Rajbanshi people

The Rajbanshi, also Rajbongshi and Koch-Rajbongshi, are peoples from Lower Assam, North Bengal, eastern Bihar, Terai region of eastern Nepal, Rangpur division of North Bangladesh and Bhutan who have in the past sought an association with the Koch dynasty. Today, they speak various Indo-Aryan languages, though in the past they might have spoken Tibeto-Burman languages. The community is categorized as OBC in Assam, SC in West Bengal, and ST in Meghalaya. They are the largest Scheduled Caste community of West Bengal. In 2020, Kamatapur Autonomous Council has been created for socio-economic development and political rights of Koch-Rajbongshi community. They are related to the ethnic Koch people found in Meghalaya but are distinguished from them as well as from the Hindu caste called Koch in Upper Assam that receives converts from different tribes. Rajbanshi (of royal lineage) alludes to the community's claimed connection with the Koch dynasty. The Rajbanshi (literal meaning: of the royal lineage) community gave itself this name after 1891 following a movement to distance itself from an ethnic identity and acquire the higher social status of Kshatriya Hindu varna instead. The kshatriya identity was established by linking the community to the Koch dynasty. The Rajbanshis were officially recorded as Koch till the 1901 census. The name Rajbanshi is a 19th century neologism. Worldwide, there are an estimated 11-12 million Rajbanshi people. According to 1971 Census figures, 80% of the North Bengal population was once of the Rajbanshi tribe. As per as last late 2011 census, It has been estimated that it have came down to just mere 30%. The un-checked infiltration along the Indo-Bangladesh border and intrusion of Biharis caused a lot of demographic change over time. Population of Bengali-speaking Muslims, Bihari Muslims and Bangladeshi low-caste Namasudras have increased rapidly in areas like: Jalpaiguri, Koch Bihar, Alipurduar etc. over the last 50 years, hence causing demographic changes over time.