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]
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 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]
^"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.
