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{{Short description|Religious movement}}
{{Short description|Religious movement in Indian subcontinent}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}
'''Matua Mahasangha''' is a religious reformation movement that originated, around 1860 AD, in what is today [[Bangladesh]], with a considerable number of adherents both in [[Bangladesh]] and in [[West Bengal]] in India. Matua is a sect of [[Scheduled caste|depressed class]] Hindus who are [[Namasudra]]s, a Scheduled Caste group.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/this-word-means-matua-community-5567348/ |title=Matua community — Why are they important for Trinamool and BJP? |work=The Indian Express}}</ref> The movement was launched as a reformation by the followers of [[Harichand Thakur]]. Thakur attained ''atmadarshan'' at an early age and would subsequently preach his [[Darśana|Darshan]] in Twelve Commandments. The teachings of Thakur establish education as preeminently important for the adherent and the upliftment of the population the adherent's duty, while also providing a formula for ending social conflict.


Matua-mahasangha believe in ''Swayam-Dikshiti'' ("Self-Realisation") through the chanting of Harinaam, i.e., chanting the Holy name of God [[Hari]]. [[Harichand]] stressed the congressional chanting of Lord's name [[kirtan]] as the sole means to Mukti. His followers in 19th century were enchanted by congregational chanting of Lord [[Hari]], which in Bengali called 'hariname matuara' giving the sect current name 'Matua'. So anyone who has faith in the ''Darshan'' or ''Philosophy of God Harichand'' belongs to the Matua-mahasangha.{{relevance inline|date=September 2021|reason=It is more about Matua religious beliefs than the Matua Mahasangha organization.}}
{{Infobox religious group
|group=Matuaism
|population=
|image=Thakurnagar Matua Mahasangha and Thakur Bari Temple 05.jpg
|image_caption=The Thakurbari Temple of the Matua Mahasangha
|religions= [[Hinduism]]|founder=[[Harichand Thakur]]
|related-c=[[Namasudra]]s
}}
The '''Matuaism''' ({{langx|bn|মতুয়া মহাসংঘ}}<ref>{{Cite news |date=2021-03-23 |title=In Bengal, battle for Matua vote heats up |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/elections/west-bengal-assembly-election/in-bengal-battle-for-matua-vote-heats-up-101616467190256.html |access-date=2022-12-19 |work=Hindustan Times |language=en}}</ref>) is a [[Hindu reform movement]] that originated around 1860 AD in modern-day [[Bangladesh]]. Today, it has a considerable number of adherents both in Bangladesh and in [[West Bengal]], India.


[[File:Thakurnagar Matua Mahasangha and Thakur Bari Temple 05.jpg|thumb|Thakurnagar Matua Mahasangha headquarters]]
The Matua movement originated among the [[Namasudra]]s, an ''[[Varna (Hinduism)|avarna]]'' ([[outcaste]]) community of [[Bengali Hindus]], founded by the followers of [[Harichand Thakur]]. The teachings of Harichand, also known as '''Matuaism''', emphasise the importance of education for the upliftment of the population, while also providing a formula for ending social conflict.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Mukherjee|first=Sipra|date=2018-04-03|title=In Opposition and Allegiance to Hinduism: Exploring the Bengali Matua Hagiography of Harichand Thakur|url=https://doi.org/10.1080/00856401.2018.1445400|journal=South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies|volume=41|issue=2|pages=435–451|doi=10.1080/00856401.2018.1445400|issn=0085-6401|url-access=subscription}}</ref>


== History ==
== History ==
[[Harichand Thakur]] was born to a peasant family belonging to the [[Namasudra]] community. According to historian Sekhar Bandyopadhyay, Thakur "experienced ''atma darshan'' or self revelation, through which he realized that he was the incarnation of God himself, born in this world to bring salvation to the downtrodden".<ref>{{harvnb|Bandyopadhyay|1995|p=163}}</ref> Reforming [[Vaishnavism|Vaishnava]] devotionalism, he established the Matua sect of Hinduism.<ref>{{harvnb|Lorea|2020|p=2}}</ref> The sect was centered in Thakur's ancestral village, Orakandi, [[Faridpur District|Faridpur]], [[Bengal Presidency]] (now in Bangladesh).<ref>{{harvnb|Bandyopadhyay|1990|p=2563}}</ref> Their most sacred shrines are located there.<ref>{{harvnb|Walker|1999|p=566}}</ref>
The Matua Mahasangha ("Matua Federation") was formed by adherents of Harichand's philosophy before 1915 to organize devotees. In the early 1930s, [[Pramatha Ranjan Thakur]], great-grandson of Harichand Thakur, rejuvenated the organization. He started an [[ashram]] in the Labanchora neighborhood of [[Khulna]], Bangladesh.<ref>{{harvnb|Bandyopadhyay|1995|pp=183–184}}</ref> After the [[partition of India]] in 1947, large numbers of Matua migrants settled in [[West Bengal]], India,<ref>{{harvnb|Mukherjee|2020|p=71}}</ref> Pramatha Ranjan Thakur among them. He founded the town of [[Thakurnagar]], which became the new headquarters of the Matua Mahasangha.<ref>{{harvnb|Lorea|2020|pp=11–12}}</ref>
 
==Notes==
A ''Matua Mahasangha'' (Matua Federation) was formed by an adherenet before 1915 to organize devotees. In the early 1930s, [[Pramatha Ranjan Thakur]], great-grandson of Harichand Thakur, rejuvenated the organization. It started an [[ashram]] in the Labanchora neighborhood of [[Khulna]].<ref>{{harvnb|Bandyopadhyay|1995|pp=183–184}}</ref> After [[Partition of India|Partition]] in 1947, large numbers of Matua migrants settled in [[West Bengal]], India.<ref>{{harvnb|Mukherjee|2020|p=71}}</ref> Pramatha Ranjan Thakur was among them. He founded the town of [[Thakurnagar]], which became the new headquarters of the Matua Mahasangha.<ref>{{harvnb|Lorea|2020|pp=11–12}}</ref>
 
==Notes and references==
 
===Notes===
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}


===References===
==References==
* {{cite journal |last=Bandyopadhyay |first=Sekhar |date=17 November 1990 |title=Community Formation and Communal Conflict-Namasudra-Muslim Riot in Jessore-Khulna |url=https://www.epw.in/journal/1990/46/special-articles/community-formation-and-communal-conflict-namasudra-muslim-riot |journal=Economic & Political Weekly |volume=25 |issue=46 |jstor=4396995}}
* {{cite journal |last=Bandyopadhyay |first=Sekhar |date=17 November 1990 |title=Community Formation and Communal Conflict-Namasudra-Muslim Riot in Jessore-Khulna |url=https://www.epw.in/journal/1990/46/special-articles/community-formation-and-communal-conflict-namasudra-muslim-riot |journal=Economic & Political Weekly |volume=25 |issue=46 |pages=2563–2568 |jstor=4396995}}
* {{cite book |last=Bandyopadhyay |first=Sekhar |chapter=The Matua Sect and the Namasudras |year=1995 |editor-last=Ray |editor-first=Rajat Kanta |editor-link=Rajat Kanta Ray |title=Mind Body and Society: Life and Mentality in Colonial Bengal |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=019-563757-7}}
* {{cite book |last=Bandyopadhyay |first=Sekhar |chapter=The Matua Sect and the Namasudras |year=1995 |editor-last=Ray |editor-first=Rajat Kanta |editor-link=Rajat Kanta Ray |title=Mind Body and Society: Life and Mentality in Colonial Bengal |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=019-563757-7}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |last=Lorea |first=Carola Erika |editor-last=Ludden |editor-first=David |encyclopedia=Oxford Research Encyclopedias: Asian History |title=Religion, Caste, and Displacement: The Matua Community |url=https://oxfordre-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/asianhistory/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190277727.001.0001/acrefore-9780190277727-e-428?rskey=nydZmP |date=28 February 2020 |publisher=Oxford University Press |doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780190277727.013.428}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |last=Lorea |first=Carola Erika |editor-last=Ludden |editor-first=David |encyclopedia=Oxford Research Encyclopedias: Asian History |title=Religion, Caste, and Displacement: The Matua Community |url=https://oxfordre.com/asianhistory/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190277727.001.0001/acrefore-9780190277727-e-428 |date=28 February 2020 |publisher=Oxford University Press |doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780190277727.013.428|isbn=978-0-19-027772-7 |url-access=subscription }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Mukherjee |first1=Aditi |title=Re-thinking protracted displacements: insights from a namasudra refugee camp-site in suburban Calcutta |journal=Contemporary South Asia |date=2020 |volume=28 |issue=1 |doi=10.1080/09584935.2019.1666089|doi-access=free }}
* {{cite journal |last=Mandal | first=Mahitosh |date=2022 | title=Dalit Resistance during the Bengal Renaissance: Five Anti-Caste Thinkers from Colonial Bengal, India |journal=Caste: A Global Journal on Social Exclusion |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=11–30 | doi=10.26812/caste.v3i1.367 |url=https://journals.library.brandeis.edu/index.php/caste/article/view/367/96|doi-access=free }}
* {{cite journal |last=Walker |first=Dennis |date=Winter 1999 |title=Matua Untouchable Writers In West Bengal: Between Islam And India's Changing Upper Caste-Led System |journal=Islamic Studies |volume=38 |issue=4 |jstor=20837062}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Mukherjee |first1=Aditi |title=Re-thinking protracted displacements: insights from a namasudra refugee camp-site in suburban Calcutta |journal=Contemporary South Asia |date=2020 |volume=28 |issue=1 |pages=58–73 |doi=10.1080/09584935.2019.1666089|doi-access=free }}
* {{cite journal |last=Walker |first=Dennis |date=Winter 1999 |title=Matua Untouchable Writers In West Bengal: Between Islam And India's Changing Upper Caste-Led System |journal=Islamic Studies |volume=38 |issue=4 |pages=563–602 |jstor=20837062}}


==External links==
==External links==
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{{Hindu reform movements}}
{{Hindu reform movements}}
{{Bengali Hindu people}}
{{Bengali Hindu people}}
{{West Bengal}}


[[Category:History of Bengal]]
[[Category:Bengal Presidency]]
[[Category:Hindu denominations]]
[[Category:Hindu denominations]]
[[Category:Hindu new religious movements]]
[[Category:Hindu new religious movements]]

Latest revision as of 04:58, 13 March 2026


Matuaism
The Thakurbari Temple of the Matua Mahasangha
The Thakurbari Temple of the Matua Mahasangha
Founder
Harichand Thakur
Religions
Hinduism
Related ethnic groups
Namasudras

The Matuaism (Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Lang/configuration' not found.[1]) is a Hindu reform movement that originated around 1860 AD in modern-day Bangladesh. Today, it has a considerable number of adherents both in Bangladesh and in West Bengal, India.

The Matua movement originated among the Namasudras, an avarna (outcaste) community of Bengali Hindus, founded by the followers of Harichand Thakur. The teachings of Harichand, also known as Matuaism, emphasise the importance of education for the upliftment of the population, while also providing a formula for ending social conflict.[2]

History[edit | edit source]

The Matua Mahasangha ("Matua Federation") was formed by adherents of Harichand's philosophy before 1915 to organize devotees. In the early 1930s, Pramatha Ranjan Thakur, great-grandson of Harichand Thakur, rejuvenated the organization. He started an ashram in the Labanchora neighborhood of Khulna, Bangladesh.[3] After the partition of India in 1947, large numbers of Matua migrants settled in West Bengal, India,[4] Pramatha Ranjan Thakur among them. He founded the town of Thakurnagar, which became the new headquarters of the Matua Mahasangha.[5]

Notes[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ "In Bengal, battle for Matua vote heats up". Hindustan Times. 23 March 2021. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  2. ↑ Mukherjee, Sipra (3 April 2018). "In Opposition and Allegiance to Hinduism: Exploring the Bengali Matua Hagiography of Harichand Thakur". South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies. 41 (2): 435–451. doi:10.1080/00856401.2018.1445400. ISSN 0085-6401.
  3. ↑ Bandyopadhyay 1995, pp. 183–184
  4. ↑ Mukherjee 2020, p. 71
  5. ↑ Lorea 2020, pp. 11–12

References[edit | edit source]

External links[edit | edit source]


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