Boro Maa

Boro Maa (Bengali: বড়মা, 21 September 1920 — 5 March 2019) was a matriarch of the Matua Mahasangha, a Hindu religious reformation movement. Her original name was Binapani Devi Thakur; the name "Boro Maa" translates to "elder mother", an epithet for universal mother of Matua Community. She along with her husband Pramatha Ranjan Thakur established the community's new capital at Thakurnagar.[2]

Binapani Thakur
Personal
Born
Binapani Devi[1]

21 September 1920
Jabdakathi, Barishal, Bengal Presidency, British India (present day Bangladesh)
Died5 March 2019(2019-03-05) (aged 98–99)
Kolkata, West Bengal, India
ReligionHinduism
NationalityIndian
Founder ofThakurnagar
PhilosophySwayam Dikshiti
Religious career
GuruHarichand Thakur
HonorsBanga Bibhushan (2018)

Career

Boro Maa was born in 1920 in Jabdakathi village, Barishal District, Bengal Presidency. In 1933, she married Pramatha Ranjan Thakur, a great-grandson of Harichand Thakur, the founder of Matua Mahasangha.[1]

In 1947, India became independent and the province of Bengal was partitioned into Muslim majority East Bengal (which became a part of Pakistan and later became Bangladesh) and Hindu majority West Bengal (which became a state of India). In the following year, Boro Maa along with her family and a large number of Matuas migrated to West Bengal. Along with her husband, she created a refugee colony at Thakurnagar for the displaced Matuas.[1]

In 1990, Boro Maa's husband died. She became the chief adviser and matriarch of the community. In the following years, she spread the teachings of Harichand Thakur across India.[1][3]

On 15 March 2010, Boro Maa appointed Mamata Banerjee (the then future Chief Minister of West Bengal) as the chief patron of the community.[4] In November 2018, she was awarded Banga Bibhushan, the highest civilian award of West Bengal.[5]

On 5 March 2019, Boro Maa died at Kolkata.[6] Her funeral was held with full state honours on 7 March and a gun salute was given to her by the state government.[7] Upon her death, her daughter-in-law Mamata Bala Thakur was appointed pro tem adviser of the community.[8]

Personal life

Boro Maa's elder son Kapil Krishna Thakur represented Bongaon constituency in Indian parliament in 2014 as a candidate of Trinamool Congress.[9] After his death, his wife Mamata Bala Thakur was elected. Boro Maa's younger son Manjul Krishna Thakur defected to the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2015. Her grandson Shantanu Thakur has been elected as Member of Parliament for BJP from Bongaon Constituency in 2019 [10]

References
  1. "মাতৃহারা হলেন মতুয়ারা, জেনে নিন বড়মার জীবনকথা" [Matua community loses their mother, know more about Boro Maa's life] (in Bengali). News18. 5 March 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  2. "বীণাপাণি দেবীর কপি ভার্সন ২". Ei Samay (in Bengali). Retrieved 2021-04-11.
  3. "বড়মার জন্মদিনে ঐক্যের বার্তা" [Message of unity in Boro Maa's birthday] (in Bengali). Calcutta News. 15 November 2018. Archived from the original on 9 May 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  4. "Mahasabha boost for Mamata Chief patron of group once wooed by Left". The Telegraph. 15 March 2010. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  5. Kundu, Indrajit (15 November 2018). "Mamata woos Hindu refugees in West Bengal, announces slew of sops". India Today. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  6. "মতুয়া সম্প্রদায়ের বড়মা বীণাপাণি আর নেই" [Matua community's Boro Maa is no more]. The Daily Ittefaq (in Bengali). 5 March 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  7. "Boro Ma last rites held with full state honours". The Asian Age. 8 March 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  8. "Kolkata: Legacy of Binapani Devi holds key to electoral gains in several districts". The Indian Express. 8 March 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  9. "RIP Kapil Krishna Thakur – Trinamool MP and Matua scion". Trinamool Congress. 13 October 2014. Archived from the original on 9 May 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  10. "Last Rites of Matua Matriarch Binapani Devi Held With Full State Honours, Gun Salute". News18. 7 March 2018. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
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