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{{short description|Indian reformer (1866–1935)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2018}}
{{Infobox person
| honorific_prefix =
| name = Thakur Panchanan
| image = Panchanan Barma.tif
| caption =
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=y|1866|02|14}}
| birth_place = Khalisamari Village, [[Mathabhanga]], [[Cooch Behar State]], [[British India]]
(present day [[West Bengal]], India)
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=y|1935|09|09|1866|02|14}}
| death_place = [[Calcutta]], [[Bengal Presidency|Bengal]], British India
(present day [[Kolkata]], West Bengal, India)
| other_names =
| known_for = Upliftment of the Rajbanshi (Koch) community.
| education = MA, LL.B
| alma_mater = [[University of Calcutta]]
| occupation = Social reformer
| spouse =
| children =
| mother = Champala Sarkar
| father = Khoshal Sarkar
| relatives =
| signature =
}}
'''Thakur Panchanan''' (14 February 1866 – 9 September 1935), also known as '''Panchanan Barma''' or '''Panchanan Sarkar''', was an Indian ''[[jotedar]]'' landlord, founder of Barma Company and social reformer in the erstwhile princely state of [[Cooch Behar State|Cooch Behar]], [[British Raj]]. He established an organisation called the ''[[Kshatriya]]'' ''[[Sabhā]]'' for the [[Rajbongshi]] people to [[Sanskritisation|Brahminise]] their practices for social upliftment and the improvement of their caste status.<ref name=joya>{{cite book |last=Chatterji |first=Joya |date=2002 |orig-year=First published 1994 |title=Bengal divided: Hindu communalism and partition, 1932-1947 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages=198–199 |isbn=978-0-521-52328-8 |quote=This strategy was well suited to Bengal, where many low castes were already trying to 'purify' or Brahminise their own practices. In the early twenties, for instance, the Rajbangshi leader Panchanan Barman had established a 'Kshattriya Sabha' in order to inculcate Brahmanical values and practices among his caste-fellows.}}</ref> He received recognition and honors from the British administration after he aided them in recruitment during [[World War I]] by encouraging Rajbongshi youths to join the army to show their ''Kshatriya'' valor and was elected to the [[Bengal Legislative Assembly]]. In modern times, he is sometimes incorrectly thought of as a "ruler" or "king".

==Early life==
Panchanan Barma was born on 14 February 1866 in a middle-class [[jotedar]] family at Khalisamari village of [[Mathabhanga]] subdivision, in erstwhile [[Cooch Behar]] state. He was the son of Khoshal Sarkar (father) and Champala Sarkar (mother). His father sent him to a ''Middle-English'' high school, named ''Mathabhanga High School'' for education. After passing ''Middle English'' examination from the ''Mathabhanga High School'', he took admission into the ''Jenkins High School'' for further education and passed the ''High English'' examination. He completed his graduation in 1893 from the Victoria College (present [[Acharya Brojendra Nath Seal College]]) --then affiliated to the [[University of Calcutta]], with a honours in [[Sanskrit]]. Later he completed his MA in [[Sanskrit]] (postgraduation degree) and LL.B ([[Bachelor of Laws]]) degree in 1897 and 1900 respectively from the [[University of Calcutta]].{{citation needed|date=August 2022}} He was the first M.A. and LL.B in the Rajbanshi community of not only the state of [[Cooch Behar]] but of the whole North Bengal, Assam, and Bihar.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}}

==Background==
=== Barma company ===
He built up a financial organization, named ''Barma Company'' at Ganibandha in the Rangpur district (present-day Bangladesh) with the claim that their basic aim was to protect the poor peasants from the landlord and moneylenders by providing loans at better interest rates. It was renamed ''Kshatriya Bank'' in 1920–21.<ref name=telegraph/><ref name=madhab/><ref name=madhab1/>

Under his leadership, more than three hundred well-coordinated clusters of villages (''Gram Mandali'') were formed in the Rangpur locality through the company. He had claimed that his aims was to restructure the village economy in a way such that they would be able to meet all their needs.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}}

=== Women's empowerment===
He is considered to be a social reformer and one of the advocates for women empowerment in the Bengal. He is known to have participated in the debate about the ''Voting Right'' for women in the Bengal Legislative Assembly in 1921.<ref>{{cite web|title=Votes for Women in India: the early female MPs and their lobbying for Indian suffrage|date=18 April 2017 |url=https://ukvote100.org/2017/04/18/votes-for-women-in-india/|access-date=7 September 2021}}</ref>

During 1921–23, he established an organization, named ''Nari Raksha Upasamiti'', for the protection of women. Through this organization, he wanted to make the women self-dependent by providing them modern education and physical training in stick-play, wrestling, etc.<ref name=telegraph/><ref name=madhab/>{{better citation|date=March 2026}}

He also wrote a poem, named ''Dang Dhari Mao'', where he encouraged youths to stand up against any wrong and injustice against women. His ''Khatriya Samiti'' also took efforts to bring back abducted women. Because of frequent incidents of female abduction, physical training using stick and daggers became popular among the Rajbanshi women.<ref name=telegraph/><ref name=madhab/>{{better citation|date=March 2026}}

==Kshtriyasation movement==
[[File:Panchanan_Barma,_Kshatriya_Samiti,_Rangpur.jpg|thumb|Portrait of Panchanan Barma at the central office of the Kshatriya Samiti in [[Rangpur, Bangladesh|Rangpur]]]]
At the dawn of the nineteenth century, caste pride was very strong among the [[Dvija|upper-caste Hindus]]. The position of Rajbanshi was not respectable in the society and they faced insults and humiliations from the upper-caste Hindus. Consequently, this community developed a sense of alienation and a spirit of community solidarity. ''Rajbanshi Movement of Kshatriyaisation'' was first started in 1891 when the government tried to include Rajbanshis and Koch in the same caste category. Under the leadership of Sri Harimohon Roy Khajanchi, the Rajbanshi started their first Kshatriya movement against the census officials and claimed that they are actually ''Kshatriya''. They claimed that they are originally from ''Kshatriya'' varna and they left their homeland because of the fear of annihilation by a Brahmin sage [[Parashurama]]. They even gave up their sacred thread in order to hide their identity and took shelter in a region, named ''Poundradesh'', which is currently the districts of [[Rangpur District|Rangpur]], [[Dinajpur]], [[Cooch Behar]], and their adjacent areas. They also gave up the [[Vedic ritual]]s followed by the ''Kshatriya'' community to hide their identity and started living with the local people. Gradually they became known as ''Bhanga Kshatriya'' or ''Bratya Kshatriya'' and their caste name ''Rajbanshi'' also implies the same. Under the guidance of Sri Harimohon Roy Khajanchi, ''Rangpur Bratya Kshatriya Jatir Unnati Bidhayani Sabha'' was established for the development of Koch community. They submitted a protest letter to the district magistrate of Rangpur urging him to recognize Rajbanshis as a separate caste from the original ethnic identity ''Koch'' and allow them to enroll their caste as ''Kshatriya'' in the census. The district magistrate then asked local pandits and ''Dharma Sabha'' for their opinion in this regard. After a prolonged ''Dharma Sabha'' meeting, pandits opined that Koches were ''Kshatriya'' but fallen from the position because of non-observance of the Vedic rituals of the ''Kshatriya'' community. Thus they should be considered as ''Bratya Kshatriya''. District magistrate of Rangpur accepted their opinion and ordered that Rajbanshis would be permitted to refer themselves as ''Bratya Kshatriya''. In this way, the ''Kshatriya'' movement of 1891 came to a halt.<ref name="madhab">{{cite book|last=Adhikary|first=Madhab Chandra|title=Ethno Cultural Identity Crisis of the Rajbanshis of North Eastern Part of india and Nepal and Bangladesh during the period of 1891 to 1979|publisher=North Bengal University (Ph.D. Thesis)|url=https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/handle/10603/137486|year=2009|hdl=10603/137486 |access-date=8 September 2021}}</ref><ref name="madhab1">{{cite book|last=Adhikary|first=Madhab Chandra|title=Identity Crisis: A Study of the Rajbanshis of North Eastern India (1891-1979)|publisher=Aayu Publications|year=2015|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_bXisgEACAAJ|isbn=978-9-3851-6101-8|access-date=8 September 2021}}</ref>
[[File:Kshatriya_Samiti,_Rangpur.jpg|thumb|Kshatriya Samiti, Rangpur]]
After passing the [[Law]] examination, Panchanan started practising law at the [[Rangpur, Bangladesh|Rangpur]] court in 1901. At that time, law was a thriving business in India and [[Rangpur, Bangladesh|Rangpur]] was one of the major centres for Law. However, he noticed that most of his fellow lawyers were from the upper-caste Hindu community, almost no one from the backward-class community. He faced many insults in his workplace because of his backward class Rajbanshi background. One day, he went to the court by taking his fellow upper-caste lawyer's toga (lawyer's gown) mistakenly. When he understood his mistake, he went to return it to the lawyer. The lawyer refused to accept that toga, stating ''I hate to use a toga used by a lower-class Rajbanshi''.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ray|first=Subhajyoti|title=Transformations on the Bengal Frontier: Jalpaiguri, 1765-1948 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aI_FINnkorkC&q=Panchanan+Barman&pg=PA128 | isbn=978-0-7007-1408-7 | year=2002 | publisher=Routledge}}</ref> He was seriously hurt by the behaviour of his fellow lawyer. With this event, he understood the ground reality of the casteist Hindu society of that time. He also understood the social status of his own Rajbanshi community in [[the Hindu]] society of that time. At that time, many marginalized and backward communities of India started to form their own associations to protect the interest of their own community. He also then worried for his own Rajbanshi community and wanted to develop his community. In the census of 1901, again Rajbanshis were included in the same caste category of the Koch community and had not been given the ''Kshatriya'' status. He now took up the leadership of Rajbanshis. Under his leadership, Rajbanshis started a vigorous ''Kshatriyaisation'' movement with new enthusiasm for social justice.<ref name=madhab/>

He believed that nobody will give them ''Kshatriya'' status unless they achieve that in their own right. He started his campaign by stating ''Rajbanshis were of royal lineage and they were different from the Koch community''. Under his leadership, the ''Kshatriyaisation Movement'' spread throughout North Bengal. Many Rajbanshis started to wear sacred threads (also known as ''upabita'' or ''paita'') like the ''Kshatriya'' community. They even started to follow Vedic ritual rules of the ''Kshatriya'' community. However, upper-caste Hindu society strongly opposed this movement and was not ready to accept Rajbanshis as Kshatriyas. Even many landlords, scholars, royal officials of the Cooch Behar royal court were against this movement. Many upper-caste Brahmins also refused to serve Rajbanshi people in their religious and social ceremonies. However, [[Mithila (region)|Mithila]], [[Kamrup region|Kamrup]], and some local Brahmins strongly supported and participated in their movement. In the meanwhile, some enthusiastic Rajbanshis started to collect history, proverbs, songs, and popular folktales to establish their ''Kshatriya'' identity on a firm footing.<ref name=madhab/>

In 1906, he attended the provincial conference of the [[Indian National Congress]] at Barisal and came in touch with many prominent congress leaders of that time. He associated himself with the Indian National Congress and tried to solve different problems of his own backward community. However, he soon realized the rigid attitude of the upper-caste [[Calcutta]] based congress leaders and understood that they will never help him in the social developmental work. He felt that in order to be respected and accepted by the upper-class Hindu society, Rajbanshis must have to be educated and organized. He and other Rajbanshi leaders decided to form a platform for this purpose. A conference was held on 1 May 1910 in the Rangpur town. As a result of that conference, the ''Kshatriya Samiti'' (also known as ''[[Kshatriya]]'' ''[[Sabhā]]'') was established for the overall development of his own Rajbanshi community. In that conference, it was also decided that they will convey their demands and grievances to the British government by submitting a memorandum. In January 1911, a memorandum signed by more than two thousand Rajbanshis was given to the Lieutenant Generals of Assam and Bengal. Finally, Rajbanshi leaders succeeded. In the Census Report of 1911, Rajbanshis were included as a separate Hindu caste, named ''Rajbanshi'', with ''Kshatriya'' in a bracket.<ref name=telegraph>{{cite web|title=Tireless icon: Panchanan Barma|url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/west-bengal/west-bengal-assembly-elections-2021-tireless-icon-panchanan-barma/cid/1812104|access-date=7 September 2021}}</ref><ref name=madhab/>

In the following years, newly established ''[[Kshatriya]]'' ''[[Sabhā]]'' led a strong ''Kshatriyaisation'' movement among the Rajbanshi community. His association (samity) tried to restore the past glorious heritage of the Rajbanshi Kshatriyas and tried to develop them on the socio-economic front. They also contacted other Kshatriyas and Rajputs of North and Western India for the purpose of unity among the Kshatriya people. In the third annual conference of the ''Kshatriya Samiti'', he announced the ceremony of ''upabita'' (sacred thread) for the Rajbanshis. They also asked for the opinion of Hindu pandits in this regard. Hindu pandits opined that ''Rajbanshis were Kshatriyas'' and they can wear the sacred thread. In 1913, his association first arranged a ''Mahamilan Ceremony'' at Porolbari in Debiganj on the bank of river [[Karatoya River|Korotaya]]. In this ceremony, Rajbanshis took ''Kshatriyatwa'' by wearing a sacred thread (''upabita'') in the presence of many renowned scholars who came from different parts of India such as [[Nabadwip]], [[Kolkata]], Kamrup, etc. Later ''Kshatriya Samiti'' organized many sacred thread-wearing ceremonies (''Milankshetras'') in different districts of Bengal and Assam. Brahminical rituals of wearing sacred thread ''Upabita'' (also known as ''[[Upanayana]]'' ceremony) were performed to convert thousands of Rajbanshi to ‘Kshatriya Rajbanshi’ in the villages of [[North Bengal]]. Few people from other marginalized communities also converted to ''Rajbanshi Kshatriya'' in the converting process.<ref>{{cite book|last=Sarkar|first=I|chapter=The Kamatapur Movement: Towards a Separate State in North Bengal | editor=Govinda Chandra Rath|title=Tribal development in India: the contemporary debate |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BxDKhOnWwOsC&q=%22Panchanan+Barma%22&pg=PA156 | isbn=978-0-7619-3423-3 | year=2006 | publisher=Sage}}</ref><ref name=skdas>{{cite web|last=Das|first=Samir Kumar|title=The Rajbanshis of North Bengal|url=http://rnd.tiss.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/TISS-Working-Paper-5-Samir-Kumar-Das.pdf|access-date=7 September 2021}}</ref><ref name=madhab/><ref name=madhab1/>

During the Census of 1921, ''Khatriya Samiti'' again organized Rajbanshis and appealed the census authorities to enroll them as only ''Kshatriya'' instead of ''Rajbanshi Kshatriya''. Their demand was accepted and finally his Rajbanshi community received Kshatriya status in the 1921 census.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44144770|jstor = 44144770|title = The Backwardness of the Rajbansis and the Rajbansi Kshatriya Movement (1891-1936)|last1 = Das|first1 = Jitendra Nath|journal = Proceedings of the Indian History Congress|year = 2004|volume = 65|pages = 559–563}}</ref><ref name=print>{{cite web|title=Who are Rajbanshis|date=14 April 2021 |url=https://theprint.in/politics/who-are-rajbanshis-caught-in-shah-mamata-scrap-why-theyre-key-for-bjp-in-assam-bengal/639069/|access-date=7 September 2021}}</ref>

==British support and entry in electoral politics==
When the [[World War I|first world war]] began in 1914, the British government appealed to Indians to join the war. No Indian national leaders of that time came forward to help the British government for this purpose. However, Panchanan appealed to Rajbanshi youths to join the battlefield with the British to show their heroism or kshatriyatwa.<ref name=telegraph/> The British government also launched some societal reforms in India during the war period to encourage the Indian youths to join the war. During this period, Panchanan also understood that the Rajbanshi community will not progress much on the socio-economic front without education. In 1917, he sent a letter to the British Indian government asking for reforms in Bengal. He stressed more on the educational reforms as well as societal reforms in his letter. During that time, most of the backward peoples of the North Bengal area were from the Rajbanshi or Muslim community. On the other hand, zamindars and money-lenders were from the upper-caste Hindu society. He organized these backward sections of the society against the upper-caste zamindars and worked for them. He along with other Rajbanshi social leaders also took the initiative to promote education among the Rajbanshi society.<ref name=madhab1/> His ''Kshatriya Samiti'' provided financial help to the needy students of the community. He gained huge support for his activity from the backward sections of society. He became the undisputed political leader of the backward community in the North Bengal area. In 1919, the British government conferred him the ''Rai Sahib'' title for his societal reform and the MBE (''Member of British Empire'') for sending the Rajbanshi troops in the First World War. In this way, he became the ''Rai Sahib Panchanan Barma, MBE''.<ref name=madhab/>

After the First World War, the British government undertook many reforms in the Indian administration system under the [[Government of India Act 1919]].<ref>[https://www.constitutionofindia.net/historical_constitutions/government_of_india_act__1919_1st%20January%201919/ Government of India Act 19]</ref><ref>[http://www.gktoday.in/government-of-india-act-1919/ Government of India Act 1919-Summary]</ref> The British government aimed to introduce self-governing institutions gradually in British India. Dual-mode of provincial governance- named as ''Reserved'' and ''Transferred'', was also introduced under this act. British provincial governors were supposed to control the reserved subjects which include justice, police, land revenue, and irrigation. On the other hand, elected Indian provincial ministers were supposed to control the transferred subjects which include local self-government, public health, education, agriculture, fishery, and forest. For the purpose of rural development, the ''Union Board'' was established under this Act. ''Right of Voting'' was also granted to Indians who paid a certain minimum amount of taxes to the government.<ref>{{cite web|title=Government of India act, 1919 (Montague-Chelmsford Reforms)|date=December 2020 |url=https://www.lawcolumn.in/government-of-india-act-1919-montague-chelmsford-reforms/|access-date=7 September 2021}}</ref> Many people from the backward Rajbanshi and Muslim communities also won the ''Right of Voting''. He used his ''Khatriya Samiti'' as a political platform for political protest. Seeing his rise in the Indian political scenario, national leaders became worried. In the general election of 1920, he won a landslide victory from Rangpur. He was inducted into the [[Bengal Legislative Assembly]] after winning the general election. He now used his political power as well as ''Kshatriya Samiti'' to improve the life of the backward communities.<ref name=telegraph/><ref name=madhab/><ref name=madhab1/>

==Later life and legacy==
[[Cooch Behar]] king always opposed the ''Kshatriya Movement'' and never cooperated with the ''Kshatriya Samiti''. They also tried to disrupt different ''Milankshetras'' within the Cooch Behar state. In 1926, Panchanan was banished from the [[Cooch Behar]] state. It was also ordered that he would not be able to enter [[Cooch Behar]] state without special permission.<ref name=madhab1/> He died in [[Kolkata]] on 9 September 1935.

In 2012, the [[Government of West Bengal|West Bengal government]] has established a university, named [[Cooch Behar Panchanan Barma University]], for higher education. The name of the university commemorates his legacy. He died in Kolkata on 9 September 1935.<ref>{{cite web |title=Roy Saheb Thakur Panchanan Barma(1866–1935) |url=https://www.cbpbu.ac.in/userfiles/file/2023/Home/Panchanan%20Barma.pdf |website=www.cbpbu.ac.in |access-date=19 August 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Cooch Behar Panchanan Barma University |url=https://cbpbu.ac.in/ |publisher=Cooch Behar Panchanan Barma University |access-date=19 August 2023}}</ref> On 1 December 2020, the Government of West Bengal declared school holiday on the birthday of Panchanan Barma, stating:<ref>{{Cite web|title=wbfin.nic|url=http://www.wbfin.nic.in/writereaddata/3361-F(P2).pdf}}</ref>

{{Blockquote|text=It has been decided that there will be a holiday henceforth under the order of State Government on occasion of the Birthday of Thakur Panchanan Barma which falls on 1st day of Phalgun in every Bengali Year corresponding to 13th/ 14th February}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* ''Thakur Panchanan Barmar Jivan Charit'' (in Bengali) by Upendra Nath Barman
* ''Paschimbanga: Special Issue on Roy Saheb Panchanan Barma'', Vol. 38, No. 7, February 2005. Published by the Department of Information and Culture, Government of West Bengal.
* ''Thakur Panchanan Smarak'' (in Bengali) by Kshitwish Chandra Burman (Kolkata: Behala Central Government Quarter, 2001)
* {{cite journal |last=Adhikary |first=Chanchal |date=July 2013 |title=Upendra Nath Barman and Caste Politics Among the Rajbanshis of North Bengal |journal=Voice of Dalit |volume=6 |issue=2 |page=137|doi=10.1177/0974354520130203 |s2cid=157810204 }}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barma, Panchanan}}
[[Category:Indian reformers]]
[[Category:1866 births]]
[[Category:1935 deaths]]
[[Category:University of Calcutta alumni]]
[[Category:Surendranath Law College alumni]]
[[Category:Members of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Rajbongshi people]]
[[Category:Activists from West Bengal]]
[[Category:Indian social workers]]
[[Category:Indian social reformers]]
[[Category:People from Cooch Behar district]]

Thakur Panchanan - Revision history

SuzetteEql: Made Initial Pg W/ Infobox