Author: Adarini Kanjilal Biswas
Abstract: This research article presents an extensive ethnographic study of the Matua community, one of the most significant socio-religious movements among the marginalized Namasudra population of Bengal. Situated within the broader framework of postcolonial social transformation, the study examines how tradition, religious reform, and collective identity have interacted to facilitate social mobility among the Matua community. Drawing upon historical records, ethnographic observations, oral narratives, and secondary literature, the article explores the evolution of Matua traditions, their transformation in response to colonialism, Partition, and democratic politics, and their impact on social, cultural, and political mobility. The study argues that the Matua movement represents a unique synthesis of spiritual reform and sociopolitical assertion, where religion functions not as an instrument of social control but as a resource for dignity, resistance, and negotiated mobility. The article contributes to scholarship on caste, religion, and social change by foregrounding the lived experiences of marginalized communities in contemporary India.
Keywords: Matua Community, Namasudra, Tradition, Social Mobility, Ethnography, Religion andResistance.
Page No: 241-246