""God Harichand Thakur""
"Harichand Thakur"(1811-1877) a Hindu votary and founder of the matuya sect, was born in Orakandi of kashiani upazila in Gopalganj on the thirteenth day of Falgun 1214 of the Bangla calendar.
Caste, culture, and hegemony: social domination in colonial Bengal - Google Books Result
Rejecting all Brahmanical rituals and the crowded Hindu pantheon, the Matua sect prescribed for its devotees a simple religion of personal devotion that did not ...
Lest we forget –11 March 1811: Shri Hari Chand Thakur birth anniversary- Collection by Dr. Pravin H Khobragade
Shri Hari Chand Thakur was born in NamaSudra Community in Bengal on 11th March 1811 in Orakandi of kashiani upazila in gopalganj (Greater faridpur). Harichand received little formal education. After completing his initial schooling in a pathshala, he attended school for only a few months. He then started spending his time with shepherds and cowboys and roamed with them from one place to another. He started changing from this time. He was loved by all of his friends for his physical beauty, naivete, love for music and philanthropic attitude. He could also sing bhajan (devotional songs). He cultivated the Matua Sect (The Matua community primarily consists of Dalits (mainly Namasudra). The Matua believe that male and female are equal. They discourage early marriage. Widow remarriage is allowed. They refer to their religious teachers as 'gonsai;' both men and women can be gonsai.
They follow the teachings of Shri Hari chand and Gurchand Thakur) whose principles were: (1) No necessity of entering the temples of higher castes for the purpose of worship, (2) Discarding Brahmin priest for any ceremony, (3) Worship on Shri Hari, (4) Not to worship idols and not to visit pilgrimage centres of Hindus and (5) Maintain good moral conduct and lead an ideal family life. The sect became popular in East Bengal (now a part of Bangladesh) and he led the untouchability movement called the Chandal movement in India. He built a english high school at Orakandhi (Banladesh ) for the people of lower community called Nama Shudra (untouchable community). He united the people of this community, but was against religion conversion. However some Bengali Brahmins have made him a Maithili Brahmin. Harichand's doctrine is based on three basic principles-truth, love, and sanctity. The doctrine treats all people as equal. Shri Shri Harichand Thakur and his son was great social reformer Sri Sri Guruchand Thakur who reform the society of chandal (charal). He built a English high school at orakandhi (bangladesh ) for the people of lower community more of them called Namasudra (untouchable comunity). He united the people of lower community people, and protect them from religion conversion.
Some collection by Dhirendra Rangari
During the Namasudhra movement the resources were very merger and the people
were very scattered and approachability was very challenging because the Nama
Shudra Community used to live in the swamps [small inland water bodies]. To
over come this they used to:
- Conduct meetings and deliberation and brain storming sessions, on the
occasion of any celebrations like marriages… etc and even on the funeral if
some one is dead and because of that the people has come together.
- They used to conduct conventions to plan the future course of action of
their movement and to take the stock of the actions they have taken during
that year.
- Democratic pattern of functioning the organization and the base of the
organization was broad-base which almost covered entire East Bengal
- It was mandate that each member of the community has to be a member of
the movement by paying a fixed amount on monthly basis.
- It was mandate that 5% amount of the expense incurred in any
celebrations of marriage or of any sort has to be given as a donation to the
movement
Such was the maturity and the spirit of the Nama Sudhra Movement run by
the downtrodden people, and that too in the 19th century.
We certainly have to learn a lesson from them and to implement and inculcate
it in our society / community so that we have enough resource [ financial +
mental + and human ] to run Phuley – Ambedkar Movement with greater force in
a right direction.
CHANDI WORSHIPPERS CALLED CHANDALAS
The worshippers of Chandi, the Chandalas, shed traditional racial name and were voluntarily advised to have the name of Namasudra in the caste menu. Little did they know then that the name Namasudra contained caste appellation of social slavery. No other oppressed caste surrendered so abjectly to Aryan social slavery as did the Namasudras in the process. This was the result of an intellectual fraud which had advised Guruchand Thakur in this behalf.
A special award has been instituted by the Govt. of West Bengal in memory of Shri Harichand Thakur and his son Shri Shri Guruchand Thakur, both preceptors of Matua religious community. The Thakur Harichand, Guruchand Award, which consists of a cash prize worth Rs.25,000, a citation and other prizes in kind is scheduled to be conferred from this year onwards. The Backward Classes Welfare Department will organise the award-giving ceremony. Anybody belonging to schedule caste community will be entitled for a claim of this award for his or her leading or outstanding role in effecting holistic development in the socio-economic life-structure of the schedule caste community.
Harichand Thakur and his son Guruchand Thakur struggled relentlessly to do away with social ills like untouchability, inequalities of caste systems, right to enter temples or shrines and an overall development of rural Bengal in the 19th century. They established many educational institutions in order to step up the conditions of the downtrodden of the society. Their relentless struggle for upliftment of the downtrodden made them popular among thousands of persons.
Guruchand Thakur, Son of Harichand Thakur started Namasudra Welfare Association. He called an All Bengal Namasudra Conference at Duttadanga in the district of Khulna (at present in Bangladesh) in the year 1881. Guruchand Thakur was the president of the conference. Guruchand Thankue advised his people to start schools in the areas densly populated by them. His next movement was to remove the disgraceful term, "Chandal" (which was then attributed to Namasudra by the higher caste Hindus) from the census report. He was successful in the same. The term "Chandal" was removed from census report of 1911. In 1907 he appealed to the then Governor of Bengal and Assam for employment of the Namasudras in government services.
Thakur, Harichand (1811-1877) a Hindu votary and founder of the matuya sect, was born in Orakandi of kashiani upazila in gopalganj (Greater faridpur) on the thirteenth day of Falgun 1214 of the Bangla calendar. His father, Yashomanta Thakur, was a Maithili Brahmin and a devout Vaisnava.
Harichand received little formal education. After completing his initial schooling in apathshala, he attended school for only a few months. He then started spending his time with shepherds and cowboys and roamed with them from one place to another. He started changing from this time. He was loved by all of his friends for his physical beauty, naivete, love for music and philanthropic attitude. He could also sing bhajan(devotional songs).
Harichand's doctrine is based on three basic principles-truth, love, and sanctity. The doctrine treats all people as equal; people are not seen according to castes or sects. Himself a Brahmin, he professed mixed with lower-caste people and treated them with the same dignity as he did other castes. This is why most of his followers believe Harichand to be an avatar (incarnation) of vishnu, and are from the lower strata of society. |  |
Harichand Thakur |
They used to affirm: Rama hari krisna hari hari gorachand. Sarba hari mile ei purna harichand (Rama is lord, Krishna is lord, lord is Chaitanyadev. But all of them make our Harichand, who is our lord.) Harichand did not believe in asceticism; he was more of a family man; and it is from within the family that he preached the word of God. He believed that 'Grhete thakiya yar hay bhaboday. Sei ye param sadhu janio nishchay' (the best ascetic is he who can express his devotion to God remaining a family man). He mobilised all the neglected sects and castes and inspired them to remain true to the openness of Hinduism.
Harichand left 12 instructions for the matuyas, known as Dvadash Ajna (Twelve Commands): 1. always speak the truth, 2. respect your parents like gods, 3. treat woman as your mother, 4. love the world, 5. remain liberal to all the religions, 6. never discriminate on racial counts, 7. try to establish Harimandir (temple of the Lord), 8. sit in prayer everyday, 9. Sacrifice your self for God, 10. do not practice asceticism in a garb, 11. hold the six cardinal passions in check, and 12. utter the name of your Lord while working with your hand. Harichand died on Wednesday 23 Falgun, the year 1284 of the Bangla calendar. [Monoranjan Ghosh]
Sri Sri Harichand Thakur
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Contents[hide] |
[edit]Introduction
One of the greatest social reformer in Bengal .He carried out his mission among the subaltern population .Later people from all sections, irrespective of caste and creed or religion joined him to make it a great success. Whether Catholic Missionaries or The Hindus or The followers of Brahmoism, all acknowledged his great contribution in the Bengal Renaissance among the poor and marginalised people. He started his mission with a view to spread education and create self-respect among these people and at the same time he insisted for removing of all kinds of social bashing which is a curse in Indian society.
[edit]Life and Family
He was born in a Namasudra (Namassej)(then called candala) peasant religiously vaishnab family. His original name was Sri Harichand Biswas. His family was believed to be belonging to Gautama Clan ( later the community members agreed to be identified as belonging to Kasyapa clan ; in the different census reports of eightieth century the "namasudras" were found to identifying themselves as belonging to four different clans or gotras kasyapa,bhardwaja,goutama or(n)lomoso ) .He was born in 1817. His place of birth is Safaldanga, Gopalgaunge( now in Bangladesh ).Later He moved to Odakandi,Faridpur. His family had five brothers(pancha shahadar, found in vandana): Krishnadas, Harichand, Vaishnavdas, Gouridas and Sharupdas. At an very early age he accepted the path of religious reformation for giving service to and uplifting the subaltern people of Bengal. He experienced atmadarshan ( self-realisation ) and preached his ideologies and religious philosophy in twelve commandments and asked his followers to pursue his works .He established Matua Mahasangha. His followers consider him as God ( Thakur ) Harichad and as an Avatar of Lord Vishnu .Thus He became Sri Sri Harichand Thakur. He left us in 1878 in Odakandi. He married Shantimata and his son was Shri Shri Guruchand Thakur, born in 1846.
[edit]Matua_Mahasangha and His Mission
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[edit]External links
- Matua Mahasangha
- Vaishnabism
- Namasudra (Namassej)
- Website dedicated to Namasudra Samaj:namasudra.com
[edit]References
- [The Namasudras and other Addresses, Adelaide,1911 : C.S.Mead]
- [Matua Dharma Darshan ( in Bengali ), Thakurnagar,1393 B.S. p-47 : Paramananda Halder]
- [Sekhar Bandyopadhyay :Popular religion and social mobility : The Matua sect and the namsudras in R.K.Ray (ed) Mind Body and Society, Life and Mentality in colonial Bengal ( Calcutta) 1995]
- [Hitesh Ranjan Sanyal : Social Mobility in Bengal, Calcutta,1985]
- [Tarak Chandra Sarkar: Sri Sri Hari Lilamrita ( in Bengali ) Faridpur, 1323BS]
- [Adal Badal (Bengali Monthly) June–July,1995 No IV and V ]
- [ The Family genealogy and community identity are after the living members of the clan in Thakurnagar as on 23 March 2011 ]
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Harichand received little formal education. After completing his initial schooling in a pathshala, he attended school for only a few months. He then started spending his time with shepherds and cowboys and roamed with them from one place to another. He started changing from this time. He was loved by all of his friends for his physical beauty, naivete, love for music and philanthropic attitude. He could also sing bhajan (devotional songs).
They used to affirm: Rama hari krisna hari hari gorachand. Sarba hari mile ei purna harichand (Rama is lord, Krishna is lord, lord is Chaitanyadev. But all of them make our Harichand, who is our lord.) Harichand did not believe in asceticism; he was more of a family man; and it is from within the family that he preached the word of God. He believed that 'Grihete thakiya Jar hay bhabodhay. Sei ye param sadhu janio nishchay' (the best ascetic is he who can express his devotion to God remaining a family man). He mobilised all the neglected sects and castes and inspired them to remain true to the openness of Hinduism.
Matuya Hindu religious community, founded by Sri Sri Harichand Thakur of Gopalganj. The word 'Matuya' means to be absorbed or remain absorbed in meditation, specifically to be absorbed in the meditation of the divine.
Matuya Hindu religious community, founded by Sri Sri Harichand Thakur of Gopalganj. The word 'Matuya' means to be absorbed or remain absorbed in meditation, specifically to be absorbed in the meditation of the divine.
The Matuya sect is "monotheist". It is not committed to Vedic rituals, and singing hymns in praise of the deity is their way of prayer and meditation. They believe that salvation lies in faith and devotion. Their ultimate objective is to attain truth through this kind of meditation and worship. They believe that love is the only way to God. The Matuya have no distinctions of caste, creed, or class. They believe that everyone is a child of God.
The Matuya believe that male and female are equal. They discourage early marriage. Widow remarriage is allowed. They refer to their religious teachers as 'gonsai;' both men and women can be gonsai. The community observes Wednesday as the day of communal worship.
The gathering, which is called 'Hari Sabha' (the meeting of Hari), is an occasion for the Matuya to sing kirtan in praise of Hari till they almost fall senseless. musical instruments such as "jaydanka, kansa, conch, shinga," accompany the kirtan. The gonsai, garlanded with karanga (coconut shell) and carrying chhota, sticks about twenty inches long, and red flags with white patches, lead the singing.
"Shrishriharililamrta" is the principal religious scripture of the Matuya. Apart from praising Hari and meditating upon him, the Matuya believe in kindness to the living. In order to stress the importance of all living creatures and the equality of all life, they say that the remains of what a dog has eaten are holy food and that what is upheld as holy by the vedas and orthodox religion is to be violated. These ideas are expressed in the following lines of verse:
Hari dhyan Hari jnan Hari nam
Premete matoyara matuya nam
Jibe daya name ruchi manusete
Iha chhada ar yata sab kriya
Kukurer prasad pele khai
Veda-bidhi shauchachar nahi mani tai.
The Matuya are found in Bangladesh and West Bengal. Their principal temple is at Orakandi in Gopalganj, where a fair is held every year on the 13th day of the lunar month in Falgun, on the birth anniversary of Harichand Thakur. Thousands of devotees from all over the country gather on the occasions, bringing rice, lentils, and vegetables as token of their devotion and love.
The same fair used to be held at Thakurnagar,Thakurbari too on the birth anniversary of Harichand Thakur.Lakhs and lakhs of devotees from all over the country gather on the occasion.This is where all people come to "boroma" with lots of issues regarding their family etc..wishing boroma can solve their problems
Its a pure example of truth,honest,love and devotion.
They take bath in the holy water of Kamana Sagar before performing any worship.
Matuya Sangit spiritual songs of the Matuya sect, containing praises of the god Hari and their gurus, Harichand Thakur and Guruchand. Composers of Matuya songs include Aswani Gosai, Tarak Chandra Sarker, Manohar Sarker, Mahananda Sarker, Rasik Sarker, Prafulla Gonsai, Surendranath Sarker, and Swarup Sarker.(they are the real followers i must say)
Composed in the manner of baul songs, these songs are predominantly about love (prem) and devotion (bhakti). The closing lines of the songs mention the name of the composer. Musical instruments such as the drum, shinga, and kansa are used as accompaniments. The devotees dance while they sing.
Matuya songs describe the longing of the soul for the divine. As in other religious poetry, the desire of the human soul is imaged in terms of human love as in the following songs: Hari tomar namer madhu pan korla na man-bhramara (The honey-bee mind has not drunk the honey from your name, oh Hari), Kabe tanre pab re, paran kande Harichand bali (When shall I meet Him, my soul cries for Harichand), Amar ei akinchan, he Guruchand tomay ami bhalabasi (Listen to me, O Guruchand, I love you).
(there were lots of song to sing though)
Purna Brahmo Shree Shree Harichand Thakur
Mythology and fictionalised biographies of spiritual leaders and social reformers are hardly seen in Indian cinema. Credit for the revival of interest in films inspired by the lives of spiritual leaders goes to Gautam Ghose vis-à-vis Lalon Phokir in Moner Manush. Purna Brahmo Shree Shree Harichand Thakur shows how the lives of most of these great men carry all the ingredients that a commercial film demands like music, songs, an exciting storyline complete with adventure, conflict and some melodrama, the picturesque backdrop of nature and some significant philosophies stated in an indirect way or woven into the story.
The first courageous thing done by the filmmakers is by casting Bangladeshi actor Firdaus in the title role of Purna Brahmo Shree Shree Harichand Thakur who was reportedly born into a Brahmin family but later took on cudgels for the Dalits in society known as nomosudras in Bengal. Despite his artificial long-haired wig, Firdaus looks the part with his good looks and the saintly expression he brings across. It is also graceful of him to have readily stepped into the celluloid mould of a great Hindu saint who created a separate Hindu sect, which many actors in Bangladesh would perhaps have shied away from.
The film is a straightforward, descriptive unfolding of the life and teachings of Sri Sri Harichand Thakur. Firdaus is quite convincing as Thakur and the supporting cast drawn from among the best in cinema has complemented him well. Through the story of his life from childhood to sainthood, the movie details him being ridiculed by other children as a boy, looked at with suspect as an adolescent and bashed up for supporting the Dalits by trying to uplift them socially through the sect that he formed, the Matua sect. The word 'matua' means to be absorbed or remain absorbed in meditation, specifically in the meditation of the divine.His belief that there is no disparity between men and women, his stand against early marriage and his backing the practice of widow remarriage are woven into the detailed script. The Matuas refer to their religious teachers as gonsai which is a position women can hold too. Wednesday is the day of communal worship for the Matuas.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/purna-brahmo-shree-shree-harichand-thakur/776241/
Namasudra (Namassej)
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Namasudra (Namassej) is the name of a Hindu community originally from certain regions of Bengal, India. They were traditionally engaged in cultivation and as boatmen but lived outside the four tier ritual varna system. They are the major founder clan of the Matua sect of Hinduism.
Contents[hide] |
[edit]Etymology
At the 1911 Census of India the community noted themselves as either Namassut or Namassej. In Bengali, sut means son, so Namassut means Namas (name of sage) + Sut i.e. son or descendant of Namas. The other name has a similar meaning. Sreej in Bengali means to generate or to originate. So Namas + Sreej transformed to Namassreej to Namassej meaning generated or originated from Namas.
The name "Namaswej" most probably first appeared on the internet around the year 2000.[original research?] The name was a part of A Declared Revelation called Smritokotha. In Bengali language there are two letters designated by same symbol which in Roman Script are given by "b" and "wa or w". If there is "w" then in the pronunciation the previous letter becomes double. So according to pronunciation Namaswej becomes Namassej. All the interpretations given by different community members were according to the version written in English or Roman script.
Currently many people of this community and sometimes people of other communities also designate Namasudras (or Namassejas) simply as Nama.
[edit]History
In the 11th Century Bengal was ruled by Ballal Sen, the third ruler of the Sen dynasty. At that time the Brahmins were the second-most influential community after the king. Ballal Sen tried to implement a set of rules in favour of the king. A majority of Brahmins were not ready to accept these new rules. Eventually the Brahmins divided into two groups, one favouring the king, while the other group revolted against him. The second group fought a war against the king and lost. Ballal Sen punished them by annulling their right to be considered Brahmins. They were instead assigned the caste of shudra. After the defeat this group of Brahmins left the realms of Ballal Sen and went to the south-east of Bengal. These people were considered as shudra, the lowest of the four Hindu varnas. But as they had originally been Brahmins, they were referred to with the prefix of 'Namashya' (Ben. = 'respectable').
It was an unaccepted community, forced to live in the swamps of extreme south of current day Bangladesh until the emergence of British India. The socio-religious taboos of the Hindu and Muslim caste system that devastated their social life completely also helped them not to be lost into the vast population, as they did not belong to any community.
With the advent of the family of Harichand Thakur the process of enlightenment began within the community. The family inspired the Namasudras to establish more than 5,000 schools. From 1905 onwards Sri Guruchand and the missionary Cecil Silas Mead[1] carried forward the mission, and created the path for exodus for this community. And the exodus was politically carried forward by Jogendra Nath Mandal. However, this movement lasted only until 1947, when India gained independence as secular India and Pakistan, a theocratic state. The community was torn in two. In one part, the larger section became the lowborn beggar masses and, as refugees, was being made to settle all over India. In another part (later becoming independent as Bangladesh in 1971, when this community both greatly suffered and fought courageously), they were lowborn of a different religion. A very small section of this community managed to get higher education.
The Namasudra community under the leadership of Mahapran Jogendranath Mondal first organised the mass movement in undivided India (then under the rule of British Monarchy) to do away with the bashing based on Caste system and as a result of that movement "The Policy Of Reservation" was achieved by different outcast population groups which nowadays are going to be accepted as a general policy by most political parties for any kind of backwardness found among any population group. The success of an arrangement in general, however, is doubtful.
[edit]Vyavastha
Sakti Sangama Tantra, a Tantrik work of the 16th-century states that the Namasudras are offspring of Namasa. Another work, the Brahma Vaivarta Purana, refers to Kuder or DebalBrahmins ; it is believed[by whom?] that they were the outcaste Namasudras. Bengali writer Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay noted the Caucasoid characteristics of Candalas as mentioned in, H. Beverly, Census Of Bengal, 1872, p-182. C.J. O'Donell in Census of India, 1891, vol III, p-255-257, found, nasal index and cephalic index of Namasudras more close to the indigenous North Indians. Similar observation was made by Dr. N.R. Ray. On the basis of all these findings and of scriptures and social histories of Sen Dynasty a Vyavastha was signed by forty Brahmin Pundits from across Bengal in 1901 declaring that the Namasudras are not Candalas but rather are descendants of true Brahman sages such as Namasa (from the Kasyapa lineage) and should not be categorised as (nama) sudras either.
[edit]Myth of origin
Dr. N. R. Ray first expressed his doubt in respect of the position of the Namasudras in social hierarchy. He told of the folklore of origin and of degradation that could possibly resolve the anomaly. Thus goes the Tale. Brahman, the Parameshwar, is the Creator God. He begot Marichi. Marichi begot Kashyapa. Kashyapa begot Namas (also known as Lomasa Muni[2]). Namas was married to Sulochana, the daughter of Ruchi, the "spiritual son of Brahman". They begot Kirtiban and Uruban (most probably instead of Kirtyuruban they together wrongly mentioned as Ariban in Ssejsantokotha or it may be that in old handwritten manuscript it became simply "uruban>ariban" and first part "Kirtyu" was omitted due to mistake or erasing due to being preserved in bad condition). They were twin brothers. Santo or Sage- Namas, went into deep forest for meditation and did not return in 14 years. So Kirtiban and Uruban were "self-dikshitized" or "self-consecrated". They were married to the two daughters of the King Simanta. They begot eight children and they were married to the children of Asamonjo, the eldest son of the Suryavanshi King Sagar. They are the forefathers of the Namasudra community.
It may be proposed that the name of the community should be Brahman Kshatriya because father was Brahmin by birth and mother was a daughter of a king. But this argument is not applicable unless you believe in varna or jatived or the caste-system. In monotheism and sannyasbadi Hinduism as Sri Harichand told them there is only gotra and community name (not related to his by-birth profession of caste-based Hinduism). Namassejas née namasudras followed this in the beginning. So the question of being sudra or Brahman-Kshatriya or any varna name should have not arisen. However there is a strong myth that the community may contain a degraded Khsatriya clan. There is hearsay that Palas(Pala-kings) of Bengal belong to these "tribes". In fact many times these people have been mentioned as Khanda-Kshatriya in newspapers such as Anandabazar Patrika.
This is the folklore of the origin of the Namasudras: the story they believe i.e. the History of The People. Sri Harichand told them only to meditate the Parameshwar and take Him to be the origin of all that exist. He told also that they will be Self-Consecrated. Although his followers could not follow his path strictly (they got mixed up with Vaishnavism and with the path of the Bauls). His "twelve commandments" also show signs of later manipulations by his followers. However his family became iconic and very recently from some corner of the community a discourse, Smritokotha, is declared to be published which the editor foretold to be a complete guide to community-life.
[edit]Gotras
There are differing opinions regarding the number of gotras (clans) which comprise the community. The Bengal Gazetteer and Darjeeling Gazetteer, both published during the British Raj period, listed three such groups, being Kashyapa, Bhardwaja and Gautama.[citation needed] These were included in the scheduled castes' list of the government of India under constitutional provision.[citation needed] However, Herbert Risley, writing in 1891, noted four such groups: Kasyapa, Bharadwaja, Lomasa and Sandilya.[3]
[edit]Religion
The community is mostly Hindu.
The Iconic Family (of Orhakandi, Faridpur) had established the Matua-Math and Matua Mahasangha in Thakurnagar, India. This folk-Hinduism has a large number of followers (~8–10%) and getting wooing from the political organisations also. The followers are known as Matua. Their main festival is an annual event observed in the middle of March. They believe Harichand Thakur to be their God. He is thought to be of the Goutama clan and an avatar of Vishnu. Their religious symbol is a triangular-shaped red flag with white border. They form a procession, accompanied by music from traditional instruments such as the dhol, kashar and ghanta. Their slogan is Bol, Bol, Bol, Hari Bol. They pronounce it with a typical rhythm.
There is a holy lake called Kamana Sagar. A Discourse (Smritokotha) demands that thousands of years back they were ostracized from a settlement like this and declared to publish the complete guide to the religious path to be followed by the community(verhudtbrahman). At present the Head of the Holy Family is Boroma (The Holy Mother) or Binapanimata.
[edit]References
- ^ Ball, Gerald B. (2004). "MEAD, Cecil Silas (1866-1940)". Evangelical History Association of Australia. Retrieved 2011-07-16.
- ^ P. 183, The tribes and castes of Bengal: Ethnographic glossary, by Risley
- ^ Risley, Herbert Hope (1891). The Tribes and Castes of Bengal. 2.
- Ray, Niharranjan (1994). History of the Bengali People: Ancient Period. Orient Longman. ISBN 9780863113789.
- Bengal Gazetteer-Darjeeling Gazetteer by L.O.S.S. Malley
- Articles on Namasudra by Dr. C. S. Mead: [1][2]
- Bandyopādhyāẏa, Śekhara (1997). Caste, protest and identity in colonial India: the Namasudras of Bengal, 1872-1947. Routledge. ISBN 9780700706266.
- Census of India 2001, Manipur: [3]
- Dalton, Edward Tuite (1872). Descriptive ethnology of Bengal.
- Encyclopædia Britannica based on 1911: [4]
- "Research Response: India". Refugee Review Tribunal, Australia. 30 August 2007.
- The stranglehold after 1947: By Vohra: [5], By M. Klass, pp. 43: [6]: by Ross Mullick,JAS vol. 58. no. 1 (Feb 1999) pp. 104–125.: Marichjhapi:ABR : & : [7]
- Ghatak, N. K.; Mukherjee, D. P. (1986). "Baruni : A Folk Festival of Thakurnagar Organised by the Namasudra Community for Onward Movement". Folklore (Calcutta: Indian Folklore Society) 27 (317): 241–247. ISSN 0015-5896.(subscription required)
- Rabindranath Tagore, The Brahma Poet in Namasudra Conference: The Calcutta Municipal Gazette Tagore Memorial Special Supplement, Saturday, September 3, 1941, editor Amal Home, p. 90 : Home page > 2010 > Two Events in Tagore's Life Mainstream, Vol XLVIII, No 20, May 8, 2010
- Das, S. N. Das, ed (2003). The Bengalis. The People, Their History And Culture. Cosmo Publication. ISBN 9788177553925.
[edit]Further reading
- Bangalir Itihas-Adi Parbo-Nihar Ranjan Ray
- Tagore's Participation in Namasudra Conference in East Bengal in 1925: Mainstream Weekly (Founder Editor nikhil chakrobarty): VOLXLVIII, NO 20, MAY 8, 2010
[edit]External links
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Caste not a poll factor in Bengal. But Matuas could swing it for Didi
BY PARTHA DASGUPTA
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THAKUR NAGAR IS a small, sleepy hamlet 75 km from Kolkata, close to the Indo-Bangladesh border town of Bongaon. Three km from the newly renovated Thakur Nagar railway station is a colony of old, thatched cottages punctuated by a number of buildings under construction, and a towering four-storey pagoda-like temple made of the finest white marble. In one of these old houses lives 93-year-old Barama (Great Mother), whose word is law for over five crore Indians who belong to the Matua (the Meditators) sect. A fourth of them live in West Bengal and act as a fulcrum in the seesaw battle of fortunes in at least 74 of the 294 Assembly seats — a good 25 percent.
West Bengal is known to be a state largely free of the caste politics that plagues the rest of India. But few are aware that both the Left and the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress are walking the extra mile to secure the 'blessings' of Barama — Binapani Debi — who heads the Matua Mahasangha, a sect founded by her husband's great grandfather Harichand Thakur, a Brahmin, at Gopalganj in Faridpur, present-day Bangladesh. The sect represents Scheduled Castes and Other Backward Classes, almost all of whom are immigrants from Bangladesh. Most political analysts say the Matuas, who have traditionally voted en bloc for the Left, shifted allegiance to the Trinamool in last year's Lok Sabha election; and that Mamata owes a large chunk of her electoral success to this shift.
But Barama, who even at this age travels extensively across the country, disagrees, saying, "I do not advise or command anyone to vote for a particular party. I am no goddess, just small fry. What power do I have? I say and do as the Lord decrees." But she is being modest, says Rabindranath Halder, vice-president of the Mahasangha advisory committee. "Barama's is the last word in all matters. She won't expressly ask the members to vote for a party, but her actions say it all."
On 14 March this year, Barama appointed Mamata the organisation's chief patron. Didi returned the favour promptly by announcing a slew of developmental works for the Matuas. Thakur Nagar station has been named a model one and is already getting a facelift. In keeping with her penchant for naming stations after famous personalities, Mamata has announced that three will be named after Harichand, his son Guruchand and grandson Pramatha Ranjan. She has also donated Rs. 33 lakh for sprucing up Kamonasagor, the holy pond in Thakur Nagar, and has promised Rs. 60 lakh more — besides a sports stadium and a fullfledged railway hospital.
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But Mamata remains tight-lipped about the sect's main grievance: that thousands of its members are being deported from the country as alleged infiltrators. Yet now, even West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, who has repeatedly voiced his concern about Bangladeshi infiltration, has joined the bandwagon to woo the Matuas. On 21 September, he presided over a state function to award the Harichand-Guruchand prize, instituted by his government this year, to Barama's eldest son Kapil Krishna. Barama was not present at the function, but Krishna, in his speech, said he was dismayed that the state neglected him for ages.
What then is Matua? Is it just another religion like Hinduism or Islam? "Yes and no," says Mahasangha vice-president Manjul Krishna Thakur, the youngest of the three sons of Pramatha and Binapani. "It is a religion as we have a prophet in Guru Harichand, my great great grandfather, whose teachings we follow," he explains. "But it's more of a movement that seeks to uplift the downtrodden and tells you what an ideal family life should be." The sect's leadership has traditionally remained with the Thakurs.
Rabindranath Halder's father is the only surviving member in Thakur Nagar who saw Pramatha Ranjan Biswas, Binapani Debi's late husband, migrate from Bangladesh, build a small house in Thakur Nagar and start living there from 13 March 1948, buying forest land from the local zamindar Jagat Kumari Dasi.
"My father was an exceptional man," says Thakur. "He became a member of the Bengal Assembly in 1937 and a minister of state for tribal development in 1962. In 1967, he was Congress MP from Nabadweep, but quit following differences with his party," says the man who is responsible for making the Matuas into a well-organised community.
There are registered groups of 500 in each district under a group head. "We take voluntary subscriptions from the members, sometimes as little as one rupee," says Halder.
JYOTIPRIYA MULLICK, the Trinamool MLA from Gaighata (under which Thakur Nagar falls), who has stuck to the Matuas steadfastly and is widely credited with getting the members to switch allegiance to the Trinamool, rubbishes the allegation that Mamata is ushering in caste politics in Bengal.
"Nobody raised this question when CPM bigwigs like Brinda Karat and Biman Bose visited Barama to seek Matua votes; and though they voted for the CPM, the party treated them as a mere 'vote bank'. Now that Mamatadi is bringing in a deluge of development, these nasty questions are being raised," says Mullick.
Halder, the organisation's unofficial spokesman, sounded guarded when asked who the sect would vote for in the Assembly election. "It is true that we are being treated and perceived as political pawns, but we are much too strong an organisation for that. I can only say that we have traditionally voted for the Left, and in return got nothing," he lamented.
Mullick takes this as a positive sign. "The angry Matuas are part of the winds of change that are sweeping the state. I am confident they will vote for us en bloc," he says.
It may well be that there's a woman behind every successful man. But if Mamata makes it to the CM's chair this time, you would know that it happened, in part at least, because a 93-year-old woman had elected to bless her.
http://www.tehelka.com/story_main47.asp?filename=Ne131110Caste_not.asp
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