Amit Shah rally cancellation upsets Matua community

Upset with the rescheduling of Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s rally at Thakurnagar in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas rally, a section of people of the Matua community gathered outside the residence of BJP MP Sanatanu Thakur and raised slogans in protest.

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The Matua community has members on either side of the Bengal border.

It is associated with a religious movement begun in the 1870s by Harichand Thakur of a Namasudra (SC) family, who hailed from Safaldanga in East Bengal.

In the early 20th century, his son Guruchand organised the movement socially and politically. In 1915, the Matua Federation was established.

Today, Matuas constitute the second largest SC population of West Bengal. Government sources put their number at around 17% of the state’s electorate.

For years, the Matuas were demanding an amendment to the Citizenship Act of 2003, whose provisions made it difficult for refugees to get citizenship.