Namasudra (Namassej)

Namasudra (Namassej) is the name of a Hindu community originally from certain regions of Bengal, India. They were traditionally engaged in cultivation and as boatmen but lived outside the four tier ritual varna system. They are the major founder clan of the Matua sect of Hinduism.

Etymology

At the 1911 Census of India the community noted themselves as either Namassut or Namassej. In Bengali, sut means son, so Namassut means Namas (name of sage) + Sut i.e. son or descendant of Namas. The other name has a similar meaning. Sreej in Bengali means to generate or to originate. So Namas + Sreej transformed to Namassreej to Namassej meaning generated or originated from Namas.

The name "Namaswej" most probably first appeared on the internet around the year 2000.^{[original research?]} The name was a part of A Declared Revelation called Smritokotha. In Bengali language there are two letters designated by same symbol which in Roman Script are given by "b" and "wa or w". If there is "w" then in the pronunciation the previous letter becomes double. So according to pronunciation Namaswej becomes Namassej. All the interpretations given by different community members were according to the version written in English or Roman script.

Currently many people of this community and sometimes people of other communities also designate Namasudras (or Namassejas) simply as Nama.

History

In the 11th Century Bengal was ruled by Ballal Sen, the third ruler of the Sen dynasty. At that time the Brahmins were the second-most influential community after the king. Ballal Sen tried to implement a set of rules in favour of the king. A majority of Brahmins were not ready to accept these new rules. Eventually the Brahmins divided into two groups, one favouring the king, while the other group revolted against him. The second group fought a war against the king and lost. Ballal Sen punished them by annulling their right to be considered Brahmins. They were instead assigned the caste of shudra. After the defeat this group of Brahmins left the realms of Ballal Sen and went to the south-east of Bengal. These people were considered as shudra, the lowest of the four Hindu varnas. But as they had originally been Brahmins, they were referred to with the prefix of ‘Namashya’ (Ben. = 'respectable').

It was an unaccepted community, forced to live in the swamps of extreme south of current day Bangladesh until the emergence of British India. The socio-religious taboos of the Hindu and Muslim caste system that devastated their social life completely also helped them not to be lost into the vast population, as they did not belong to any community.

With the advent of the family of Harichand Thakur the process of enlightenment began within the community. The family inspired the Namasudras to establish more than 5,000 schools. From 1905 onwards Sri Guruchand and the missionary Cecil Silas Mead^[1] carried forward the mission, and created the path for exodus for this community. And the exodus was politically carried forward by Jogendra Nath Mandal. However, this movement lasted only until 1947, when India gained independence as secular India and Pakistan, a theocratic state. The community was torn in two. In one part, the larger section became the lowborn beggar masses and, as refugees, was being made to settle all over India. In another part (later becoming independent as Bangladesh in 1971, when this community both greatly suffered and fought courageously), they were lowborn of a different religion. A very small section of this community managed to get higher education.

The Namasudra community under the leadership of Mahapran Jogendranath Mondal first organised the mass movement in undivided India (then under the rule of British Monarchy) to do away with the bashing based on Caste system and as a result of that movement "The Policy Of Reservation" was achieved by different outcast population groups which nowadays are going to be accepted as a general policy by most political parties for any kind of backwardness found among any population group. The success of an arrangement in general, however, is doubtful.

Vyavastha

Sakti Sangama Tantra, a Tantrik work of the 16th-century states that the Namasudras are offspring of Namas. Another work, the Brahma Vaivarta Purana, refers to Kuder or Debal Brahmins ; it is believed^{[by whom?]} that they were the outcaste Namasudras. Bengali writer Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay noted the Caucasoid characteristics of Candalas as mentioned in, H. Beverly, Census Of Bengal, 1872, p-182. C.J. O'Donell in Census of India, 1891, vol III, p-255-257, found, nasal index and cephalic index of Namasudras more close to the indigenous North Indians. Similar observation was made by Dr. N.R. Ray. On the basis of all these findings and of scriptures and social histories of Sen Dynasty a Vyavastha was signed by forty Brahmin Pundits from across Bengal in 1901 declaring that the Namasudras are not Candalas but rather are descendants of true Brahman sages such as Namasa (from the Kasyapa lineage) and should not be categorised as (nama) sudras either.

Myth of origin

Dr. N. R. Ray first expressed his doubt in respect of the position of the Namasudras in social hierarchy. He told of the folklore of origin and of degradation that could possibly resolve the anomaly. Thus goes the Tale. Brahman, the Parameshwar, is the Creator God. He begot Marichi. Marichi begot Kashyapa. Kashyapa begot Namas (also known as Lomasa Muni^[2]). Namas was married to Sulochana, the daughter of Ruchi, the "spiritual son of Brahman". They begot Kirtiban and Uruban (most probably instead of Kirtyuruban they together wrongly mentioned as Ariban in Ssejsantokotha or it may be that in old handwritten manuscript it became simply "uruban>ariban" and first part "Kirtyu" was omitted due to mistake or erasing due to being preserved in bad condition). They were twin brothers. Santo or Sage- Namas, went into deep forest for meditation and did not return in 14 years. So Kirtiban and Uruban were "self-dikshitized" or "self-consecrated". They were married to the two daughters of the King Simanta. They begot eight children and they were married to the children of Asamonjo, the eldest son of the Suryavanshi King Sagar. They are the forefathers of the Namasudra community.

It may be proposed that the name of the community should be Brahman Kshatriya because father was Brahmin by birth and mother was a daughter of a king. But this argument is not applicable unless you believe in varna or jatived or the caste-system. In monotheism and sannyasbadi Hinduism as Sri Harichand told them there is only gotra and community name (not related to his by-birth profession of caste-based Hinduism). Namassejas née namasudras followed this in the beginning. So the question of being sudra or Brahman-Kshatriya or any varna name should have not arisen. However there is a strong myth that the community may contain a degraded Khsatriya clan. There is hearsay that Palas(Pala-kings) of Bengal belong to these "tribes". In fact many times these people have been mentioned as Khanda-Kshatriya in newspapers such as Anandabazar Patrika.

This is the folklore of the origin of the Namasudras: the story they believe i.e. the History of The People. Sri Harichand told them only to meditate the Parameshwar and take Him to be the origin of all that exist. He told also that they will be Self-Consecrated. Although his followers could not follow his path strictly (they got mixed up with Vaishnavism and with the path of the Bauls). His "twelve commandments" also show signs of later manipulations by his followers. However his family became iconic and very recently from some corner of the community a discourse, Smritokotha, is declared to be published which the editor foretold to be a complete guide to community-life.

Gotras

There are differing opinions regarding the number of gotras (clans) which comprise the community. The Bengal Gazetteer and Darjeeling Gazetteer, both published during the British Raj period, listed three such groups, being Kashyapa, Bhardwaja and Gautama.^{[citation needed]} These were included in the scheduled castes' list of the government of India under constitutional provision.^{[citation needed]} However, Herbert Risley, writing in 1891, noted four such groups: Kasyapa, Bharadwaja, Lomasa and Sandilya.^[3]

Religion

The community is mostly Hindu.

The Iconic Family (of Orhakandi, Faridpur) had established the Matua-Math and Matua Mahasangha in Thakurnagar, India. This folk-Hinduism has a large number of followers (~8–10%) and getting wooing from the political organisations also. The followers are known as Matua. Their main festival is an annual event observed in the middle of March. They believe Harichand Thakur to be their God. He is thought to be of the Goutama clan and an avatar of Vishnu. Their religious symbol is a triangular-shaped red flag with white border. They form a procession, accompanied by music from traditional instruments such as the dhol, kashar and ghanta. Their slogan is Bol, Bol, Bol, Hari Bol. They pronounce it with a typical rhythm.

There is a holy lake called Kamana Sagar. A Discourse (Smritokotha) demands that thousands of years back they were ostracized from a settlement like this and declared to publish the complete guide to the religious path to be followed by the community(verhudtbrahman). At present the Head of the Holy Family is Boroma (The Holy Mother) or Binapanimata.

References

1. ^ Ball, Gerald B. (2004). "MEAD, Cecil Silas (1866-1940)". Evangelical History Association of Australia. http://webjournals.alphacrucis.edu.au/journals/adeb/m/mead-cecil-silas-1866-1940/. Retrieved 2011-07-16. 
2. ^ P. 183, The tribes and castes of Bengal: Ethnographic glossary, by Risley
3. ^ Risley, Herbert Hope (1891). The Tribes and Castes of Bengal. 2. 

• Ray, Niharranjan (1994). History of the Bengali People: Ancient Period. Orient Longman. ISBN 9780863113789. http://books.google.com/books?id=sEBuAAAAMAAJ. 
• Bengal Gazetteer-Darjeeling Gazetteer by L.O.S.S. Malley
• Articles on Namasudra by Dr. C. S. Mead: [1][2]
• Bandyopādhyāẏa, Śekhara (1997). Caste, protest and identity in colonial India: the Namasudras of Bengal, 1872-1947. Routledge. ISBN 9780700706266. http://books.google.co.in/books?id=omAPFtaweqIC. 
• Census of India 2001, Manipur: [3]
• Dalton, Edward Tuite (1872). Descriptive ethnology of Bengal. 
• Encyclopædia Britannica based on 1911: [4]
• "Research Response: India". Refugee Review Tribunal, Australia. 30 August 2007. http://www.mrt-rrt.gov.au/ArticleDocuments/87/ind32211.pdf.aspx. 
• The stranglehold after 1947: By Vohra: [5], By M. Klass, pp. 43: [6]: by Ross Mullick,JAS vol. 58. no. 1 (Feb 1999) pp. 104–125.: Marichjhapi:ABR : & : [7]
• Ghatak, N. K.; Mukherjee, D. P. (1986). "Baruni : A Folk Festival of Thakurnagar Organised by the Namasudra Community for Onward Movement". Folklore (Calcutta: Indian Folklore Society) 27 (317): 241–247. ISSN 0015-5896. http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=11964527. (subscription required)
• Rabindranath Tagore, The Brahma Poet in Namasudra Conference: The Calcutta Municipal Gazette Tagore Memorial Special Supplement, Saturday, September 3, 1941, editor Amal Home, p. 90 : Home page > 2010 > Two Events in Tagore's Life Mainstream, Vol XLVIII, No 20, May 8, 2010
• Das, S. N. Das, ed (2003). The Bengalis. The People, Their History And Culture. Cosmo Publication. ISBN 9788177553925. http://books.google.com/books?id=DaotcgAACAAJ. 

Further reading

• Bangalir Itihas-Adi Parbo-Nihar Ranjan Ray
• Tagore's Participation in Namasudra Conference in East Bengal in 1925: Mainstream Weekly (Founder Editor nikhil chakrobarty): VOLXLVIII, NO 20, MAY 8, 2010

External links

• Website dedicated to Namasudra Samaj:namasudra.com