Ishwar Chandra

Vidyasagar
Date of Birth: September 26, 1820
Place of Birth: Village Birshingha, District
Medinipur, Bengal Presidency (now in West Bengal)
Parents: Hakurdas Bandyopadhyay (Father) and
Bhagavati Devi (Mother)
Wife: Dinamani Devi
Children: Narayan Chandra Bandyopadhyay
Education: Sanskrit College Calcutta
Movement: Bengal Renaissance
Social Reforms: Widow Remarriage
Religious Views: Hinduism
Publications: Betaal Panchabinsati (1847);
Jeebancharit (1850); Bodhadoy (1851);
BornoPorichoy (1854); Sitar Bonobash (1860);
Death: July 29, 1891
Place of death: Calcutta, Bengal Presidency (now
Kolkata, West Bengal)
Background
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (1820-1891) was as one of the
pillars of Bengal renaissance who managed to continue the
social reforms movement that was started by Raja
Rammohan Roy in the early 1800s. Vidyasagar was a well-
known writer, intellectual and above all a staunch supporter
of humanity. He had an imposing personality and was
revered even by the British authorities of his time. He
brought about a revolution in the Bengali education system
and refined the way Bengali language was written and
taught. His book, ‘Borno Porichoy’ (Introduction to the
letter), is still used as the introductory text to learn
Bengali alphabets. The title 'Vidyasagar' (ocean of
knowledge) was given to him due to his vast knowledge in
several subjects. Poet Michael Madhusudan Dutta while
writing about Ishwar Chandra said: "The genius and wisdom
of an ancient sage, the energy of an Englishman and the
heart of a Bengali mother".

Early Life and Education

Ishwar Chandra Bandopadhyaya was born in Birsingha
village of Midnapore district in Bengal on September 26,
1820. His father, Thakurdas Bandyopadhyay and mother
Bhagavati Devi were very religious persons. The economic
condition of the family was not well so Ishwar had to spend
his childhood amidst scarcity of basic resources. Amidst all
this, Ishwar Chandra was an obstinate boy with a brilliant
mind and he focused his obstinacy in his studies. He learned
basics of Sanskrit at the village pathshaala after which he
set out for Calcutta with his father in 1826. There are
several myths regarding his brilliance and dedication as a
student. It is said that Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar learned
English numerals by following the mile-stones labels on his
way to Calcutta. His father Thakurdas stayed at
Burrabazar area in Calcutta along with his sons and money
was scarce so Ishwar Chandra used to help in household
chores after school hours, and at night he used to study
under the gas lit street lamps to save oil for cooking the
next day.
He breezed through his lessons and cleared all the
necessary exams. He learned Vedanta, Vyakaran,
Literature, Rhetoric’s, Smriti and Ethics in Sanskrit
College during 1829 to 1841. He earned regular scholarships
and later took up a teaching position in a school in
Jorasanko to support his family’s financial condition. He
took part in a competition testing knowledge in Sanskrit in
1839 and earned the title of ‘Vidyasagar’ meaning Ocean of
Knowledge. The same year Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
successfully cleared his Law examination.
Vidyasagar got married at the age of fourteen to Dinamani
Devi and the couple had a son named Naraya Chandra.
Career
In 1841, at the age of twenty one, Ishwar Chandra joined
the Fort William College as the Head Pandit in the Sanskrit
department. The brilliant mind that he was, he soon became
proficient in English and Hindi. After five years, in 1946,
Vidyasagar left Fort William College and joined the
Sanskrit College as 'Assistant Secretary'. But just after a
year he entered into serious altercation with the College
Secretary, Rasomoy Dutta, over administrative changes he
recommended. Since Vidyasagar was not someone who
would bow down to power, he resigned from the post on
being refused by the college authorities and resumed
employment at Fort William College but as a head clerk. He
came back to Sanskrit College as a Professor on the
request of the college authorities but imposed a condition
that he be allowed to redesign the system. He became
Principal of Sanskrit College in 1851. In 1855, he assumed
the responsibilities as a special inspector of schools with
additional charges and travelled to remote villages in
Bengal to oversee the quality of education.
Educational Reforms
Vidyasagar is credited with the role of thoroughly
remodelling medieval scholastic system prevailing in
Sanskrit College and bring about modern insights into the
education system. The first change that Vidyasagar made
when he came back to the Sanskrit College as a Professor
was to include English and Bengali as the medium of
learning, besides Sanskrit. He introduced courses of
European History, Philosophy and Science alongside of
Vedic scriptures. He encouraged students to pursue these
subjects and take away the best from both worlds. He also
changed the rules of admission for students in Sanskrit
College allowing non-Brahmin students to enrol in the
prestigious institution. He wrote two books ‘Upakramonika’
and ‘Byakaran Koumudi’, interpreting complex notions of
Sanskrit grammar in easy legible Bengali language. He
introduced the concepts of Admission fee and tuition fee
for the first time in Calcutta. He set up the Normal School
for training teachers enabling uniformity in teaching
methods. Through his contacts at the deputy magistrate’s
office he would help his students get jobs in government
offices.
He was an ardent advocate of women education. He rightly
viewed education as the primary way for women to achieve
emancipation from all the societal oppression they had to
face at that time. He exercised his power and lobbied hard
for opening of school for girls and even outlined suitable
curriculum that not only did educate them, but also enabled
them to be self-reliant through vocations like needlework.
He went door to door, requesting heads of families to allow
their daughters to be enrolled in schools. He opened 35
schools for women throughout Bengal and was successful in
enrolling 1300 students. He even initiated Nari Siksha
Bhandar, a fund to lend support for the cause. He
maintained his support to John Elliot Drinkwater Bethune
to establish the first permanent girls’ school in India, the
Bethune School, on May 7, 1849.
He disseminated his ideals through regular articles he
wrote for periodicals and newspapers. He was associated
with prestigious journalistic publications like
‘Tattwabodhini Patrika’, ‘Somprakash’, ‘Sarbashubhankari
Patrika’ and ‘Hindu Patriot’. He wrote a number of books
that hold primary importance in Bengali culture. His lasting
legacy remains with ‘Borno Porichoy’, an elementary level
book for learning Bengali alphabets, where he
reconstructed Bengali alphabets and reformed it into
typography of 12 vowels and 40 consonants. He established
the Sanskrit Press with an aim to produce printed books at
affordable prices so that common people could buy them.
Social Reforms
Vidyasagar was always vocal about the oppression that the
society inflicted on women at that time. He was very close
to his mother who was a woman of great character, who
directed him once to do something to alleviate the pain and
helplessness of Hindu widows, who were forced to live a life
of abnegation. They were denied basic pleasures of life,
marginalised in the society, often exploited unfairly and
treated as a burden by their family. Vidyasagar’s
compassionate heart could not take their plight and he
made it his mission to improve the quality of life for these
helpless women. He faced raging opposition from orthodox
society which termed the concept as something heretic. He
challenged the Brahminical authorities and proved that
widow remarriage is sanctioned by Vedic scriptures. He
took his arguments to the British Authorities and his pleas
were heard when the Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act, 1856
or Act XV, 1856, was decreed on July 26, 1856. He did not
just stop there. He initiated several matches for child or
adolescent widows within respectable families and even
married his son Narayan Chandra to an adolescent widow in
1870 to set an example.
Character and Altruism
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was a man of contradicting
characters. He was an obstinate man who defined his own
path of action. He was never swayed by others insistence
or arguments and took decisions based on his own
judgement. He was a man with exceptional strength of
character and did not tolerate jibes at his own self-
respect. He held his own against high ranking British
officials often making them see the errors of their
discriminatory ways. He was not used to taking nonsense
from anyone and implemented that obstinate quality in
constructive ways to improve the Bengali society from
within. Unshakable courage was the mettle of his success
in introducing the Widow Remarriage Act in 1856.
On the other hand, he had a soft heart that melted into
empathy for other’s plight. He was easily moved to tears
when he saw someone in pain and was always the first
person to offer his help to colleagues and friend in
distress. He spent most of his salary to pay for the
expenses of poor students. He felt the pain of the child
and adolescent widows around him and dedicated his all to
lessen their predicament. He helped revered Bengali poet
Michael Madhusudan Dutt to relocate from France to
England and study for the bar. He also facilitated his
return to India and inspired him to write poetry in Bengali
creating some of the most legendary literary works in the
language. Michael Madhusudan gave him the epithet ‘Daya
Sagar’ (ocean of generosity) for hi selfless altruism.
Demise
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, the great scholar, academician
and reformer passed away on 29 July, 1891 at the age of
70 years. After his death Rabindranath Tagore said, "One
wonders how God, in the process of producing forty million
Bengalis, produced a man!"