PM Modi to visit Matua community temple, meet family of founder in Bangladesh

The prime minister will spend time with the family of Harichand Thakur, founder of the Matua community. According to Padmanabha Thakur, president of the Bangladesh Matua Maha Mission, Harichand Thakur was born at Orakandi in 1812.

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New Delhi: On his two-day visit to Bangladesh starting Friday (March 26), Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit the Matua community's Shri Shri Harichand temple and the Hari temple of Guruchand at the Orakandi Thakurbari under Kashiani upazila, Gopalganj.

The prime minister will also spend time with the family of Harichand Thakur, founder of the Matua community. According to Padmanabha Thakur, president of the Bangladesh Matua Maha Mission, Harichand Thakur was born at Orakandi in 1812.

The Matua community of Bangladesh, a Scheduled Caste group with a presence in at least six parliamentary seats of West Bengal.

A large chunk of the community moved into West Bengal following the partition of India and also after the 2001-02 anti-Hindu pogroms during the Khaleda Zia government. The community leaders claim that their population is about 3 crore.

Modi will also visit the Jashoreshwari Kali temple at Ishwaripur under Shaymnagar upazila. This will be the first-ever visit by a foreign head of state to the temple.

Custodian of the temple, Jyoti Chattapaddhaya said necessary preparations are being done to welcome the Indian prime minister and the delegates.

PM Modi is slated to meet the country's President Md Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. 

A range of pacts will be signed and new announcements for bolstering cooperation in several areas will be made during the visit.

The PM will also interact with diverse groups of Bangladesh's polity and society which will include the representatives of the country's ruling 14-party alliance, the opposition party, freedom fighters, community leaders and youth icons.

Modi will visit the mausoleum of 'Bangabandhu' Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at Tungipara in Gopalganj district.

The PM will also attend Bangladesh's national day celebrations on March 26 and will deliver an address on the occasion at the parade ground in Dhaka.

Modi is also scheduled to visit the 'National Martyrs' Memorial' located in Savar. The memorial was set up in honour of those who died in the Bangladesh War of Independence in 1971.

This is his first visit to a foreign country since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.