Judima, the wine brewed by the Dimasa community in Assam, has been awarded the geographical indication (GI) tag.
This wine made from rice and a certain herb is the first beverage from the north-east to earn this label.
The GI tag for Judima followed months of documentation by the Assam Agricultural University, which coordinated the historical and cultural research on the popular drink with the Youth Association for Development and Empowerment (YADEM) in central Assam’s Dima Hasao district.
The university’s Director of Research (Agriculture), Ashok Bhattacharyya, said the Chennai-based GI Registry posted the information about Judima on its website.
He said four scientists — Kishore Kumar Sharma, Gargi Sharma, S. Maibongsa and Uttam Baithari — were involved in the application for and documentation of Judima.
“YADEM and a Dimasa women’s organisation named Dimazik had approached the university seeking our support for promoting Judima,” Dr. Bhattacharyya said.
Judima is intrinsic to the social and cultural life of the Dimasas. The GI tag for the drink came 14 years after the ginger of the adjoining Karbi Anglong district received its geographical indication.
A week ago, Manipur saw two of its indigenous products get the GI tag. These were the Tamenglong orange and Hathei chilli grown in the hills.
