Matua Mahasangha ( bn, মতুয়া মহাসংঘ) is a religious reformation movement that originated, around 1860 AD, in modern-day

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mo ...

, with a considerable number of adherents both in Bangladesh and in

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...

of India. Matua is a sect of

depressed class The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are design ...

AVARNA ''Varṇa'' ( sa, वर्ण, varṇa), in the context of Hinduism, refers to a social class within a hierarchical caste system. The ideology is epitomized in texts like ''Manusmriti'', which describes and ranks four varnas, and prescribes ...

Hindus who are Namasudras, a Scheduled Caste group. The movement was launched as a reformation by the followers of

Harichand Thakur Harichand Thakur (হরিচাঁদ ঠাকুর) (30 March 1812 – 5 March 1878), worked among the untouchable people of Bengal Presidency. He formed the Matua sect of Hindus. Life Harichand Thakur was born in a Namashudra (or avarna ...

. Thakur attained ''atmadarshan'' at an early age and would subsequently preach his 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 Hari ( sa, हरि) is among the primary epithets of the Hindu preserver deity Vishnu, meaning 'the one who takes away' (sins). It refers to the one who removes darkness and illusion, the one who removes all obstacles to spiritual progre ...

Harichand Harichand is a town and union council in the Charsadda District of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. It is located at 34°23'2"N 71°48'18"E and has an altitude of 381 meters (1253 feet). A historical location called Harichand has the name of Harichand Singh, ...

stressed the congressional chanting of Lord's name

kirtan Kirtana ( sa, कीर्तन; ), also rendered as Kirtan, is a Sanskrit word that means "narrating, reciting, telling, describing" of an idea or story, specifically in Indian religions. It also refers to a genre of religious performance art ...

as the sole means to Mukti. His followers in 19th century were enchanted by congregational chanting of Lord

, 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.

History

was born to a peasant family belonging to the Namasudra community. According to historian

Sekhar Bandyopadhyay Sekhar Bandyopadhyay (born 7 July 1952) is an Indian historian and a Fellow of the Royal Society Te Apārangi. Bandyopadhyay is known for his research on the Dalit caste of Bengal. Life Bandyopadhyay was born to Nanigopal Bandyopadhyay, a profe ...

, 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". Reforming Vaishnava devotionalism, he established the Matua sect of Hinduism. The sect was centered in Thakur's ancestral village, Orakandi, Faridpur,

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William and later Bengal Province, was a subdivision of the British Empire in India. At the height of its territorial jurisdiction, it covered large parts of what is now South Asia an ...

(now in Bangladesh). Their most sacred shrines are located there. A ''Matua Mahasangha'' (Matua Federation) was formed by an adherenet before 1915 to organize devotees. In the early 1930s,

Pramatha Ranjan Thakur Pramatha Ranjan Thakur (1902 – 28 Decembder 1990) was an Indian politician elected as a member of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly from the Hanskhali constituency in the 1962 elections as a candidate of the Indian National Congress. The ...

, great-grandson of Harichand Thakur, rejuvenated the organization. It started an

ashram An ashram ( sa, आश्रम, ) is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery in Indian religions. Etymology The Sanskrit noun is a thematic nominal derivative from the root 'toil' (<

Khulna Khulna ( bn, খুলনা, ) is the third-largest city in Bangladesh, after Dhaka and Chittagong. It is the administrative centre of Khulna District and Khulna Division. Khulna's economy is the third-largest in Bangladesh, contributing $53 ...

. After Partition in 1947, large numbers of Matua migrants settled in

, India. Pramatha Ranjan Thakur was among them. He founded the town of Thakurnagar, which became the new headquarters of the Matua Mahasangha.

Notes and references

Notes

References

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External links

* Bengal Presidency Hindu denominations Hindu new religious movements {{Hinduism-stub