Will India get new state Cooch Behar? Another fast in Delhi

New Delhi, Jul 19: Soon after the historic Gorkhaland movement reached to its end, another demand for separate statehood has been reiterated in West Bengal. The urge for separate state - Cooch Behar again has been geared up after the

.

Citing Anna Hazare's fast-unto-death protest in Delhi's Jantar Mantar, the Greater Cooch Behar People"s Association (GCBPA) showed similar kind of protest at the same place in the national capital and at the Rash Mela ground at Cooch Behar, the north-east district of Bengal.

More than 5,000 supporters sat on the hunger strike at Rash Mela ground on Monday, Jul 18 demanding formation of separate state and a caretaker cabinet of ministers for Cooch Behar. At least 81 people had gathered at Jantar Mantar screaming for the same demand.

Chittaranjan Roy, the legal secretary of the organisation said, "We are here to demand that the Union government declare Cooch Behar a C category state according to the agreement reached on August 28, 1949 when the princely Cooch Behar state was merged with India. We also want the Union government to announce a care-taker ministry in Cooch Behar."

According to the Wikipedia, during the British Raj, the town of Cooch Behar was the seat of the princely state of Koch Bihar, ruled by the Koch dynasty. After Aug 20, 1949, Cooch Behar District was transformed from a princely state to its present status, with the town of Cooch Behar as its headquarters.

OneIndia News