Indian
Sweet ‘Rosogolla’ turns sour over GI Debate
The Odisha state government has
recently expressed its plans to obtain geographical indication (GI) for the
Rosogolla (also popularly known in India as “Rasgulla”), an age-old sweet which
the Odisha government is claiming to be its own, spurring a bitter debate as to
the true ownership over the world-renowned sweetmeat.
The
step is being taken to boost the Rasgulla, one of the most delectable
traditional sweets of the state, particularly in the National Highway No. 5
between Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, a small settlement of Pahala housing around
120 sweet shops. A special purpose vehicle is being formed for channelising
funds to facilitate the proposed GI registration.
The
MSME Department, to develop the cluster and make it ready for the GI
application, plans to appoint a consultant to suggest necessary changes
required in terms of quality, packaging and others, alongwith judging the
preparedness among the sellers. The department will also take steps to tie up
with the sellers and educate them on how the GI registration has helped
promotion of goods in various parts of the country. A diagnostic study report
will also be conducted to indicate the strengths and weaknesses for the
cluster.
Meanwhile, most food
historians in the neighbouring state of West Bengal have challenged the
aforesaid proposition as they believe that the world-famous sweet was invented
in Kolkata (formerly, Calcutta) in the year 1868 by the iconic confectioner
Nobin Chandra Das, whose son consequently founded the renowned sweetmeat chain
K.C. Das. In fact, a declaration has also been made on the official website of
K.C. Das that Mr. Nobin Chandra Das is the inventor of the Rosogolla.
Implication of grant of GI
The issue
appears to be a hotly debated, and an interesting one at that, as the GI tag
will confer legal protection and ensure that no entity
other than those registered as authorized users (those residing within the
geographical territory) are permitted to adopt or use the popular product name,
thereby promoting the rightful producers of the sweet on a global platform and
boosting their economic prosperity.
Darjeeling tea was the first
GI tagged product in India back in 2004–05, and since then around 208
goods have been added to the list.
The first item to receive
the GI tag from Odisha was the Kotpad handloom fabric followed by Ikat and the
Konark stone carvings. As of today, there are around 14 goods from Odisha in
the list, the latest addition being the Pattachitra textile.
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