Namasudra
Encyclopedia
Namasudra is the name of a Hindu
community originally from certain regions of Bengal
, India. They were traditionally engaged in cultivation and as boatmen. However, they lived outside the four-tier ritual varna system. They are the major founder clan of the Matua
sect of Hinduism.
, 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, spelled Namassej, means "generated or originated from Namas".
The name "Namaswej" most probably first appeared on the Internet around the year 2000. The name was a part of a Declared Revelation called Smritokotha. In Bengali language there are two letters designated by the same symbol in Roman Script given by "b" and "wa or w". If there is a "w" then in the pronunciation, the previous letter becomes double. So according to that spelling, "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".
s 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 the extreme south of current-day Bangladesh
, until the emergence of British India. The socio-religious taboos of the Hindu and Muslim caste system, which had 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 carried forward the mission, and created the path for exodus for this community. 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, they were lowborn of a different religion, later becoming independent as Bangladesh in 1971. That is when this community both greatly suffered and fought courageously. 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 the British Monarchy) to eliminate the bashing based on the Caste system
. As a result of that movement, "The Policy of Reservation" was achieved by different outcast population groups. Nowadays, the groups 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.
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 that they were the outcast Namasudras. Bengali writer Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay noted the Caucasoid characteristics of Candalas, as mentioned in H. Beverly, Census of Bengal, 1872, p.182. Also, C.J. O'Donell in Census of India, 1891, vol III, p.255-257, found nasal-index and cephalic-index traits 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 the Sen Dynasty, a Vyavastha was signed by forty Brahmin Pundit
s from across Bengal in 1901. The document declared 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.
n, the Parameshwar, is the Creator God. He begot Marichi
. Marichi begot Kashyapa. Kashyapa begot Namas (also known as Lomasa Muni). 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 were wrongly mentioned as Ariban in Ssejsantokotha or it may be that in old handwritten manuscript it became simply "uruban → ariban" and the 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 a deep forest for meditation and did not return in 14 years. So Kirtiban and Uruban were "self-diksha
tized" 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 the father was Brahmin by birth, and the mother was a daughter of a king. But this argument is not applicable unless believing in varna or jati
ved or the caste-system. In monotheism
and sannyasbadi Hinduism, as Sri Harichand told them, there is only gotra
and the 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 Kshatriya
clan.
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 exists. He told also that they will be Self-Consecrated. However, his followers could not follow his path strictly (they got mixed up with Vaishnavism
and with the path of the Baul
s). His "twelve commandments" also show signs of later manipulations by his followers. Yet, his family became iconic. Also, 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.
s (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. However, Herbert Risley, writing in 1891, noted four such groups: Kasyapa, Bharadwaja, Lomasa and Sandilya.
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
community originally from certain regions of Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
, India. They were traditionally engaged in cultivation and as boatmen. However, they lived outside the four-tier ritual varna system. They are the major founder clan of the Matua
Matua
Matua may refer to:* Matua_Mahasangha, a sect of Hinduism in Bengal.* Matua , another name for the island of Matsuwa located in the Kurilian archipelago northeast of Japan between Hokkaidō and the Kamchatka Peninsula of Russia...
sect of Hinduism.
Etymology
At the 1911 Census of India, the community noted themselves as either "Namassut" or "Namassej". In BengaliBengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
, 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, spelled Namassej, means "generated or originated from Namas".
The name "Namaswej" most probably first appeared on the Internet around the year 2000. The name was a part of a Declared Revelation called Smritokotha. In Bengali language there are two letters designated by the same symbol in Roman Script given by "b" and "wa or w". If there is a "w" then in the pronunciation, the previous letter becomes double. So according to that spelling, "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 BrahminBrahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...
s 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
Caste
Caste is an elaborate and complex social system that combines elements of endogamy, occupation, culture, social class, tribal affiliation and political power. It should not be confused with race or social class, e.g. members of different castes in one society may belong to the same race, as in India...
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 the extreme south of current-day Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
, until the emergence of British India. The socio-religious taboos of the Hindu and Muslim caste system, which had 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
Sri Sri Harichand Thakur
- Introduction :One of the greatest social reformer in Bengal .He carried out his mission among the subaltern population .Later people from all sections, irrespective of caste and creed or religion joined him to make it a great success...
, the process of enlightenment
Enlightenment (spiritual)
Enlightenment in a secular context often means the "full comprehension of a situation", but in spiritual terms the word alludes to a spiritual revelation or deep insight into the meaning and purpose of all things, communication with or understanding of the mind of God, profound spiritual...
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 carried forward the mission, and created the path for exodus for this community. The exodus was politically carried forward by Jogendra Nath Mandal
Jogendra Nath Mandal
Jogendra Nath Mandal was an Indian and later Pakistani statesman who served as the first minister of law and labour in Pakistan. As leader of the Scheduled Castes, Jogendranath had made common cause with the Muslim League in their demand for Pakistan, hoping that the Scheduled Castes would be...
. However, this movement lasted only until 1947, when India gained independence as secular India and Pakistan, a theocratic state
Theocracy
Theocracy is a form of organization in which the official policy is to be governed by immediate divine guidance or by officials who are regarded as divinely guided, or simply pursuant to the doctrine of a particular religious sect or religion....
. 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, they were lowborn of a different religion, later becoming independent as Bangladesh in 1971. That is when this community both greatly suffered and fought courageously. 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 the British Monarchy) to eliminate the bashing based on the Caste system
Caste system in India
The Indian caste system is a system of social stratification and social restriction in India in which communities are defined by thousands of endogamous hereditary groups called Jātis....
. As a result of that movement, "The Policy of Reservation" was achieved by different outcast population groups. Nowadays, the groups 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 TantrikTantra
Tantra , anglicised tantricism or tantrism or tantram, is the name scholars give to an inter-religious spiritual movement that arose in medieval India, expressed in scriptures ....
work of the 16th century, states that the Namasudras are offspring of Namas. Another work, the Brahma Vaivarta Purana
Brahma Vaivarta Purana
Brahma Vaivarta Purana, one of the major eighteen Puranas, a Hindu religious text, is divided into four parts. First part describes the creation of the universe and all beings, the second part relates to description and histories of different goddesses...
, refers to Kuder or Debal
Debal
-Introduction:Debal was an ancient port located near modern Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. In Arabic, it was usually called Daybul it is adjacent to the nearby Manora Island and was administered by Mansura, and later Thatta....
Brahmins. It is believed that they were the outcast Namasudras. Bengali writer Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay noted the Caucasoid characteristics of Candalas, as mentioned in H. Beverly, Census of Bengal, 1872, p.182. Also, C.J. O'Donell in Census of India, 1891, vol III, p.255-257, found nasal-index and cephalic-index traits 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 the Sen Dynasty, a Vyavastha was signed by forty Brahmin Pundit
Pundit
Pundit may refer to:* Pandit or pundit in India, a scholar or expert, especially of traditional Indian law, philosophy, or music* Pundit , a 19th century term to denote native surveyors who explored regions to the north of India for the British Empire* Pundit , an expert or opinion-leader who...
s from across Bengal in 1901. The document declared 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. BrahmaBrahma
Brahma is the Hindu god of creation and one of the Trimurti, the others being Vishnu and Shiva. According to the Brahma Purana, he is the father of Mānu, and from Mānu all human beings are descended. In the Ramayana and the...
n, the Parameshwar, is the Creator God. He begot Marichi
Marichi
Rishi Marichi or Mareechi or Marishi is the son of Brahma, the cosmic creator, and also one of the Saptarshi , in the First Manvantara, with others being Atri, Angiras, Pulaha, Kratu, Pulastya, and Vashishtha .Before the creation started, Lord Brahma needed a few people who can be held responsible...
. Marichi begot Kashyapa. Kashyapa begot Namas (also known as Lomasa Muni). 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 were wrongly mentioned as Ariban in Ssejsantokotha or it may be that in old handwritten manuscript it became simply "uruban → ariban" and the 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 a deep forest for meditation and did not return in 14 years. So Kirtiban and Uruban were "self-diksha
Diksha
Diksa also spelled deeksha or deeksa in common usage, translated as a "preparation or consecration for a religious ceremony", is giving of a mantra or an initiation by the guru in Indian religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism...
tized" 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 the father was Brahmin by birth, and the mother was a daughter of a king. But this argument is not applicable unless believing in varna or jati
Jati
Jāti is the term used to denote clans, tribes, communities and sub-communities in India. It is a term used across religions. In Indian society each jāti typically has an association with a traditional job function or tribe, although religious beliefs Jāti (in Devanagari: जाति Tamil:சாதி) (the...
ved or the caste-system. In monotheism
Monotheism
Monotheism is the belief in the existence of one and only one god. Monotheism is characteristic of the Baha'i Faith, Christianity, Druzism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Samaritanism, Sikhism and Zoroastrianism.While they profess the existence of only one deity, monotheistic religions may still...
and sannyasbadi Hinduism, as Sri Harichand told them, there is only gotra
Gotra
In the Hindu society, the term Gotra broadly refers to people who are descendants in an unbroken male line from a common male ancestor. Panini defines gotra for grammatical purposes as apatyam pautraprabhrti gotram , which means "the word gotra denotes the progeny beginning with the son's son"...
and the 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 Kshatriya
Kshatriya
*For the Bollywood film of the same name see Kshatriya Kshatriya or Kashtriya, meaning warrior, is one of the four varnas in Hinduism...
clan.
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 exists. He told also that they will be Self-Consecrated. However, his followers could not follow his path strictly (they got mixed up with Vaishnavism
Vaishnavism
Vaishnavism is a tradition of Hinduism, distinguished from other schools by its worship of Vishnu, or his associated Avatars such as Rama and Krishna, as the original and supreme God....
and with the path of the Baul
Baul
Baul .Though Bauls comprise only a small fraction of the Bengali population, their influence on the culture of Bengal is considerable. In 2005, the Baul tradition was included in the list of "Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity" by UNESCO.-Etymology:The origin of the word...
s). His "twelve commandments" also show signs of later manipulations by his followers. Yet, his family became iconic. Also, 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 gotraGotra
In the Hindu society, the term Gotra broadly refers to people who are descendants in an unbroken male line from a common male ancestor. Panini defines gotra for grammatical purposes as apatyam pautraprabhrti gotram , which means "the word gotra denotes the progeny beginning with the son's son"...
s (clans) which comprise the community. The Bengal Gazetteer and Darjeeling Gazetteer (both published during the British Raj
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
period) listed three such groups, being: Kashyapa, Bhardwaja and Gautama. However, Herbert Risley, writing in 1891, noted four such groups: Kasyapa, Bharadwaja, Lomasa and Sandilya.
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