Bengal finally wins the battle over rosogolla on World Diabetes Day

The bitter debate over the origin of the sweet rosogolla ended on Tuesday. The Geographical Indications (GI) Registry announced that the ‘Rosogolla’ originated in West Bengal and not Odisha.

Odisha and Bengal have been locked in a bitter fight over the GI registration of rosogolla since 2015.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee celebrated the news on twitter

Abdur Rezzak Mollah, food processing minister in Banerjee’s cabinet, told the Hindustan Times he is “happy and relieved”.

“Earlier, we fought successfully with other states to get the GI registration for Joynagarer Moa, a popular winter snack made of puffed rice and palm jaggery,” added Mollah.

A delighted Mollah said the sweet is his favourite but high blood sugar prevents him from eating it.

Mollah said last week the state government will not “let Odisha claim the credit” for developing the rosogolla.

“Bengal is the origin of rosogolla... We have decided to move court. Let the court decide. We will pursue the matter till the very end,” Mollah had said.

“Odisha unnecessarily raised a dispute over the issue,” said Partha Chatterjee, education minister.

The battle turned worse in 2015 when Odisha’s science and technology minister Pradip Kumar Panigrahi set up several committees to trace the origin of 'Rosogolla'. They even went a step further to declare July 30 as ‘Rasagolla Dibasa’, to celebrate its origin. Then Bengal government too then set up a committee and decided to fight the Odisha government's claims legally.

Many Odias claim that the answer lies in the history of Puri in Odisha, where this 700-year-old sweet dish was part of a ritual. The legend goes that Lord Jagannath offered the sweets to his consort Lakshmi, to pacify her for not being taken along during the Rath Yatra or ritual chariot ride, reported The Better India.