A Hidden Renaissance in Bengal: The ‘Rebirth’ of Subaltern ‘Matua’ Namasudras

Abstract

The caste system in Hindu religion operates stratification which constitutes social hierarchy. The Brahman is at the apex of this hierarchy, with the Kshatriya second; Vaisya third in rank. The fourth is the Sudra, the ‘footman’, the servant of former three varnas. This sect is alienated as untouchable in this hierarchical order since the Rig Vedic era. The ‘Chandal’ (later allowed as Namasudra) of Bengal is a severely unprivileged segment of Sudra. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, this sector rebelled against the oppression, exploitation and persistent humiliation of the ‘upper’ Varnas under the leadership of Sri Sri Harichand Thakur and later by his son Sri Sri Guruchand Thakur. They promoted an alternative socio-religious Matua movement to awake the marginal Namasudras to make their distinct identity. They took extensive education as means of their intellectual and social upliftment. The influence of the education movement continues its widespread influence till today. Agonisingly, the history of this renaissance movement is kept almost silenced in the caste dominated testimonials and elite history. The paper, therefore, attempts to unearth this glorious history of academic and social elevation of the unacknowledged Bengali Namasudras.