It’s official: Rasgulla belongs to West Bengal, not Odisha

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday announced that the state had been granted geographical indication (GI) status for rasgulla.

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

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

GIs are signs used on products that possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin. In order to function as a GI, a sign must identify a product as originating in a given place.

India, as a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), enacted the Geographical Indications of Goods in 2003.

In 2015, a report of Bengalis and Odiyas sparring over the origin of the sweet went viral on social media. The fight got so intense that the Odisha government even set up three committees to look into matters relating to the origin rasgulla.

The first committee would look into facts and evidence regarding the origin of Rasgulla in Odisha, the second would study the ground, based on which …read more