Matua Mahasangha
Religious movement in Indian subcontinent
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Matuaism (Bengali: মতুয়া মহাসংঘ[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 Thakurbari Temple of the Matua Mahasangha | |
| Founder | |
|---|---|
| Harichand Thakur | |
| Religions | |
| Hinduism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Namasudras |
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
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]
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