The Vicious Cycle of Ethnicization: Rajbangsi Mobilization and the Paradoxes of Recognition in West Bengal, India

This research examines the process of vicious cycle of ethnicization affecting the Rajbangsi community, a marginalized Hindu community concentrated in 19 assembly constituencies in Northern part of West Bengal, India, where they make up about 40 percent of the population (16,58,191). The research discusses the phases of this vicious cycle which starts from ethnic identity formation, socio-political polarization, electoral strategy and re-ethnicization. Using mixed-methods research, the study sampled 400 Rajbangsi and 300 non-Rajbangsi respondents using stratified random sampling from constituencies spread across Coochbehar, Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri, and Darjeeling district. The electoral rolls (2006–2021), Census 2011 statistics, as well as earlier caste documents, were triangulated with primary data collected through semistructured interviews, carried out in Bengali, during January to May 2025. Thematic analysis with NVivo identified that both past displacement and present-day demands—like calls for an independent Kamtapur state—have increased political awareness among the Rajbangsi community. Although 68 percent of the Rajbangsi experienced increasing activism, 37 percent of non-Rajbangsi saw the increasing exclusion. Despite policy responses, 49 percent of Rajbangsi have continued to call for the ongoing mobilization. The article states that a model for governance that associates cultural recognition with universal access to welfare and democratic inclusion can break this cycle.