| Matibansa | |
|---|---|
| ମାଟିବଂଶ | |
| Classification | Teaching community of Odisha |
| Religions | Hinduism |
| Languages | Odia |
| Country | India |
| Populated states | Odisha |
| Region | Coastal and central Odisha |
| Family names | Abadhan, Ojha, Naik |
| Related groups | Karan, Kayastha, Ojha, Jyotish |
| Status | SEBC in Odisha (entry 198); not in the Central List of OBCs |
Matibansa (Odia: ମାଟିବଂଶ; also Matibans or Mativansa), in its half-Sanskritised form Kshitibansa (also Khitibansa), is a community in the Indian state of Odisha whose traditional occupation was teaching in the indigenous village school.[1] Its members held the office of Abadhan, the schoolmaster of the chatsali.[1] The community is listed as a Socially and Educationally Backward Class (SEBC) by the Government of Odisha at entry 198 of the state list.[2] Its request for inclusion in the national Other Backward Class list was refused by the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) in 1999, on the ground that the group was drawn predominantly from advanced castes and was therefore socially advanced rather than backward.[3]
Names and etymology[edit | edit source]
The name Matibansa derives from Odia mati ("earth, soil, clay") and bansa (from Sanskrit vaṃśa, "lineage, stock"). The half-Sanskritised form Kshitibansa or Khitibansa carries the same sense, since kshiti is a classical word for "earth".[1] Both forms appear together at the community's entry in the Odisha state list and are treated as synonyms.[2]
Several names associated with the community function as titles or as labels for allied groups. Abadhan (Odia Abadhāna, from Sanskrit avadhāna, "attention, concentration") was the ordinary title of the master of a village school in Odisha, and gives the compound Matibansa Abadhan.[1] Ojha is a title borne by certain Brahmin groups and appears in Matibansa Ojha and Ojha Karan.[1] Naik or Nayak (Sanskrit nāyaka, "leader") appears in Kshitibansa Naik and Kshitibansa Nayak.[2]
History and occupation[edit | edit source]
The defining office of the community was that of the Abadhan, the village schoolmaster. Before the British occupation of Odisha in 1803, schooling was decentralised and privately supported. The pathasala and the primary chatsali met in temples, in Bhagavata tungis (village scripture houses) and in the homes of the well-to-do. The teacher in these schools was the Abadhan, who taught reading, writing and simple arithmetic together with Odia literature.[4] According to the Orissa District Gazetteers, most Abadhans belonged to the Karana caste, though a few belonged to Matibansa Ojhas, who were also known for astrology.[4]
Formation of the wider group[edit | edit source]
The seven names enumerated together at entry 198 of the Odisha state list—Kshitibansa, Matibansa Ojha, Kshitibansa Naik, Ojha Karan, Kshitibansa Nayak, Matibansa, and Matibansa Abadhan—refer to a body of communities that converged on the teaching profession and came to share the Matibansa and Kshitibansa names and titles.[2]
At a public hearing held by the NCBC at Bhubaneswar on 14 May 1998, representatives of the community stated that those known as Ojha Karan had originally been Karan, the scribe caste, and had become "Ojha Karan" only after they adopted teaching as their profession.[3] The NCBC's findings recorded that the teacher-communities had been derived from castes including Karan and Brahmin groups, and that the Kshitibansa Naiks and Kshitibansa Nayaks originally belonged to the Acharjee Brahmin community.[3]
A different account attaches to the separate name Matibansa Tanti. In H. H. Risley's The Tribes and Castes of Bengal (1891), the Matibansa-Tanti are named as one of three Orissan sub-castes of the Tanti weavers.[5] The modern Matibansa Tanti remains a distinct weaver group listed among the Tanti sub-castes and recognised as backward in both the state and central lists.[6]
Official Odisha lists therefore carry Matibansa Tanti, a weaver sub-caste, and the Kshitibansa and Matibansa teaching cluster at different entries. This article concerns the latter.[2][6]
Classification and reservation[edit | edit source]
The Matibansa and Kshitibansa teaching cluster appears on the Odisha state SEBC list at entry 198, added by Government of Odisha Resolution No. 26118 of 5 November 1996.[2] It is not included in the Central List of OBCs for Odisha; its inclusion was sought and refused in 1999.[3] Members on the state list are eligible for Odisha's state-level SEBC reservation, which was set at 11.25 per cent and extended to admissions in state higher-education institutions from 2025–26.[7]
The refusal of central listing is set out in the findings of the NCBC's Orissa Bench, tendered as advice to the central government under section 9(1) of the National Commission for Backward Classes Act, 1993.[3] The request had been made for the inclusion of Khitibansa Abadhan, Matibansa Abadhan, Matibansa Ojha and Ojha castes and their synonyms in the Central List for Orissa.[3] The bench found that the communities were traditionally teachers, a respectable rather than a backward occupation, and were derived from advanced castes; it accordingly recommended rejection. The Commission's formal advice recorded that the requests "may be rejected, as these are not socially backward."[3]
See also[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Shodhganga, "Working Glossary of Some Indian Terms", p. 1.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Government of Odisha, ST & SC Development Department, Annual Report 2009–10, Entry No. 198.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 National Commission for Backward Classes, Orissa Bench, Advice No. 51,52/Orissa/99, 1999.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Orissa District Gazetteers: Balasore (and Kendujhar), sections on "Khitibansa or Matibansa".
- ↑ Risley, H. H. (1891). The Tribes and Castes of Bengal: Ethnographic Glossary. Calcutta: Bengal Secretariat Press.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Government of India, Central List of OBCs for the State of Orissa, Entry 48.
- ↑ "Odisha reserves 11.25% seats for SEBC category in higher education", ET Education, 16 May 2025.
Bibliography[edit | edit source]
- Risley, H. H. (1891). The Tribes and Castes of Bengal: Ethnographic Glossary. Calcutta: Bengal Secretariat Press.
- Bhattacharya, Jogendra Nath (1896). Hindu Castes and Sects. Calcutta: Thacker, Spink and Co.
- Government of Odisha. Orissa District Gazetteers (Balasore and Kendujhar volumes).
- National Commission for Backward Classes (1999). Advices to the Central Government for the State of Orissa.