Author: Adarini Kanjilal Biswas
DOI Link: https://doi.org/10.70798/Bijmrd/03030030
Abstract: The Matua movement represents one of the most significant socio-religious mobilizations among marginalized communities in eastern India. Emerging in the nineteenth century as a spiritual and egalitarian reform movement under the leadership of Harichand Thakur and later Guruchand Thakur, Matua religion has gradually transformed into a powerful cultural and political force in contemporary Bengal. This research article examines how religion functions as a mode of resistance for the Matua community, enabling collective identity formation, social assertion, and political mobilization. Drawing upon historical sources, sociological theories of religion, and contemporary political developments, the study explores the intersections of faith, caste, migration, and power. The article argues that Matua religion transcends conventional spiritual boundaries by acting as a counter-hegemonic framework through which historically oppressed Namasudra communities negotiate dignity, rights, and representation in modern democratic India. The paper further analyses how cultural practices, festivals, pilgrimage sites, and organizational structures have become instruments of socio-political consciousness, transforming religious devotion into collective resistance.
Keywords: Matua Movement, Religion and Resistance, Namasudra Community, Political Mobilization, Cultural Identity.
Page No: 283-289