Harichand Thakur, was a social reformer who worked among the untouchable people of the Bengal Presidency.
17 Facts About Harichand Thakur
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Harichand Thakur was born into a Vaishnavite Namashudra peasant family in 1811 in Safaladanga, a village in Gopalgunj, then part of the Bengal Presidency.
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Harichand Thakur was the son of Jashomanta Biswas and Annapurna Devi.
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Harichand Thakur's grandfather, Manchanram Biswas, was a devout Vaishnavite known as 'Thakur Manchanram' in the locality.
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Harichand Thakur was married to Jagat Mata Shanti Mata, and they had two sons.
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Harichand Thakur 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.
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Harichand Thakur did cultivation and some small trading for his daily living.
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Annapurna Devi 8.
Harichand Thakur became known in the locality as a very religious person with magical power.
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Harichand Thakur organized these downtrodden peoples of his own community under the banner of his new religious doctrine and established Matua Mahasangha.
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Harichand Thakur's 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.
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Harichand Thakur's newly founded Matua religion is based on only three basic principles - Truth, Love, and Sanity.
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Harichand Thakur 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.
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Harichand Thakur insisted that one can achieve salvation only through simple love and devotion to God.
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Harichand Thakur formulated his new Matua religion by combining the work with religion.
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Harichand Thakur challenged the traditional Hindu belief which described the woman as an illusion, the gateway to hell, and the main obstacle on the path of attaining God.
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Harichand Thakur told his followers to treat everyone with the same dignity.
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Harichand Thakur established number of schools in his locality for the education of Dalit community.