Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar

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Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar

Born Ishwar Chandra Bandopadhya

26 September 1820

Birsingha Village, Bengal Presidency, British India

(now in Ghatal subdivision,Paschim Medinipur district, West

Bengal, India)

Died 29 July 1891 (aged 70)

Calcutta, Bengal Presidency,British India

(now Kolkata, West Bengal, India)

Occupa Writer, Reformer, Lecturer

tion

Langua Bengali

ge

Nation Indian
 ality

Ethnici Bengali

ty

Citizen British India

ship

Genres Philosopher, Academic, Educator,Translator, Printer, Publisher,E

ntrepreneur, Reformer,Philanthropist

Literar Bengal Renaissance

movem

ent

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar CIE (Bengali: ঈশ্বরচন্দ্র বিদ্যাসাগর Ishshor Chôndro Biddashagor 26 September 1820

– 29 July 1891), born Ishwar Chandra Bandopadhyay (Bengali: ঈশ্বরচন্দ্র বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়, Ishshor Chôndro

Bôndopaddhae), was an Indian Bengali polymath and a key figure of theBengal Renaissance.[1][2] Vidyasagar

was a philosopher, academic, educator, writer, translator, printer, publisher, entrepreneur, reformer, and
philanthropist. His efforts to simplify and modernize Bengali prose were significant. He also rationalized and
simplified the Bengali alphabet and type, which had remained unchanged since Charles Wilkins and
Panchanan Karmakar had cut the first (wooden) Bengali type in 1780.[3] He received the title "Vidyasagar"
("Ocean of learning" or "Ocean of knowledge") from the Calcutta Sanskrit College (where he graduated), due to
his excellent performance in Sanskrit studies and philosophy. In Sanskrit, Vidya means knowledge or learning
and Sagar means ocean or sea. This title was mainly given for his vast knowledge in all subjects which was
compared to the vastness of the ocean.[4]

Contents

  [hide] 

 1 Biography

 2 Teaching career

 3 A compassionate reformist

o 3.1 Widow remarriage

 4 Bengali alphabet and language reconstruction

  5 Books authored by Vidyasagar

 6 Meeting with Sri Ramakrishna

 7 Accolades

 8 Corpus

o 8.1 Textbooks

 9 References

 10 Further reading

 11 External links

Biography[edit]

Ishwar Chandra was born to Thakurdas Bandyopadhyay and Bhagavati Devi at Birsingha village, in
the Ghatal subdivision of Paschim Midnapore District, on 26 September 1820. At the age of 6 he went to
Calcutta. In Calcutta, Ishwar started living in Bhagabat Charan's house in Burrabazar, where Thakurdas had
already been staying for some years. Ishwar felt at ease amidst Bhagabat's large family and settled down
comfortably in no time. Bhagabat's youngest daughter Raimoni's motherly and affectionate feelings towards
Ishwar touched him deeply and had a strong influence on his later revolutionary work towards the upliftment
of women's status in India.

His quest for knowledge was so intense that he used to study under a street light as it was not possible for him
to afford a gas lamp at home. He cleared all the examinations with excellence and in quick succession. He was
rewarded with a number of scholarships for his academic performance. To support himself and the family,
Ishwar Chandra also took a part-time job of teaching at Jorashanko. Ishwar Chandra joined theSanskrit
College, Calcutta and studied there for twelve long years and passed out of the college in 1841 qualifying in
Sanskrit Grammar, Literature, Rhetoric [Alankara Shastra], Vedanta, Smruti and Astronomy.

In the year 1839, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar successfully cleared his Law examination. In 1841, at the age of
twenty one years, Ishwar Chandra joined Fort William College as head of the Sanskrit department.

After five years, in 1846, Vidyasagar left Fort William College and join the Sanskrit College as 'Assistant
Secretary'. In the first year of service, Ishwar Chandra recommended a number of changes to the existing
education system. This report resulted into a serious altercation between Ishwar Chandra and College
Secretary Rasomoy Dutta. In 1849, he again joined Sanskrit College, as a professor of literature. In 1851,
Ishwar Chandra became the principal of Sanskrit College. In 1855, he was made special inspector of schools
with additional charges. But following the matter of Rasomoy Dutta, Vidyasagar resigned from Sanskrit College
and rejoined Fort William College as a head clerk. [5]

Teaching career[edit]
Vidyasagar in Calcutta and many other reformers in Bombay set up schools for girls. Vidhyasagar was
associated with other reformers, who founded schools for girls like Ramgopal Ghosh,Madan Mohan
Tarkalankar, Dakshinaranjan Mukherjee, John Elliot Drinkwater Bethune and others. When the first schools
were opened in the mid nineteenth century, many people were afraid of them. They feared that schools would
take away girls from home and prevent them from doing their domestic duties. Moreover, girls would have to
travel through public places in order to reach school. They thought that girls should stay away from public
spaces. Therefore, most educated women were taught at home by their liberal fathers or husbands.

Vidyasagar House, in Kolkata.

In 1841, Vidyasagar took the job of a Sanskrit Pandit (Professor) at Fort William College in Kolkata (Calcutta).

In 1846, he joined the Sanskrit College as Assistant Secretary. A year later, he and a friend of his, Madan
Mohan Tarkalankar, set up the Sanskrit Press and Depository, a print shop and a bookstore.

While Vidyasagar was working at the Sanskrit College, some serious differences arose between him
and Rasamoy Dutta who was then the Secretary of the College, and so he resigned in 1849. One of the issues
was that while Rasamoy Dutta wanted the College to remain a Brahmin preserve, Vidyasagar wanted it to be
opened to students from all castes.

Later, Vidyasagar rejoined the College, and introduced many far-reaching changes to the College's syllabus.

In the face of opposition from the Hindu establishment, Vidyasagar vigorously promoted the idea that
regardless of their caste, both men and women should receive the best education. His remarkable clarity of
vision is instanced by his brilliant plea for teaching of science, mathematics and the philosophies of John Locke
and David Hume, to replace most of ancient Hindu philosophy. His own books, written for primary school
children, reveal a strong emphasis on enlightened materialism, with scant mention of God and religious
verities – a fact that posits him as a pioneer of the Indian Renaissance.

A compassionate reformist[edit]

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar felt very sorry and compassionate whenever he saw poor and weak people were in
distress. Though he was very outspoken and blunt in his mannerisms, he had a heart of Gold. He was also
known for his charity and philanthropy as "Daya-r Sagar" or "Karunar Sagar" – ocean of kindness, for his
immense generosity. He always reflected and responded to distress calls of the poor, sufferings of the sick and
injustice to humanity. While being a student at Sanskrit College, he would spend part of his scholarship
proceeds and cook paayesh (rice pudding) to feed the poor and buy medicines for the sick.

Later on, when he started earning, he paid fixed sums of monthly allowances to each member of his joint
family, to family servants, to needy neighbours, to villagers who needed help and to his village surgery and
school. This he continued without break even when he was unemployed and had to borrow substantially from
time to time.

Vidyasagar did not believe that money was enough to ease the sufferings of humanity. He opened the doors of
the Sanskrit College to lower caste students (previously it was exclusive to the Brahmins), nursed sick cholera
patients, went to crematoriums to bury unclaimed dead bodies, dined with the untouchables and walked miles
as a messenger-man to take urgent messages to people who would benefit from them.

When the eminent Indian Poet of the 19th century, Michael Madhusudan Dutta, fell hopelessly into debts due to
his reckless lifestyle during his stay in Versailles, France, he appealed for help to Vidyasagar, who laboured to
ensure that sums owed to Michael from his property at home were remitted to him and sent him a large sum of
money to France.

Widow remarriage[edit]
Main article:  Widow Remarriage Act

Vidyasagar championed the uplift of the status of women in India, particularly in his native place Bengal. Unlike
some other reformers who sought to set up alternative societies or systems, he sought, however, to transform
orthodox Hindu society "from within".[6] With valuable moral support from people like Akshay Kumar Dutta,
Vidyasagar introduced the practice of widow remarriages to mainstream Hindu society. In earlier times,
remarriages of widows would occur sporadically only among progressive members of the Brahmo Samaj. The
prevailing deplorable custom of Kulin Brahmin polygamy allowed elderly men — sometimes on their deathbeds
— to marry teenage or even prepubescent girls, supposedly to spare their parents the shame of having an
unmarried girl attain puberty in their house. After such marriages, these girls would usually be left behind in
their parental homes, where they might be cruelly subjected to orthodox rituals, especially if they were
subsequently widowed. These included a semi starvation diet, rigid and dangerous daily rituals of purity and
cleanliness, hard domestic labour, and close restriction on their freedom to leave the house or be seen by
strangers. Unable to tolerate the ill treatment, many of these girls would run away and turn to prostitution to
support themselves. Ironically, the economic prosperity and lavish lifestyles of the city made it possible for
many of them to have quite successful careers once they had stepped out of the sanction of society and into
the demi-monde. In 1853 it was estimated that Calcutta had a population of 12,718 prostitutes and public
women.[7]
Vidyasagar took the initiative in proposing and pushing through the Widow Remarriage Act XV of 1856 (26
July) in India. He also demonstrated that the system of polygamy without restriction was not sanctioned by the
ancient Hindu Shastras.[8]

Bengali alphabet and language reconstruction[edit]

Vidyasagar reconstructed the Bengali alphabet and reformed Bengali typography into an alphabet

(actually abugida) of twelve vowels and forty consonants. Vidyasagar contributed significantly
toBengali and Sanskrit literature.Vidyasagar's "Barna Porichoy" is still considered a classic.

Books authored by Vidyasagar[edit]

 Betaal Panchabinsati (1847)

 Bangala-r Itihaas (1848)

 Jeebancharit (1850)

 Bodhadoy (1851)

 Upakramanika (1851)

 Shakuntala (1855)

 Bidhaba Bibaha Bishayak Prostab (1890)

Meeting with Sri Ramakrishna[edit]

One of the important chapters in the The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna is the depiction of the meeting
between Sri Ramakrishna, the 19th on his philanthropic activities, kindness and compassion and suggested
him to do these activities in a selfless spirit. Sri Ramakrishna on his own own traveled to see Vidyasagar. Sri
Ramakrishna invited Vidyasagar to the Kali temple where he was serving. Vidyasagar was himself liberal in his
outlook even though he was born in an orthodox Hindu Brahmin family. He was highly educated and influenced
by Oriental thoughts and ideas.Ramakrishna in contrast did not have a formal education. According to the
gospel Ramakrishna discussed various topics including the world of duality and trascendental nature
of Brahman, citing the parables of the salt doll, the wood cutter and the ant and the sugar hill, on discrimination
between true and false knowledge, on different manifestations of God's power, on ego and suffering, on the
power of faith etc.[9]

Accolades[edit]

Shortly after Vidyasagar's death, Rabindranath Tagore reverently wrote about him: "One wonders how God, in
the process of producing forty million Bengalis, produced a man!" [citation needed]

After death, he is remembered in many ways, some of them include:

Vidyasagar Setu

1. Vidyasagar Setu (commonly known as the Second Hooghly Bridge),

is a bridge over the Hooghly River in West Bengal, India. It links the
city of Howrah to its twin city of Kolkata. The bridge is named after
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar.
2. A fair named Vidyasagar Mela (Bengali: বিদ্যাসাগর মেলা Biddashagor
Mêla), which is dedicated to spreading education and increasing social
awareness, has been held annually in West Bengal since 1994. Since
2001, it has been held simultaneously in Kolkata and Birsingha.
3. There is a reputed college named after him and it is located in College
Street, Kolkata and a university named Vidyasagar
University in Paschim Midnapore.
4. Rectitude and courage were the hallmarks of Vidyasagar's character,
and he was certainly ahead of his time. In recognition of his
scholarship and cultural work the government designated Vidyasagar
a Companion of the Indian Empire (CIE) in 1877[8] In the final years of
life, he chose to spend his days among the "Santhals", an old tribe in
India.
5. There is Vidyasagar Street in Central Kolkata, which is named after
him.
6. The Paschimbanga State Government has established a stadium
named after this great man (বিদ্যাসাগর ক্রীড়াঙ্গন- Vidyasagar Stadium)
at Barasat, the district center of Uttar 24 Pargana.
Corpus[edit]
Textbooks[edit]
  Barnaparichay (Parts I & II, 1855)

 Rijupath (Parts I, II & III, 1851–52)

 Sanskrita Byakaraner Upakramanika (1951)

 Byakaran Kaumudi (1853)
References[edit]

1. Jump up^ "Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar". www.whereincity.com.

Retrieved 2008-12-20.

2. Jump up^ "Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar: A Profile of the Philanthropic

Protagonist". www.americanchronicle.com. Retrieved 2008-12-20.

3. Jump up^ "BANGLAPEDIA: Vidyasagar, Pundit Iswar Chandra".

banglapedia.search.com.bd. Retrieved 2008-12-20.

4. Jump up^ Lal, Mohan (2006). "Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar". The

Encyclopaedia Of Indian Literature. Sahitya Akademi. pp. 4567–

4569. ISBN 978-81-260-1221-3.

5. Jump up^ "Ishwar Chandra Vidysagar".

6. Jump up^ "ISHWAR CHANDRA VIDYASAGAR". www.hinduweb.org.
Retrieved 2008-12-20.

7. Jump up^ Nikhil Sarkar [Sripantho], "Bat tala", (Calcutta: Ananda, 1977)

p. 66. (This text is in Bengali and is, unfortunately, yet to be translated.)

8. ^ Jump up to:a b Romesh Dutt, Cultural Heritage of Bengal, Calcutta, Punthi

Pustak (1962), p. 117.

9. Jump up^ Gospels of Sri Ramakrishna by M, tranlsated by Swami

Nikhilananda, Visit to Vidyasagar, page 37

Further reading[edit]

 Benoy Ghosh, Vidyasagar O Bangali Samaj, Orient Longman, Kolkata

 Indramitra, Karunasagar Vidyasagar, Ananda Publishers, Kolkata ISBN 81-

7215-040-7

 Asok Sen, Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar and his Elusive Milestones, Riddhi,
Kolkata.

 Gopal Haldar, Vidyasagar: A Reassessment, People's Publishing House,

New Delhi
  Haldar, Gopal. (1998) [1982]. "I. C. Vidyasagar: Realist and Humanist". In
Bishop, Donald H. Thinkers Of The Indian Renaissance (Second ed.). New
Delhi: New Age International. pp. 81–91. ISBN 978-81-224-1122-5.
Retrieved 2012-05-14.

 Sarkar, Sumit (2008). "Vidyasagar and Brahmanical Society". In Sarkar,

Sumit; Sarkar, Tanika. Women and Social Reform in Modern India: A
Reader. Indiana University Press. pp. 118–145. ISBN 9780253220493.
External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has

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Chandra Vidyasagar.

Wikisource has the text of a

1920Encyclopedia
Americana article
about Ishwar Chandra
Vidyasagar.

  Romesh Chunder Dutt (1911). "Vidyasagar, Iswar

Chandra". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.)

 Biography (Calcuttaweb.com)

 www.americanchronicle.com

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