Shree Shree Harichand Thakur devoted his life for the cause of betterment of the oppressed, downtrodden and deprived persons in undivided Bengal during the pre-independence era.

The social and religious movement started by him originated from Orakandi which is now in Bangladesh in 1860 and led to the formation of the Matua Dharma.

The Matua community has members on either side of the Bengal border. Today, Matuas constitute the second largest SC population of West Bengal. Government sources put their number at around 17% of the state’s electorate.

Source : All India Radio