After Amit Shah, Mamata reaches out to influential Matua community in Bengal

A month after Union Home minister Amit Shah’s Matua outreach in West Bengal, chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday reached Bongaon, the headquarters of the influential community in North 24 Parganas district.

“All Matuas are citizens of this country. Let me say this as the chief minister of Bengal. You do not need any more certificates,” Mamata said, terming the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) a means to deceive the community.

“You have been deceived in the name of CAA. I will not allow any NRC or NPR in the state. BJP wants to drive out all the people of Bengal and make it Gujarat,” she added, while addressing a rally.

Permanent citizenship has remained a longstanding demand within the Matua community, who are classified as a Scheduled Caste (SC). Matuas are Namasudras or lower caste Hindu refugees who migrated to Bengal from neighbouring Bangladesh (erstwhile East Pakistan) during Partition and in subsequent decades.

They form the state’s second largest Scheduled Caste population. Mostly concentrated in North and South 24 Parganas, they are spread across bordering districts such as Cooch Behar, North and South Dinajpur, Malda and Nadia.

The BJP has been seeking the Matua vote promising permanent citizenship to the community. During the Lok Sabha election last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his Bengal campaign from Thakurnagar in Bongaon. Last month, Amit Shah visited a Matua temple and had lunch at a Matua household in a bid to woo the community. Elections in Bengal will most likely be held in April-May.

While the party’s central leadership has promised implementation of CAA soon, BJP MP from Bongaon, Shantanu Thakur, has expressed displeasure over the delay. Shantanu’s aunt, former Trinamool Congress MP Mamata Bala Thakur, said BJP was fooling the Matuas for political gains. “He (Shantanu) should realise his mistake and make amends. He won the seat (Bongaon) with Matua vote. If they are not legal citizens, how did they vote?” she asked.

The Thakur family, all descendents of Harichand Thakur founder of the Matua sect has political loyalties divided between the BJP and TMC. “Look what the BJP has done; they have divided the family (Matua household),” Mamata said, referring to fissures in the family that heads the influential community.

Referring to her long association with the religious sect, Mamata announced that her government will observe a state holiday on the birth anniversary of Harichand Thakur each year from 2021. Listing out the works her government has done for Matuas, the CM said while BJP promises, it is she who delivers.

Namasudras constitute 17.4 per cent of the total Scheduled Caste population in Bengal, the second largest block after Rajbongshis. An overwhelming majority of Bengal’s 1.8 crore Scheduled Caste population (99.96%) are Hindus. Of its 42 Lok Sabha seats, Bengal has 10 seats reserved for Scheduled Castes, of which the BJP bagged four Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri, Bishnupur and Bongaon in 2019.