{"id":9279,"date":"2025-12-09T21:45:44","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T16:15:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bijmrd.com\/?p=9279"},"modified":"2026-02-14T22:32:18","modified_gmt":"2026-02-14T17:02:18","slug":"the-essential-emergence-of-matua-religion-a-socio-theological-analysis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bijmrd.com\/index.php\/volume3-issue11\/the-essential-emergence-of-matua-religion-a-socio-theological-analysis\/","title":{"rendered":"The Essential Emergence of Matua Religion: A Socio-Theological Analysis"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Author: Saroj Kanjilal<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

DOI Link:<\/strong> <\/a>https:\/\/doi.org\/10.70798\/Bijmrd\/03110012<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abstract:<\/strong> The Matua Dharma, founded by the divine figure Harichand Thakur (1812\u20131878) and meticulously institutionalized by his son, Guruchand Thakur (1846\u20131937), represents one of the most profound and successful socio-religious reform movements among the marginalized communities of 19th-century undivided Bengal. This paper moves beyond defining Matua merely as a spiritual alternative, arguing instead that its emergence was an essential and non-negotiable socio-political necessity for the Namasudra community (formerly known as Chandala) and allied groups. Its necessity stemmed from three interconnected and crucial functions: firstly, its development of a radical theology of dignity (Sahaj Manush) which theologically abolished Brahminic hierarchical exclusion; secondly, its establishment of a powerful, decentralized organizational structure for collective political mobilization; and thirdly, its creation of a distinct, affirmed cultural identity rooted in the sacralization of labor (Krishikaj) and self-reliance. Matua\u2019s emergence was thus a foundational response to centuries of imposed social, economic, and ritualistic oppression, establishing the organizational and ideological bedrock for the assertion of untouchable rights in colonial and post-colonial India.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keywords:<\/strong> Matua Dharma, Harichand Thakur, Guruchand Thakur, Namasudra community, Sahaj Manush, Krishikaj, Chandala.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Page No: 123-127<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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download journal<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Author: Saroj Kanjilal DOI Link: https:\/\/doi.org\/10.70798\/Bijmrd\/03110012 Abstract: The Matua Dharma, founded by the divine figure Harichand Thakur (1812\u20131878) and meticulously institutionalized by his son, Guruchand Thakur (1846\u20131937), represents one of the most profound and successful socio-religious reform movements among the marginalized communities of 19th-century undivided Bengal. This paper moves beyond defining Matua merely as a …<\/p>\n

The Essential Emergence of Matua Religion: A Socio-Theological Analysis<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":"","_joinchat":[]},"categories":[41],"tags":[],"rttpg_featured_image_url":null,"rttpg_author":{"display_name":false,"author_link":"https:\/\/bijmrd.com\/index.php\/author\/asraful-alibiswas\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"Volume3 Issue11<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"Author: Saroj Kanjilal DOI Link: https:\/\/doi.org\/10.70798\/Bijmrd\/03110012 Abstract: The Matua Dharma, founded by the divine figure Harichand Thakur (1812\u20131878) and meticulously institutionalized by his son, Guruchand Thakur (1846\u20131937), represents one of the most profound and successful socio-religious reform movements among the marginalized communities of 19th-century undivided Bengal. This paper moves beyond defining Matua merely as a…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bijmrd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9279"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bijmrd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bijmrd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bijmrd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bijmrd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9279"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bijmrd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9279\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9281,"href":"https:\/\/bijmrd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9279\/revisions\/9281"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bijmrd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9279"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bijmrd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9279"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bijmrd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9279"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}