System are full newlineof controversies. Demand for smaller states has been a very prominent subject and newlinechallenge in contemporary Indian politics. Voices for separate statehood have been newlineemerging from different regions, political groups, and cultural identities. The creation newlinevi newlineof new states on regional, linguistic, or cultural differences has always been newlineconsidered to be detrimental to the unity of the country.