Sir— This refers to the editorial, “Just desserts, have two!” (November 16). Two State Governments, West Bengal and Odisha, found honour of sorts as roshogolla originated from their respective territories. Before getting into the details, it may be necessary to inform the lay readers about the background to the matter. India, as a member of the World Trade Organization, enacted the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999, that came into force from September 15, 2003.
Geographical Indications (GI) have been defined as indications which identify a good as originating in the territory of a member, where a given quality, reputation or characteristic of the good is essentially attributable to its geographic origin. The GI tag ensures that none other than those registered as authorized users are allowed to use the popular product name.
The sweet rasgulla or roshogolla is familiar to its consumers in the eastern part of the country. Sources in West Bengal Government have claimed that it took birth in their State in 1868, while their counterpart in Odisha claimed a 300-year vintage for the sweet.
The Union Government reportedly set up three committees to examine the issues of the sweet-turned-sour product. The masses wedded to roshogolla couldn’t care. Finally, the battle has been won by West Bengal. The reasons of the defeats are best known to the Odisha Government.