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.[1] The word "Rajbongshi" literally means "royal community". They have a rich cultural heritage and their own language.
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The homelands of this ancient tribe include West Bengal, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and various North Eastern parts of India. The Great Kamatapur was divided into Bangladesh, West Bengal, Assam, Nepal, Meghalaya, Tripura, Bihar and Bhutan, during the British rule and after the independence of India. A large number of Rajbongshi people now live in North Bengal, West Assam, Meghalaya, Bangladesh and Nepal. A large number of political and non-political organizations of this community have been formed in West Bengal and Assam. Most prominent among them are Kamatapur People's Party, Greater Coochbehar Demanding Committee, All Koch Rajbonshi Students Union and Koch Rajbonshi Sanmilani, and these groups are demanding a separate Kamatapur state consisting of North Bengal and West Assam. Kamatapur Liberation Organization is an armed militant outfit of the Rajbonshi community, and it is demanding independent Kamatapur State to bring back its past glory. Because of migration, this community can be found in various parts of India and other parts of the world.
The Rajbongshi/Rajbanshi language is spoken by one crore people, according to a 2001 census report for West Bengal (Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar, Darjeeling, Malda and Murshidabad), Assam (Goalpara, Kokrajhar, Dhubri and Bongaigaon) and Bihar (kishanganj District) in India. The language is also spoken in Bangladesh and Nepal. Other names of the language are Kamtapuri, Rajbangsi, Rajbansi, Rajbongshi, Goalpariya and Tajpuri. The Rajbanshi language has a complete grammar.[2]
The main dialects are Western Rajbanshi, Central Rajbanshi, Eastern Rajbanshi and the dialect of the Rajbanshi of the 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 dialect spoken in the hills has some influence of the local tribal languages. Koch Rajbonshi Sahitya Sabha has given emphasis on bringing a unique identity of the Rajbonshi language.
The Rajbongshi were primarily animist, but later on they followed Hinduism/Sanatana (both Shaiva and Vaishnabhite), A few section of Rajbongshi pleople were also found to be followers of Christianity, both Roman Catholic and protestant.
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 Koch Rajbongshi's called themselves Kamateshwars (the rulers of Kamata/Kamatapur Kingdom), but their influence and expansions were so extensive and far reaching that their kingdom is sometimes called the Koch kingdom. Under His Highness Maharaja Naranarayan the then King of Kamatapur, the Koch dynasty flourished to the highest extent and his brother Shukladhwaj Singha (famous as Chilarai) was one of the greatest heroes of that time and he prominently dominated the eastern part of Kamatapur which now known as Assam(Previously Assam is known as Pragjyotispur)now it is known as Asom which is an integral part of The Republic of India.
The Rajobngshi community has a rich heritage and culture which had been inherited from the ancient civilization. The Rajbongshi community has their own dialects, culture, and way of living. The culture reflects the humbleness, peace, unity and harmony with nature, as Rajbongshi are primarily animist.
A few rulers, kings, queens, princes and princesses of the Koch dynasty are His Highness Maharaja Naranarayan, Prince Chilaray, Maharani Gayatri Devi, (Princess Gayatri Devi later on married Prince of Jaipur Man Singh) which had helped a strong relationship between the two kingdoms. Maharaja Ajit Narayan Dev of Sidli ( Capial at Bidyapur) Kingdom was also part of the Koch dynasty.
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