Cooch Behar, Sept. 30: The descendants of princely families of Koch lineage have come together to highlight their history, culture and heritage.

Members of the families of the princely houses in Cooch Behar, Assam and Bangladesh met at a hotel in Guwahati on September 20 to form the Consortium of Koch Royal Families.

The first general body meeting of the consortium was held at Ranibagan of the erstwhile Beltola estate on September 27 and an executive body was formed.

At the meeting to form the consortium, Kumar Supriya Narayan of the Cooch Behar family, Kumar Joyes Narayan Dev of the Sidhli family of Assam and Kumar Trilokya Narayan Dev of the Darang family of Assam were present.

Kumar Indrajit Narayan, of Beltala family, now in Bangladesh, and Kumar Sujit Narayan Kar, of Ranga family in Bangladesh also attended it.

Kumar Supriyo Narayan told The Telegraph: "The history of the Koch is covered in glory. There are many who do not know the history. The very existence of the Koch Rajbangshis is facing a crisis. That is why, we decided to form a consortium. We will start by urging our respective governments to preserve heritage buildings. After that, we will plan on ways to highlight our history with the help of experts."

He added: "There are sites like Sabitri Lodge, named after the daughter of Keshub Chandra Sen, that are lying almost in ruins and need to be protected. Our family mausoleum at Keshub Ashram and the Brahmo Mandir also need special attention. We will take up these matters."

Kumar Supriyo Narayan is the grandson of Kumar Indrajit Narayan, the brother of Jagaddipendra Narayan, the last Maharaja of Cooch Behar.

Sabitri Lodge was built in 1888. Sabitri Devi, the younger daughter of Keshub Chandra Sen, was married to Raja Nripendranarayan's cousin, Gajendranarayan Senior.

Sen's elder daughter Suniti Devi was married to Nripendranarayan.

Ananga Rekha Devi of Sidhli family, who was also present at the meeting, said: "We are descendants of Maharaja Biswasingha of the Koch royal family established in 1515. Our identity is now under threat. We need to highlight our history, preserve our heritage and customs. We will make an effort to hold discussions on the history of the Koch kings so that it is preserved for the future generations."