Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar

A Modern Man of the 19th Century

In the ideology of the east, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, the precursor of renaissance, was one of the finest educat ionalist and social reformers of the 19th Century.

Vidyasagar tried to free the Bengalis from a medieval mindset and give them a taste of modern life. He was trying to extrude superstition, inequity and injustice from the society by providing education to the people. Mainly, he welcomed the modernisation of social life through reform of education, religion and society.

He was born Ishwar Chandra  Bandyopadhyay on September 26, 1820 in a  Brahmin family of Birsingha village in Midnapore, West Bengal. He later received the title ‘Vidyasagar’ (Sea of Knowledge) from Sanskrit College in Calcutta (Kolkata) from where he graduated. According to legend, his quest for knowledge was so great that he used to study under a street light at night, as he could not afford a gas lamp at home.

If we look at Vidyasagar’s reform movement, life and work, we can easily understand how strong his determination was. That is why Vidyasagar has been called a symbol of sacrifice and action. He wanted to improve the moral progress of the Bengali nation through English education and European liberalism. For that purpose, he became a pioneer in education.

Vidyasagar established many primary educational institutions in south and west Bengal with the intention of reforming and expanding education. He also understood that the mother tongue should be the only medium of education and every child, girl or boy, should be equally educated. Ignoring opposition from an orthodox society, he also played a leading role in the movement for promoting women.

When he became the principal of Sanskrit College in 1851, only through his personal efforts, he opened the institution to all Hindu children. In addition to the Sanskrit College reform, he set up a boys’ school in Kolkata called Barisha High School, and established a first-class Bengali institution of higher education, the Metropolitan Institution, which is now known as Vidyasagar College.  

At the beginning of his education reforms, he made it clear that it should be aimed at creating a rich Bengali literature. For this reason, Vidyasagar wrote a number of textbooks and general books, using simple and beautiful words. He reconstituted the Bengali alphabet into 12 vowels and 40 consonants. His ‘Borno Porichoy’ (Introduction to Letters), written in 1854, is still considered a classic.

In the book ‘Vidyasagar’ by Chandicharan Bandopadhyay, published in 1895, the writer mentions that Vidyasagar compiled 52 books in his lifetime. Of these, 30 are in Bangla, 17 in Sanskrit and five in English. Among the Bangla books, 14 are textbooks. At all levels of primary, secondary and higher education, there was a lack of good textbooks in Bangla in those days. Besides the four textbooks by Vidyasagar, all the others were translations.

Apart from the textbooks, he also wrote some books with material taken from Sanskrit, Hindi and English literature. ‘Betaal Panchabinsati’, ‘Bangalar Itihaas’, ‘Jeebancharit’, ‘Bodhadoy’, ‘Sitar Bonobas’, ‘Upakramanika’, ‘Byakaran Kaumudi’ are some of books written and edited by Vidyasagar.

Except for ‘Provaboti Somvashon’ and ‘Osampto Attocharit’, all his writings were meant for spreading education and reforming society. He also developed literature with the excellence of art and imagination. He can also be considered as a father of Bengali prose, as well as the father of the new spirit.

Vidyasagar tried to eradicate the darkness of people’s minds through spreading education across the country. At that time, the women were deprived of all the advantages of social justice, including education. Vidyasagar’s social reform movement was basically a women’s liberation movement.

Koulinno protha (strict religious customs), child marriage, polygamy, premature widowhood and so on made the lives of girls and women miserable and inhuman. Vidyasagar thought their deplorable condition was unfair and sought to change it. He highlighted the rationality of remarriage for widows to resolve their misery. The government’s attention was drawn to the need to create a movement to allow widows to remarry and prevent child marriage. Although the people of Bengal did not follow the religious scriptures exactly, they showed excessive loyalty to them. So, he also looked for scriptural support for his reforms. His campaign forced the British colonial government of the time to pass the Hindu Widows’ Remarriage Act in 1856. Vidyasagar saw it as the greatest act of his life.

This great social reformer and educationist died on July 30, 1891.

Famous Bengali poet Michael Madhusudan Dutta regarded Vidyasagar as ‘Dayar Sagar’ (Sea of Kindness) and rightfully said of him: “The man to whom I have applied has the genius and wisdom of an ancient sage, the energy of an Englishman and the heart of a Bengali mother.”

Reference: Vidyasagar O Bengali Samaj (3rd Part) by Binoy Ghosh and Vidyasagar Sardha Shata-Barsha Smarakgrantha, edited by Ghulam Murshid.

The writer is a student of

Sociology at SUST, Sylhet.

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar

A Modern Man of the 19th Century

In the ideology of the east, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, the precursor of renaissance, was one of the finest educat ionalist and social reformers of the 19th Century. Vidyasagar tried to free the Bengalis from a medieval mindset and give them a taste of modern life. He was trying to extrude superstition, inequity and injustice from the society by providing education to the people. Mainly, he welcomed the modernisation of social life through reform of education, religion and society. He was born Ishwar Chandra Bandyopadhyay on September 26, 1820 in a Brahmin family of Birsingha village in Midnapore, West Bengal. He later received the title Vidyasagar (Sea of Knowledge) from Sanskrit College in Calcutta (Kolkata) from where he graduated. According to legend, his quest for knowledge was so great that he used to study under a street light at night, as he could not afford a gas lamp at home. If we look at Vidyasagars reform movement, life and work, we can easily understand how strong his determination was. That is why Vidyasagar has been called a symbol of sacrifice and action. He wanted to improve the moral progress of the Bengali nation through English education and European liberalism. For that purpose, he became a pioneer in education. Vidyasagar established many primary educational institutions in south and west Bengal with the intention of reforming and expanding education. He also understood that the mother tongue should be the only medium of education and every child, girl or boy, should be equally educated. Ignoring opposition from an orthodox society, he also played a leading role in the movement for promoting women. When he became the principal of Sanskrit College in 1851, only through his personal efforts, he opened the institution to all Hindu children. In addition to the Sanskrit College reform, he set up a boys school in Kolkata called Barisha High School, and established a first-class Bengali institution of higher education, the Metropolitan Institution, which is now known as Vidyasagar College. At the beginning of his education reforms, he made it clear that it should be aimed at creating a rich Bengali literature. For this reason, Vidyasagar wrote a number of textbooks and general books, using simple and beautiful words. He reconstituted the Bengali alphabet into 12 vowels and 40 consonants. His Borno Porichoy (Introduction to Letters), written in 1854, is still considered a classic. In the book Vidyasagar by Chandicharan Bandopadhyay, published in 1895, the writer mentions that Vidyasagar compiled 52 books in his lifetime. Of these, 30 are in Bangla, 17 in Sanskrit and five in English. Among the Bangla books, 14 are textbooks. At all levels of primary, secondary and higher education, there was a lack of good textbooks in Bangla in those days. Besides the four textbooks by Vidyasagar, all the others were translations. Apart from the textbooks, he also wrote some books with material taken from Sanskrit, Hindi and English literature. Betaal Panchabinsati, Bangalar Itihaas, Jeebancharit, Bodhadoy, Sitar Bonobas, Upakramanika, Byakaran Kaumudi are some of books written and edited by Vidyasagar. Except for Provaboti Somvashon and Osampto Attocharit, all his writings were meant for spreading education and reforming society. He also developed literature with the excellence of art and imagination. He can also be considered as a father of Bengali prose, as well as the father of the new spirit. Vidyasagar tried to eradicate the darkness of peoples minds through spreading education across the country. At that time, the women were deprived of all the advantages of social justice, including education. Vidyasagars social reform movement was basically a womens liberation movement. Koulinno protha (strict religious customs), child marriage, polygamy, premature widowhood and so on made the lives of girls and women miserable and inhuman. Vidyasagar thought their deplorable condition was unfair and sought to change it. He highlighted the rationality of remarriage for widows to resolve their misery. The governments attention was drawn to the need to create a movement to allow widows to remarry and prevent child marriage. Although the people of Bengal did not follow the religious scriptures exactly, they showed excessive loyalty to them. So, he also looked for scriptural support for his reforms. His campaign forced the British colonial government of the time to pass the Hindu Widows Remarriage Act in 1856. Vidyasagar saw it as the greatest act of his life. This great social reformer and educationist died on July 30, 1891. Famous Bengali poet Michael Madhusudan Dutta regarded Vidyasagar as Dayar Sagar (Sea of Kindness) and rightfully said of him: The man to whom I have applied has the genius and wisdom of an ancient sage, the energy of an Englishman and the heart of a Bengali mother. Reference: Vidyasagar O Bengali Samaj (3rd Part) by Binoy Ghosh and Vidyasagar Sardha Shata-Barsha Smarakgrantha, edited by Ghulam Murshid. The writer is a student of Sociology at SUST, Sylhet.