THE ASIAN INDEPENDENT UK
Wg Cdr Dr Ranjit Kumar Mandal (Retd) of Bangalore, India visited the Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL), Mysore on the 02 Jul 2026 and met the Director, CIIL. The CIIL is currently the highest advisory body to the Government of India to advise the Government of India on the language related matters. And Dr. Mandal being a researcher and a writer of the Rajbanshi language and its associated literature culture had the natural interest to discuss with the Director on the matter of development of Rajbanshi language.
The Rajbanshi language is one of the oldest languages of India and which was found in use by the indigenous communities of North and North Eastern India right from the 10th Century BC – one of them being the Rajbanshi. This language was once the most used language and was the language with which the rulers of the Rajbanshi community (Koch Dynasty) ruled for centiuries. But due to several socio-political reasons, the language has been dropped form its position of being used in administration, legislation judiciary and education. It is now one of the “Lesser Resources Languages” in India. It is now a language for communication and cultural exchanges for certain people living the countries like India, Bangaladesh Nepal and Bhutan. However, the scholars like Dr. Mandal have been working relentlessly in tandem with the Governments to bring back the glory of this language and get it included in the 8th Schedule of the constitution of India.
During the visit, Dr Mandal first interacted with the officers of the CIIL and then met the Director Prof (Dr) Basavraj CUK. Dr Mandal was accompanied by Prof (Dr.) Mahohar Deshmukh, a former NCERT professor and former Principal of a B.Ed. College of Bangalore. Dr Mandal also presented his third Rajbanshi language book to Prof Basavraj, titled – Phrases, Idioms and Riddles of Rajbanshi language: Rajbanshi Chilkas and Sollloks in English and Bengali Verse.
