MATUA COMMUNITY

About: 

• Matua Mahasangha is a Hindu reform movement which has considerable number of adherents in West Bengal as well as in Bangladesh. 
  
  
• Caste: It is a religious sect of Bangladeshi Dalits who predominantly belong to the Namasudra caste, a Scheduled Caste group. 
  
  
• Background: 
  • Matuas trace their ancestry to East Bengal, and many of them entered West Bengal after Partition and after the formation of Bangladesh. 
    
    
  • The Matua Mahasangha, a religious reforms movement and a sect, was formed by Harichand Thakur in East Bengal in the mid-1800s. 
    
    
  • Harichand’s grandson P R Thakur established West Bengal’s Thakurnagar as headquarters of the sect after 1947. 
    
    
  
  
  
• Significance: 
  • While no official count is available, community leaders put their population at 3 crore. 
    
    
  • They are a deciding factor in many Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal which assumes a lot of political significance.