Author:

Litan Biswas
Assistant Professor & HoD
Department of History
Harishchandrapur College
Malda,West Bengal, India

Email: lbbiswas.litan@gmail.com

Abstract:: Indian society remains haunted by deep-seated caste stratifications that have historically stripped the marginalized of their dignity. This paper examines the unexpected alignment between Rabindranath Tagore’s elite universal humanism and the Matua movement’s subaltern rebellion. Both sought to dismantle the “religious form of social stratification” that governed Indian life. Using comparative discourse analysis and textual criticism of works like Gora and Matua liturgical verses, this study tracks how these disparate ideologies envisioned a post-caste future.The analysis reveals a striking convergence that the both schools rejected ritualistic dogma in favor of a human-centric spirituality. While Tagore attacked Brahminical orthodoxy through aesthetic prose and rural reconstruction at Sriniketan, the Matuas led by Harichand and Guruchand Thakur- sacralized physical labor and institutional education as tools for subaltern agency. This study suggests that liberation from marginality appears to be contingent on a synthesis of intellectual self-realization and pragmatic social reform. Although these paradigms have not fully eradicated structural exploitation, their shared emphasis on the dignity of labor and universal love offers a viable framework for modern inclusive societies.

Key Words:: Matua Ideology, Namasudra Movement, Subaltern Liberation,Religion etc.