Bodoland GI tag drive turns cultural revolution

AN initiative in Assam’s Bod-oland Territorial Region (BTR) to secure the Geographical Indication (GI) tag for indigenous items has evolved into a cultural revolution.

- PRASANTA MAZUMDAR @ Guwahati

The BTR government recently launched a special drive to work towards GI tag registration of cultural artefacts of the BTR’s all 26 communities.

This follows GI tag recognition for 21 Bodo indigenous items—from Dokhona, Aronai(traditional attires) and Gwkha Gwkhwii (cuisine) to Indi ZI (silk), Thorkha, Serza (musical instruments) and Zwu Gisi, Zwu Gwran (brews).

A group of educated Bodo youth spearheaded the movement to secure GI tags for BTR’s indigenous items to protect the region’s cultural richness and ecological diversity.