Harichand Thakur: On the 212th birth anniversary of Sri Sri Harichand Thakur, Prime Minister Narendra shared a tweet urging people to witness the sanctity and victory of Matua Maha Mela. He wrote, ” MatuaMahaMela2023 is an important event that showcases the vibrant culture of the Matua community. I hope more people visit the Mela. Humanity will forever be indebted to Shri Shri Harichand Thakur Ji for pointing out the path of kindness and service.”
The #MatuaMahaMela2023 is an important event that showcases the vibrant culture of the Matua community. I urge more people to visit the Mela. Humanity will forever be indebted to Shri Shri Harichand Thakur Ji for showing the path of compassion and service. https://t.co/srKlvFcGvR
– Narendra Modi (@narendramodi)
March 17, 2023
Introducing Harichand Thakur
He worked among the untouchable people of the Bengal presidency. He was born in 1812 in Orakandi, Bangladesh, in a farmer’s family belonging to the Thakur community (SC community). Thakur’s family were Vaishnavite Hindus, who founded a sect of Vaishnavite Hinduism known as Matua.
The members of the Namasudra community adopted this and thereafter they were also known by the common pejorative name Chandalas. They are considered untouchable.
The sect opposed caste oppression and later attracted followers from other communities marginalized by the upper castes, including Malis and Telis. Thakur’s followers consider him as God and also call him Thakur, an avatar of Vishnu or Krishna. Thus, he came to be known as Sri Sri Harichand Thakur.
Matua Maha Mela 2023: Date, time, address, everything you know about Shri Shri Harichand Thakur Ji
He was married to “Jagat Mata” Shanta Mata and had two sons. He died in Faridpur district in Bangladesh around 1878. After the death of Sri Sri Harichand Thakur, one of his sons, named Guruchand Thakur, collaborated with the English Baptist missionary doctor Cecil Silas Mead, who worked and lived among the Namasudras to get the Chandala People reclassified as Namasudras.
There is no doubt that Sri Sri Harichand Thakur devoted his life to the cause of improving the lives of the oppressed and deprived people of Bengal during the pre-independence period.
Now, let’s look at the Matua community.
About Matuas
The Matua people originated from East Pakistan and migrated to India during the Partition period and after the creation of Bangladesh. A large number are yet to acquire Indian citizenship.
As the BJP had promised to accelerate citizenship for immigrants under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), this was one of the reasons why Matua voters supported the NDA in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
The late matriarch of Matua Mahasangha, Binapani Devi Thakur, was awarded the Banga Bibhushan in November 2018. This is the highest civilian award in West Bengal.
One of the largest SC groups in Bengal is the Namasudras. According to 2001 Census data, they constitute about 17.4% of the population, about 18.4% less than the Rajbanshis.
The Matua community’s long-standing need for citizenship
As we know, the BJP-led NDA government had promised to implement the CAA and so the Matua community helped the saffron party win most of the SC constituencies in Bengal in 2019.
A long-standing demand of the refugee community is to gain citizenship. This year, in January, Minister of State for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Shantanu Thakur and West Bengal BJP MLA from the Matua community raised a fresh demand for immediate implementation of the CAA.
At a meeting chaired by the Union Minister at Thakurnagar in North 24 Parganas district, the community headquarters where the Matua community decided to take to the streets to protest against the delay in the implementation of the CAA. About 40 leaders attended the Matua community meeting.
The BJP-led central government in 2019 introduced the Citizenship Amendment Act to grant citizenship to religious minorities in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan who had to flee their country because of repression. On December 11, 2019, the Act was passed by the National Assembly and assented to by the President the following day. However, the law is yet to be implemented as the provisions under the CAA are yet to be framed.
Source: Indianexpress
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Source: pagasa.edu.vn