Matua Mahasangha

Thakurbari Temple of Matua Mahasangha
Total population
c. 50 millions
Founder
Harichand Thakur
Religions
Hinduism
Languages
Sacred Bengali and Sanskrit Holy Book Harililamrito_Adi-Rigvedi Majority Bengali
Related ethnic groups
Avarna Namaswej

Matua Mahasangha (Bengali: মতুয়া মহাসংঘ)^[1] is a Hindu religious reformation movement that originated, around 1860 AD, in modern-day Bangladesh, with a considerable number of adherents both in Bangladesh and in West Bengal of India. Matua is a sect of depressed class avarna Bengali Hindus who are Namasudras, a Scheduled Caste group of Bengal. 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 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.^[2]

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 matoara giving the sect current name 'Matua'. So anyone who has faith in the Darshan or Philosophy of God Harichand belongs to the Matua-mahasangha.^[relevant?]

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".^[3] Reforming Vaishnava devotionalism, he established the Matua sect of Hinduism.^[4] The sect was centered in Thakur's ancestral village, Orakandi, Faridpur, Bengal Presidency (now in Bangladesh).^[5] Their most sacred shrines are located there.^[6]

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.^[7] After Partition in 1947, large numbers of Matua migrants settled in West Bengal, India.^[8] Pramatha Ranjan Thakur was among them. He founded the town of Thakurnagar, which became the new headquarters of the Matua Mahasangha.^[9]

• Bandyopadhyay, Sekhar (17 November 1990). "Community Formation and Communal Conflict-Namasudra-Muslim Riot in Jessore-Khulna". Economic & Political Weekly. 25 (46): 2563–2568. JSTOR 4396995.
• Bandyopadhyay, Sekhar (1995). "The Matua Sect and the Namasudras". In Ray, Rajat Kanta (ed.). Mind Body and Society: Life and Mentality in Colonial Bengal. Oxford University Press. ISBN 019-563757-7.
• Lorea, Carola Erika (28 February 2020). "Religion, Caste, and Displacement: The Matua Community". In Ludden, David (ed.). Oxford Research Encyclopedias: Asian History. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780190277727.013.428. ISBN 978-0-19-027772-7.
• Mandal, Mahitosh (2022). "Dalit Resistance during the Bengal Renaissance: Five Anti-Caste Thinkers from Colonial Bengal, India". Caste: A Global Journal on Social Exclusion. 3 (1): 11–30.
• Mukherjee, Aditi (2020). "Re-thinking protracted displacements: insights from a namasudra refugee camp-site in suburban Calcutta". Contemporary South Asia. 28 (1): 58–73. doi:10.1080/09584935.2019.1666089.
• Walker, Dennis (Winter 1999). "Matua Untouchable Writers In West Bengal: Between Islam And India's Changing Upper Caste-Led System". Islamic Studies. 38 (4): 563–602. JSTOR 20837062.

• Matua at Banglapedia

v t e Bengali Hindus
Society	Groups Babu Bangal Bhadralok Ghoti Castes Aguri Bagdi Baidya Baishya Kapali Baishya Saha Barujibi Bauri Brahmin Chunaru Dom Gandhabanik Suvarna Banik Hari Kaibartya Kansabanik Karmakar Kayastha Kulin Maulika Mahishya Malla Namasudra Namassej Avarna Sadgop Shunri Yogi
Religion	Books Bhagavad Gita Chandi Panchali Matuasmritokotha Sects Brahmo Kartabhaja Shaiva Shakta Vaishnava Orders Adi Brahmo Samaj Ananda Marga Bharat Sevashram Sangha Brahmo Conference Organisation Brahmo Samaj Gaudiya Math Gaudiya Mission International Society for Krishna Consciousness Matua Mahasangha Ramakrishna Order Self-Realization Fellowship Sri Aurobindo Ashram Vedanta Society Yogoda Satsanga Society of India Festivals Poila Baisakh Rabindra Jayanti Akshaya Tritiya Buddho Purnima Shashthi Savitri Brata Ambubachi Mela Dhamrai Jagannath Roth Jhulan Purnima Janmashtami Bhadu Ganesh Chaturthi Vishwakarma Puja Durga Puja Lakshmi Puja Diwali Kali Puja Bhai Phonta Shakta Rash Nabanna Jagaddhatri Puja Kalpataru Day Swami Vivekananda's Birthday Makar Sankranti Maghotsab Saraswati Puja Maha Shivaratri Dol Purnima Holi Gajan
Culture	Music Rabindra Sangeet Shyama Sangeet Kirtan Bishnupur gharana Dance Gaudiya Nritya Rabindra Nritya Natya Literature Vaishnava Padavali Mangal-Kavya Panchali Kallol Hungry generation
Folk culture	Folk art Dhokra Sholapith Folk dance Raibenshe Chhau Paika Dhamail Alkap Gombhira Kavigan
Others	Bengali Hindu mythology and culture Bengali Hindu diaspora