The Rajbongshi Alphabet

Rajbongshi (ISO 639-3: rjs) is an Eastern Indo-Aryan language spoken primarily by the Rajbongshi people — a Scheduled Caste community historically linked to the Koch royal dynasty — in Cooch Behar and Jalpaiguri districts of North Bengal, West Bengal, India, and in parts of Assam. It belongs to the Bengali-Assamese branch of the Indo-Iranian language family, the same branch as Standard Bengali, Assamese, Kamtapuri, and Rangpuri. Speaker estimates range from 2 to 3 million.

Rajbongshi is closely related to Kamtapuri (ISO 639-3: rkt) and Rangpuri (ISO 639-3: rkt) and forms part of the North Bengal dialect continuum. However, Rajbongshi is assigned its own separate ISO 639-3 code (rjs), distinguishing it from Kamtapuri/Rangpuri in linguistic databases. The Rajbongshi community is known for its vibrant oral poetry, songs, and cultural traditions closely tied to the Cooch Behar region and the Koch-Rajbangshi identity.

Rajbongshi is written in the Bengali script (Unicode Block U+0980–U+09FF) — the same left-to-right Brahmic abugida used for Standard Bengali and Assamese. The Bengali script includes 36 consonant letters, 11 independent vowel letters, vowel diacritics (কার, kar), the chandrabindu (ঁ) for nasalisation, the hasanta/virama for consonant clusters, and Bengali-specific digit forms (০–৯).

Because Rajbongshi uses the same script as Standard Bengali, written Rajbongshi text looks identical to Bengali script on the page. The difference is entirely in the language, pronunciation, and vocabulary. Bengali-literate speakers can read Rajbongshi text using the same script knowledge, making the Bengali script a bridge for literacy in the North Bengal region. Informal digital communication may use Latin romanisation, though no standard romanisation has been officially adopted for Rajbongshi.

Rajbongshi, Kamtapuri, and Rangpuri are closely related varieties of the same North Bengali dialect continuum, all spoken by the Koch-Rajbangshi community. The key difference is that Rajbongshi has its own ISO 639-3 code (rjs), while Kamtapuri and Rangpuri share the code rkt. Rajbongshi is more specifically associated with the Rajbongshi people as a Scheduled Caste community identity in West Bengal and Assam, with its cultural roots deeply tied to the Cooch Behar royal heritage.

In terms of linguistic features, Rajbongshi, Kamtapuri, and Rangpuri share the Bengali script, the same consonant and vowel inventory, and broadly similar grammar. Differences are primarily found in specific vocabulary items, pronunciation, and community self-identification rather than in major structural features. All three varieties form a dialect continuum, and speakers of one can generally understand speakers of the others.

The Rajbongshi (also spelled Rajbansi or Rajbangsi) are a community historically associated with the Koch royal dynasty of the Kamata Kingdom and the Koch Bihar princely state of North Bengal. They are listed as a Scheduled Caste in West Bengal and Assam and as an Other Backward Class (OBC) in some states. The Rajbongshi are among the largest communities in North Bengal, with a significant presence in Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri, and adjacent districts.

The community has a rich cultural heritage including traditional forms of music (such as bhawaiya and chatka), distinctive cuisine, and festivals linked to the natural cycle of the Terai and Dooars region. The Koch-Rajbangshi community — a broader identity that encompasses the Rajbongshi, Kamtapuri, and Rangpuri-speaking populations — has historically advocated for official language recognition, a separate state (Kamtapur), and Scheduled Tribe status in India.

Rajbongshi is primarily spoken in the Cooch Behar and Jalpaiguri districts of North Bengal, West Bengal, India. It is also spoken in the Alipurduar and North Dinajpur districts and in the adjacent areas of Assam — particularly the Dhubri, Bongaigaon, and Kokrajhar districts. The Cooch Behar district, which was the seat of the Koch Bihar princely state, is the cultural centre of the Rajbongshi community.

The geographic distribution of Rajbongshi overlaps substantially with Kamtapuri and Rangpuri, reflecting the shared Koch-Rajbangshi community across North Bengal and Assam. The Dooars and Terai regions — where many Rajbongshi speakers live — are ecologically rich zones at the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas. Urban migration has also created Rajbongshi-speaking communities in Kolkata and other cities of West Bengal.

The ISO 639-3 code for Rajbongshi is rjs. This is a separate code from Kamtapuri/Rangpuri (rkt), reflecting the distinct documentation of Rajbongshi in linguistic databases. In Glottolog, Rajbongshi is documented under the languoid identifier "rajb1241". The language is classified within the Eastern Indo-Aryan branch, closely related to Bengali (ISO 639-3: ben), Assamese (ISO 639-3: asm), and the rkt varieties (Kamtapuri/Rangpuri).

The Koch-Rajbongshi community and associated cultural organisations have advocated for the inclusion of Rajbongshi (sometimes listed alongside Kamtapuri and Rajbangshi) in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution, which lists officially recognised languages of India. This advocacy reflects the linguistic, literary, and cultural significance of Rajbongshi to approximately 2–3 million speakers across North Bengal and Assam.