Matua Scheduled Caste Community (West Bengal)

The Matua Scheduled Caste Community is a Hindu reform movement originating among the Namasudra community of Bengal, founded circa 1860 by the social reformer Harichand Thakur (1812-1878). The movement emerged as a response to severe caste discrimination and untouchability, offering a path to spiritual and social equality through devotional practices that rejected priestly hierarchies and caste distinctions. The Matua Mahasangha, the community's organizational federation, was formally established before 1915 and was revitalized in the 1930s by Pramatha Ranjan Thakur, Harichand's great-grandson, who established Thakurnagar in West Bengal as the movement's spiritual and cultural center.

The Matuas constitute approximately 17.4 percent of West Bengal's total Scheduled Caste population, making them the second-largest SC group in the state after the Rajbanshis, with decisive political influence in over 50 assembly seats across North 24 Parganas and Nadia districts. The community has historically emphasized education as a tool for social uplift and community welfare. Large-scale migration to West Bengal occurred both around India's Partition in 1947 and following the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, as Matua Hindus fled religious persecution and established themselves as a refugee community within India.

In 2026, the Matua community faces significant challenges from the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, which has resulted in the deletion of over 50 percent of Matua names from voter lists in key constituencies such as Bagda, Bangaon-Uttar, and Gaighata. This purge reflects ongoing citizenship documentation gaps and vulnerabilities, as millions of Matuas lack formal paperwork despite decades of residence in India. The community remains politically active and organized through the Matua Mahasangha, advocating for implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act and pressing for resolution of documentation and citizenship recognition issues.