Kurseong Khambu Rais join all-India body

EOI, Kurseong: Various Khambu Rai associations in the country have started to acquire affiliation from the All India Kirati Khambu Rai Association (AIKKRA), the Khambu Rai community’s national organization, to press for their demand for a Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. 

Under the leadership of its general secretary CB Rai, the Kirati Khambu Rai Sanskritik Sansthan, Kurseong, has also acquired the AIKKRA affiliation and formed the AIKKRA Kurseong sub-divisional committee yesterday. 

While Khemraj Rai has been elected the new body’s president, SB Rai has been chosen as the general secretary. \

Importantly, on 4 March 2011, the Akhil Kirat Rai Sangh of Sikkim and the Kirati Khambu Rai Sanskritik Sansthan of West Bengal had together held a meeting where it passed a resolution saying that henceforth all Kirati Rai associations spread across the country should come under AIKKRA, the umbrella organisation. 

Accordingly, an ad-hoc committee was formed the same day where SK Rai from Sikkim was elected the chairman. 

Later, a registration process was undertaken with the initiative of the Kirati Khambu Rai Sanskritik Sansthan, Kurseong under Basant Khaling Rai from Delhi. 

AIKKRA’s registration was okayed on 24 February 2014 with representatives from its Khambu Rai units spread across eight states of West Bengal, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Meghalaya, Maharastra, Bihar and Delhi.

The aim was to develop the Khambu Rai community on different aspects, to have the community recognized as an ST, and preserve the cultural heritage and history of the community.

“Our organization is non-political and it was formed solely for cultural, religious, charitable and educational purposes,” Khemraj Rai said in a press release issued here yesterday.