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{{Short description|Founder of Matua sect of Hindus}}
{{Infobox person
| honorific_prefix =
| native_name = {{nobold|হরিচাঁদ ঠাকুর}}
| name = Harichand Thakur
| image =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{circa|11 March 1812}}
| birth_place = Safaladangagram, [[Gopalganj, Bangladesh|Gopalganj]], [[Faridpur district]], [[Bengal Presidency]], British India
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=y|1878|03|05|1812|03|11}}
| death_place = [[Faridpur, Bangladesh|Faridpur]]
| other_names =
| known_for = Upliftment of the [[Namasudra]] community (Then known as [[Chandala|Chandal]])
| occupation = Social and religious reformer
| spouse =
| children = [[Guruchand Thakur]]
| relatives = [[Pramatha Ranjan Thakur]] (great-grandson)
| signature =
}}
'''Harichand Thakur''' (11 March 1812 – 5 March 1878), was a social reformer who worked among the [[Untouchability|untouchable]] people of the [[Bengal Presidency]]. He founded the [[Matua Mahasangha|Matua]] sect of [[Hinduism]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/elections/assembly-elections/west-bengal/eye-on-bengal-votes-pm-modi-to-visit-matua-mandir-in-bangladesh/articleshow/81488676.cms |title=Eye on Bengal votes, PM Modi to visit Matua mandir in Bangladesh |work=The Times of India |date=14 March 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Lorea |first=Carola |date=28 February 2020 |title=Religion, Caste, and Displacement: The Matua Community |url=https://oxfordre.com/asianhistory/display/10.1093/acrefore/9780190277727.001.0001/acrefore-9780190277727-e-428 |encyclopedia=Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Asian History |doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780190277727.013.428 |isbn=978-0-19-027772-7 |access-date=23 October 2024 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

== Life ==
Harichand Thakur was born into a [[Vaishnavism|Vaishnavite]] [[Namasudra|Namashudra]] peasant family in 1811 in Safaladanga, a village in [[Gopalganj District, Bangladesh|Gopalgunj]], then part of the Bengal Presidency (now a part of [[Bangladesh]]). He was the son of Jashomanta Thakur (father)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Thakur, Harichand - Banglapedia |url=https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Thakur,_Harichand |access-date=2026-03-13 |website=en.banglapedia.org |language=en}}</ref> and Annapurna Devi (mother).<ref name=band1>{{cite book |title=Caste, Protest and Identity in Colonial India: The Namasudras of Bengal, 1872–1947 |first=Sekhar |last=Bandyopadhyay |publisher=Curzon |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-70070-626-6 |page=96 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=omAPFtaweqIC}}</ref><ref name=biswas-kanjilal>{{Cite web |title=New Vaisnavism and Sri Sri Harichand Thaku |url=http://ipublisher.in/File_upload/90570_91364257.pdf |access-date=30 August 2021}}</ref> His family, for generations, had belonged to the [[Gaudiya Vaishnavism]] sect; according to the book "Sri Sri Hari Lilamrita", his ancestors came from [[Rarh region|Rarhdesh]].<ref name="bandyopadhyay">{{cite book |title=Caste, Culture and Hegemony: Social Dominance in Colonial Bengal |first=Sekhar |last=Bandyopadhyay |publisher=SAGE |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-76199-849-5 |page=96 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z2SVIflbyHQC&pg=PA96}}</ref> His grandfather, Manchanram Biswas, was a devout [[Vaishnavite]] known as 'Thakur Manchanram' in the locality.<ref name=band1/> His father Jashomanta inherited the 'Thakur' title, and the family adopted the surname 'Thakur', abandoning their original surname 'Biswas'.<ref name=band1/>

Harichand Thakur was married to Jagat Mata Shanti Mata, and they had two sons. He was evicted from his native village Orakandi through the machinations of the village zamindar and finally he became settled in another village in the same district.<ref name=band1/> He did cultivation and some small trading for his daily living.<ref name=band1/>

He became known in the locality as a very religious person with magical power. Because of that, many people of his community from his own village, as well as surrounding villages, came to him as a disciple. Eventually, he founded the sect of Vaishnavite Hinduism called [[Matua Mahasangha|Matua]].<ref name="bandyopadhyay"/><ref name=band1/> He did not promote asceticism, preaching instead that men could be devoted to God while staying within the family (''Grihete thakiya jar hay bhaboday. Sei je param sadhu janio nishchay'').<ref name=biswas-kanjilal/>

Harichand Thakur died in 1878, in [[Faridpur District|Faridpur]].

==Social and religious reforms==
People started gathering around him because of his religious nature as well as his miraculous power well known in the nearby locality.<ref name=band1/> According to historian Sekhar Bandyopadhyay, one day Thakur "experienced ''atma darshan'' or self-revelation, through which he realized that he was the incarnation of God himself, born in this world to bring salvation to the downtrodden".<ref>{{cite book |last=Bandyopadhyay |first=Sekhar |chapter=The Matua Sect and the Namasudras |year=1995 |editor-last=Ray |editor-first=Rajat Kanta |editor-link=Rajat Kanta Ray |title=Mind Body and Society: Life and Mentality in Colonial Bengal |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=163 |isbn=019-563757-7}}</ref> After that he started preaching his own religious realization which is only based on ''Bhakti''. According to his doctrine, all traditional rituals, except devotion to God, faith in mankind, and love for living beings, are meaningless and distortions from the real aim of attaining God.<ref name=band1/> During that time, lower-caste peoples in India were terribly oppressed and marginalized by the upper-caste people (mostly belong to the Vaishnav or Hindu Brahmin religions).<ref name=educ>{{cite journal |title=Historical Development of the Education of the Namasudras |url=http://www.ignited.in/File_upload/90571_44182567.pdf |journal=Journal of Advances and Scholarly Researches in Allied Education |volume=13 |issue=2 |date=July 2017 |access-date=27 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200110041819/http://www.ignited.in/File_upload/90571_44182567.pdf |archive-date=2020-01-10}}</ref><ref name=mondal>{{cite web |title=Problem of Caste and Identity: The Namasudras of Colonial India |url=https://www.ijsr.net/archive/v7i9/ART20191557.pdf |access-date=27 August 2021}}</ref> These downtrodden people did not have any right in anything. His simple doctrine attracted many adherents from his own marginalized community. However, higher caste Hindus and Vaishnavs distanced themselves from his religion.<ref name=band1/> He organized these downtrodden peoples of his own community under the banner of his new religious doctrine (known as Matua religion) and established [[Matua Mahasangha]].<ref name=akbiswas>{{cite web |title=Bengal's unsung Namasudra movement |date=29 November 2016 |url=https://www.forwardpress.in/2016/11/bengals-unsung-namasudra-movement/ |access-date=27 August 2021}}</ref> In one sense, he gave the religionless Namashudras a new religion, his own Matua religion and helped them to establish their own right.<ref name="sarkar">{{cite book |title=Between History and Histories: The Making of Silences and Commemorations |editor1-first=Gerald M. |editor1-last=Sider |editor2-first=Gavin A. |editor2-last=Smith |publisher=University of Toronto Press |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-80207-883-4 |chapter=Renaissance and Kaliyuga: Time, Myth, and History in Colonial Bengal |first=Sumit |last=Sarkar |page=115 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jje8cSPgTtQC&pg=PA115}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The Politics of Caste in West Bengal |editor1-first=Uday |editor1-last=Chandra |editor2-first=Geir |editor2-last=Heierstad |editor3-first=Kenneth Bo |editor3-last=Nielsen |publisher=Routledge |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-31741-477-3 |chapter=Building Up the Harichand-Guruchand Movement: The Politics of the Matua Mahansgha |first=Praskanva |last=Sinharay |page=152 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7qXbCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA152}}</ref><ref name=educ/> His followers began to believe that he was gifted with supernatural power and can protect them from the Brahmanical cruel rules and regulations in the society.
<ref name=biswas-mondal>{{Cite web |title=The Role of Sri Sri Hari Chand Thakur and Sri Sri Guru Chand Thakur to the Social Awakening Movement of the Namasudras: An overview |url=https://ijcrt.org/papers/IJCRT2007558.pdf |access-date=30 August 2021}}</ref> They started considering him as God (''Param Brahma'') Harichand and as an [[avatar]] (incarnation) of [[Vishnu]] or [[Krishna]]. Thus, he became known as ''Sri Sri Harichand Thakur''.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Politics of Caste in West Bengal |editor1-first=Uday |editor1-last=Chandra |editor2-first=Geir |editor2-last=Heierstad |editor3-first=Kenneth Bo |editor3-last=Nielsen |publisher=Routledge |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-31741-477-3 |chapter=Building Up the Harichand-Guruchand Movement: The Politics of the Matua Mahansgha |first=Praskanva |last=Sinharay |page=159 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7qXbCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA159}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Bandyopadhyay |first=Sekhar |chapter=The Matua Sect and the Namasudras |year=1995 |editor-last=Ray |editor-first=Rajat Kanta |editor-link=Rajat Kanta Ray |title=Mind Body and Society: Life and Mentality in Colonial Bengal |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=173 |isbn=019-563757-7 |quote=Harichand, as many of the devotional songs of the sect indicate, was believed to have been the incarnation of Hari [Vishnu] or Krishna.}}</ref> Although he initially attracted followers only from his community, later his religion attracted followers from other caste communities that were marginalised by the upper castes, including the [[Chamar]]s, [[Mali caste|Mali]]s, and [[Teli]]s.<ref name=band1/><ref name="mukherjee">{{cite book |first=Sipra |last=Mukherjee |chapter=Creating Their Own Gods: Literature from the Margins of Bengal |title=Dalit Literatures in India |editor1-first=Joshil K. |editor1-last=Abraham |editor2-first=Judith |editor2-last=Misrahi-Barak |publisher=Routledge |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-31740-880-2 |pages=132, 140 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ph4-CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA132}}</ref>

His newly founded ''Matua religion'' is based on only three basic principles - Truth, Love, and Sanity.<ref name=biswas-mondal/> He completely rejected the sermons of earlier Hindu saints which described the household as an illusion and family as the main obstacle on the path of attaining salvation. Earlier Hindu saints discouraged people toward family life by preaching ''One has to leave home to achieve Nirvana (attaining salvation)''. However, he said ''Let karma (work) be our religion''.<ref name=param>{{Cite journal |title=Harichand Thakur's Matua Movement and Dalit Awakening in Bengal |year=2009 |doi=10.1177/0974354520090104 |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0974354520090104 |access-date=31 August 2021 |last1=Thakur |first1=Kapil Krishna |journal=Voice of Dalit |volume=2 |pages=37–44 |s2cid=164684840 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> There is no need for leaving home to lead a saintly life. He insisted that one can achieve salvation only through simple love and devotion to God. There is no need for initiation by a guru (''Diksha'') or pilgrimage. One can attain God by chanting ''Haribol'' and praying the God. All other mantras except the name of God and Harinam (''Haribol'') are just meaningless and distortions. He formulated his new Matua religion by combining the work with religion. He said ''haate kam mukhe nam'' (work in the hand and name of the God Hari in mouth).<ref name=param/> He challenged the traditional Hindu belief which described the woman as an illusion (''maya''), the gateway to hell, and the main obstacle on the path of attaining God. However, he insisted on strict sexual discipline and family values for his followers.<ref name=band1/><ref name=biswas-mondal/> According to his religion, all people are equal. He told his followers to treat everyone with the same dignity.<ref name=biswas-kanjilal/><ref name=biswas-mondal/><ref name=motua-religion>{{cite web |title=Twelve Doctrines of Shri Shri Harichand Thakur |url=https://horibol.page.tl/Twelve-Commandments-of-Lord-Harichand-Thakur.htm |access-date=28 August 2021}}</ref>

He gave twelve instructions to his followers. These twelve instructions are: (I) Always speak the truth (II) Treat the woman as your mother-being; Respect the woman (III) Always respect your parents (IV) Treat your neighbors and all earthly living beings with love, pity, and kindness (V) Never discriminate on racial grounds (VI) Bring all the six passions of the mind under your control. These six passions of mind are - Lust, Anger, Greed, Infatuation, Pride, and Jealousy. (VII) Remain liberal to all other religions and creeds (VIII) Become honest in mind and activities and avoid saintly dress to adorn yourself with (IX) Perform your duties devotedly and utter the sacred ''Haribol'' and pray to God simultaneously (X) Build a temple of pure thoughts in your heart and soul and a temple of Shree Hariparameshwar at your dwelling place (XI) Pray daily to God with devotion and sanctity (XII) Sacrifice yourself to the cause of God.<ref name=motua-religion/><ref name=biswas-mondal/>

== Legacy ==
After his death, one of his sons, [[Guruchand Thakur]], himself a [[Chandala]] or [[avarna]] (born 1846), worked with C. S. Mead in a campaign to have the Chandala people [[sanskritisation|recategorised as Namasudra]]. He established number of schools in his locality for the education of [[Dalit]] community.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Orakandi's pilgrim Prime Minister of India: Look London see Paris? {{!}} AK (...) - Mainstream |url=http://mainstreamweekly.net/article10626.html |access-date=2021-04-10 |website=mainstreamweekly.net}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Namasudra Movements In Bengal (1872-1947) |first=Ratan Kumar |last=Biswas |publisher=Progressive Book Forum |year=2010 |isbn=978-81-88006-19-9 |pages=158–160}}</ref> According to Sekhar Bandyopadhyay, it was under the leadership of Guruchand that the Matua sect "achieved its doctrinal cohesion and organisational push, as it came to be associated with the Namasudra social protest movement started in 1872".<ref name="bandyopadhyay"/>

A considerable body of [[Dalit literature]] that mixes religious and secular themes has emerged around [[Thakur (title)|Thakur]] and [[Matua (priest)|Matua]]. This includes biographies, promotions of the teachings and interpretations of the relationship to later events, such as the thoughts of [[B. R. Ambedkar]] and comparisons with the situation of black people in the US.<ref name="mukherjee"/>

== See also ==
* [[Guruchand Thakur]]
* [[Pramatha Ranjan Thakur]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}
{{refbegin}}
* Hitesh Ranjan Sanyal : Social Mobility in Bengal, Calcutta, 1985, {{OCLC|654280803}}
{{refend}}
* {{cite journal |last=Mandal |first=Mahitosh |date=2022 |title=Dalit Resistance during the Bengal Renaissance: Five Anti-Caste Thinkers from Colonial Bengal, India |journal=Caste: A Global Journal on Social Exclusion |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=11–30 |doi=10.26812/caste.v3i1.367 |s2cid=249027627 |url=https://journals.library.brandeis.edu/index.php/caste/article/view/367/96 |doi-access=free}}

== External links ==
* {{Banglapedia}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thakur, Harichand}}
[[Category:1810s births]]
[[Category:1878 deaths]]
[[Category:Bengali Hindus]]
[[Category:Bengali Hindu saints]]
[[Category:People from Gopalganj District, Bangladesh]]
[[Category:Matua people]]
[[Category:Indian social reformers]]
[[Category:Indian Hindu spiritual teachers]]
[[Category:Indian reformers]]

Harichand Thakur - Revision history

MatildaAldrich at 15:14, 3 April 2026