ISSN 2320 -5083

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VOLUME 1

ISSUE 12

JANUARY 2014

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EDUCATIONAL STATUS OF NAMASUDRA IN ASSAM AND WEST BENGAL: A

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
DR. NIL RATAN ROY*
*Assistant Professor, Dept. of Education, Assam University, Assam, India

ABSTRACT
In the present paper attempt has been made to give a description about the status of
Namasudra in education in Assam and West Bengal in various years. Then the development
of Namasudra in the field of education in various census reports of the both states. Again
attempt is made to show the comparative development of education of the group in both the
states thoroughly.
INTRODUCTION
Namasudra is a Hindu community residing in India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan. Their
population is around 8 million (2010). Nearly 4.8 million people are living in India (mostly in
the State of West Bengal and Assam) as per the Joshua Project (2010). The Namasudra is a
major scheduled caste group found in Assam, West Bengal, Orissa, Manipur, Tripura,
Meghalaya, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh of India and six eastern districts of
Faridpur, Dacca, Mymensingh, Jessore and Khulna of Bangladesh which contained, in
1901, more than 75% of this caste population. This group of people are recognized as the
socio-economically backward and enlisted in a schedule under the scheduled caste
category in our Indian constitution. At the very ancient time the Namasudra people were
known as the Chandal because their social status was very low in the social scale, so
they were considered to be clean untouchable group. The different synonymous for
Namasudra are- Chandal, Chansal, Namasud and Nama. According to M.M. Das (AS. 81)
the word Namasudra is a combination of two words- Namh (blessing) and the Sudra
(Lower caste). Namasudra are the progeny of a Brahman male and a Shudra woman. They
say that their original mother was Matshawgondha (woman having the smell of fish) who
was a low caste woman. According to another version Namasudra originated from the
Kashyapa Brahmans by gradual association with Nishadar, Chandal etc., one section of
the descendents of the Brahmin lost some traits and discarded even the sacred thread.
After that they came to be known as Namasudra.
The term Namasudra is seldom found in any authentic Sanskrit Literature. This term is
mentioned in Shyamcharan Sarkars Vyasnastha Darpan as a subdivision of Sudra caste

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(Lahiri & Dev: 1982: 155). Etymologically this term means a group of respected Sudra.
Namah,- names respected, and Sudra, is a classified section of people who holds the lower
strata in the caste society. The Namasudra are a traditional agricultural community. Besides
agriculture, navigating a boat is also a traditional occupation among them. They are the
follower of Sam Veda. They observe all the existing religious festivals in the year like other
caste group. They engage Brahmin each and every worships, such as- puja, marriage
ceremony and other social functions. In Sardha ceremony, they pay homage to their
forefather on the 10th day after death. They are permitted to offer rice panda (funeral cake) in
Gaya Pitha. It may be added here that The Brahmin that served them were classed as a
degraded Brahmin group (Ghurya: 1969:317).
According to Bhakta Das, the Namasudra community had migrated to Assam from Uttar
Pradesh. But according to the other authors like Shekhar Bondhapodhyaya, A.K Biswas,
Gourpriya Sakar and Skukhamay Sarkar and others, Namasudra originated in Bengal
presently in Bangladesh and migrated to Assam, West Bengal and other states of India due to
some social changes took place long back in the society.

Objective: The objective of the present study is to analyze and compare the growth and
development of education among Namasudra in Assam and West Bengal.

Educational Development of Namasudra in Assam:

The Namasudra is the dominant scheduled caste group of Assam, which holds the second
position in population rank among scheduled caste in Assam. In all the census reports
revealed that this dominant group of scheduled caste is taking the lions share in making the
scheduled caste population larger in the state. According to the census report 1971, their total
population was 300,843, which is 32.97%, in 1991 their total population was 505,384, which
is 30.45%, and in 2001, total population is 555,621, which is 30.4% of the total scheduled
caste population of the state. Development of education among Namasudra people may be
scrutinized from their literacy percentage shown in various censuses of the state. In the
following table the literary rate of Namasudra people in various years is shown
Table 1 : Literacy rate of Namasudra population in Assam
Sl
Assam
1961
1971
1981
No.
1.
All SC population
24.4
25.7
NA
2.
Namasudra
19.5
21.32
NA
Source: Census reports of Assam from 1961-2001

1991

2001

53.94
46.79

66.8
60.2

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As per table 1 it is found that the Namasudra people are more educationally backward
than all scheduled caste people reported in the census reports mentioned above. So far
their history is concerned, they are migrated people from East Bengal and they settled in
very remote areas of the state which is far from the urban areas. As a result they were
deprived from various facilities of the government such as education, social, economical
and cultural aspects etc. Though the government has taken up some policies/initiatives to
abolish the gap between various community groups and provide education to all, still due
to certain reasons this group of people are still deprived from those facilities which are
quite necessary for their life.

Development of Namasudra in Education in West Bengal:

The Namasudra are very strong scheduled caste group in West Bengal. They stood second
position in the scheduled caste population of West Bengal; they share 17.40% to the total
scheduled caste of the state according to the census 2001 of West Bengal. Namasudra are the
indigenous group of the state. As it is mentioned earlier that Namasudra in West Bengal are
very strong among the scheduled caste of the state; so they are very sound in education in
comparison to the other group of scheduled caste. In the following table literacy percentages
of Namasudra people are shown from 1961-2001 census of West Bengal.
Table 2 : Literacy of Namasudra and Scheduled Caste people in West Bengal
Sl. No
West Bengal
1961
1971
1981
1991
2001
1
Scheduled Castes
13.58
17.80
24.42
42.21
59.04
2
Namasudra
21.03
26.86
35.87
56.18
71.93
Source: Census reports of West Bengal from 1961-2001
The Namasudra people in West Bengal are to some extent developed in the field of
education in comparison to the other community group among scheduled caste of the
state. The present literacy rate of Scheduled Caste is 71.93%, according to the census
2001. In the census 1961 of West Bengal their literacy rate was 21.03%, 26.86% in 1971,
35.87% in 1981, 56.18% in 1991 and 71.93% in 2001. The above table reveals that the
literacy rate of the Namasudra people is higher than the scheduled caste all census reports
in West Bengal, 1961, 1971, 1981, 1991 and 2001. This progress in the field of education
reveals that the Namasudra people in West Bengal are very conscious about their rights,
duties and responsibilities towards their life, society and to the country as well.

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Impact Factor 1.393, ISSN: 2320-5083, Volume 1, Issue 12, January 2014

They lived in villages divided by canals, creeks and streams, they reach the village by rowing
boats, by hand-poled ferries, by rope, log or bamboo bridges swaying dangerously over the
rushing waters which poured through the region. The Namasudra are not inconsiderable in
number in the districts like Faridpur, Bakherganj, Khulna and Jessore, there are large areas
with extensive Namasudra settlements (Bose:1975:158).
Comparative analysis of development and participation of Namasudra in Education in
Assam and West Bengal
The report reveals that the Namasudra in West Bengal are very strong and dominant in all
sides of development of the state; but Namasudra in Assam are not having dominant position
in all sides of development. The Namasudra living in Assam belongs to language minority,
and they always feel that they are the migrated people, this feeling acts as a force which make
them weaker than other people, and which impacts in their development; not only in
education but in other field also. But in case of West Bengal these groups do not have this
kind of problem, and as a result they do not find any obstacle in their way of development in
all aspects. Literacy rate of both the state is given below
Table 3 : Participation of Namasudra in Education in Assam and West Bengal
YEAR
ASSAM
WEST BENGAL
1961
19.5
21.03
1971
21.32
26.86
1981
NA
35.87
1991
46.79
56.18
2001
60.2
71.93
Source: Census reports of Assam and West Bengal from 1961-2001
The above mentioned table-3 shows that the growth rates of Namasudra people in education
in both the states are not equal, so far as their literacy percentage is concerned. Namasudra in
West Bengal are playing a dominant role than other scheduled caste community.
From the table-3 it is observed that literacy percentage of this group of people in the state
Assam is lower than West Bengal in all the census reports. Again, it has already been
mentioned that participation of Namasudra people in education is poorer than the state
level scheduled castes participation in education according to various census reports. But
in case of West Bengal participation of Namasudra in education is higher than the state
level scheduled castes participation in education according to the census reports.
The above table-3 also reveals that literacy percentage of Namasudra in Assam was 19.5% in
1961 whereas 21.03% was in West Bengal. Again 21.32% in Assam and 26.86% in West
Bengal in the census 1971, in 1981 there was no census for the Assam, so, no literacy

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Impact Factor 1.393, ISSN: 2320-5083, Volume 1, Issue 12, January 2014

percentage was found for the same, but in West Bengal it was found 35.87%. The census
1991 shows the literacy percentage of Namasudra in Assam is 46.79% and in a West Bengal
56.18%. And, finally in 2001 census of India shows the percentage of literacy among
Namasudra in Assam is 60.2% and in West Bengal 71.93%.

CONCLUSION
Although the constitutional commitment is there to provide safe guard to the schedule
caste people still that safe guard is hardly implemented and executed. The Government of
India is making lot of efforts to implement it but, at the same time the politics is initiating
counterproductive caste system by way of creating other backward class, which leads to half
of the population of the country to become backward and schedule. Thus, attempt should be
made to overcome these barriers by way of creating consciousness among the people in
general through education and the schedule caste or the other backward communities to have
education and become conscious to utilize the opportunities equally among themselves
without becoming creamy layer, for which only government effort is not sufficient rather,
public involvement is indispensable.
REFERENCES
1. Biswas, A. K. 2000. The Namasudra of Bengal, Blumoon Books, New Delhi, P.3.
2. Biswas, U.N. 2004. The Strike, NCMB Memorial Trust, Kolkata, P. 48.
3. Ghatak, N.K. 1987. Namasudra of Bengal through the Ages, Bulletin of the Cultural
Research Institute Vol. XVII, No. 3-4, Govt. of West Bengal,P 18.
4. Ghuyre, G.S. 1996. Caste and Race in India, Popular Prakashan, Bombay, P. 52.
5. Sarkar, G. 1995. Jatitattwa Sangraha, (Bengali) Hiranmoy Sarkar, North 24 Paragana,
West Bengal, P. 25.
6. Sarkar, S. 1382 (Bengali Year). Namasudrai Parsav Bipra, Khulna Press, Khulna,
Bagladesh, P. 81.
7. Singh, K.S. 1995. The Scheduled Castes, Oxford University Press, Delhi, P. 978.

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