Matuas celebrate in Bengal

A section of West Bengal’s Matua community celebrated the implementation of the CAA 2019 at the headquarters of the sect in Thakurnagar, North 24-Parganas, on Monday, claiming it to be their “second Independence Day”.

Matuas, originally from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), are a weaker section of Hindus who migrated to India during the Partition and after the creation of Bangladesh.

The community, with an estimated population of three million in the state, can tilt the scales in favour of a political party in more than 30 assembly seats in Nadia, and North and South 24-Parganas districts bordering Bangladesh.

Members of the Matua community celebrated the occasion by beating drums and exchanging pleasantries and expressed their gratitude towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and local MP and Union minister Santanu Thakur for the Act’s implementation.

They hailed the moment as a defining one for them, expressing joy at finally being granted citizenship. However, a TMC supporter from the area, belonging to the sect, claimed that people of the community had previously obtained voter ID cards, ration cards, and Aadhaar cards, which were deactivated by the BJP a month ago.

The Matuas had once stood behind the TMC but supported the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.