Kolkata. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made the election atmosphere of Bengal even more interesting by mentioning the Matua community. He addressed a public meeting at a strategically important place in Ranaghat area of Nadia district of Bengal, where the Matua community has influence. People of Matua community are Namasudra Hindu migrants from Bangladesh and after the recent publication of SIR draft voter list, the risk of the community being deprived of voting rights has increased. The rally venue was not far from Bongaon, the stronghold of the Matua community.
Attacking the Mamata Banerjee-led government, PM Modi said, “I assure every Matua and Namasudra family that we will always serve them. They are not at the mercy of TMC in West Bengal. They have the right to live with dignity in India because of the CAA, which our government has brought. After the formation of the BJP government in West Bengal, we will do much more for the Matua and Namasudra communities.”
In his digital address, PM Modi also mentioned the religious leaders and founders of Matua sect, Harichand Thakur and Guruchand Thakur and praised their contribution. The Prime Minister also raised the slogan ‘Joy Nitai’ in the rally paying tribute to the 15th century Bengali saint of the region and also remembered the contribution of another saint Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Matua community worships both.
Now the question arises that who are these Matua communities, whom PM Modi specifically mentioned? So let us know…
History of Matua community is more than 200 years old
The history of Matua community is more than two hundred years old. It was founded by Harichand Thakur. Since then this community has been deeply associated with politics. Be it Pramath Ranjan Thakur after independence, his wife Binapani Devi after his death, or today his sons and grandsons – the faces of this family and community have always played an important role in the politics of Bengal.
Importance of Matua in Bengal Assembly elections
As soon as elections come, caste-based politics intensifies in West Bengal, like other states. Matua community of Scheduled Caste is considered to play the most important role in this political equation. The population of this community in the state is said to be more than three crore and it is believed to have a direct influence on about 70 assembly seats. These seats are spread in North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Nadia, Malda and surrounding areas.
If we look at the vote bank mathematics at the parliamentary level, out of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in Bengal, 10 are reserved for Scheduled Castes. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, BJP had won five of these seats, which is one more seat than in 2019. The biggest issue behind this was the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which was introduced in connection with the interests of the Matua community. In fact, this is the community in whose name there was most discussion about bringing this law.
BJP’s strategy regarding Matua
The Matua community, which has been a part of the Namasudra community in Bengal, is still called by old and derogatory terms like ‘Chandal’ in many places. The campaign for its social upliftment was started in the 19th century, due to which its condition improved significantly after independence. The caste arithmetic after partition was such that despite having such a large population, the Matua community was seen as refugees in Bengal. It is said that about 99.96 percent of the population of this community is Hindu. Keeping this religious and caste equation in mind, BJP prepared a strategy to make the Matua community its base in Bengal.
Troubled by being called ‘refugees’ for a long time, the biggest demand of this community has been citizenship. BJP tried to strengthen its hold among the Matua community by bringing the Citizenship Amendment Act, which was considered a big step in terms of vote bank politics. This was also called the ‘correction’ strategy of the BJP as the NRC had created fear among the refugee communities of Bengal, which was attempted to be mitigated through the CAA.
What does Mamata Banerjee’s politics say?
On one hand, BJP tried to woo the Matua community through CAA, while on the other hand, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee put forward the threat of NRC implemented in Assam and termed such exercises as harmful for the community. He made it a big issue in election speeches. Not just making statements, Mamata Banerjee also took steps at the ground level. His government talked about land rights for Scheduled Caste and refugee communities like Matua.
Mamata government called them ‘natural citizens’ and took decisions like giving more than 1.25 lakh land leases in the state. Apart from this, Mamata Banerjee’s relations with Boro Maa, the spiritual head of the Matua community, are considered to be very old and deep. Boro Maa had also declared Mamta as the chief patron of the Matua federation, which further strengthened her political acceptance in this community.
