 |   Pundit Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was a polymath. The father of modern Bengali language, his real name was Ishwar Chandra Bandyopadhyay. The title “Vidyasagar”, which means “ocean of knowledge”, was bestowed on him as an honor for his knowledge and excellence. But his contribution to the Bengali society is far more than just scholastic. He is considered as one of the most glowing figures of the Bengal Renaissance of 19th century. He was an academic, philosopher, educator, entrepreneur, writer, translator, reformer and philanthropist. Vidyasagar picked up the social reform work where Raja Rammohan Roy left it. He laid the foundation of the modern Bengali language as we know it today. Vidyasagar was born on Monday the 26th of September 1820 (12 Ashwin 1227 of Bengali Calendar) in a village named Veersingha in the then Hoogley (now part of Midnapore) district of West Bengal. His father was Shri Thakurdas Bandyopadhyay and mother was Shrimati Bhagavati Devi. Vidysagar spent his childhood in extreme poverty. But poverty did not touch his soul, nor could it deter him from his chosen path of achieving his life's goals.
Vidyasagar commenced primary education at the village pathshala - an indigenous Indian school where language, grammar, arithmatic and other shastras were taught to youngsters. In the pathshala he was the favorite student of Pundit Kalikanta Chattopadhyay for his dedication to learning, modest manners, supreme honesty and great respect. Following his grandfather's death, child Ishwar accompanied his father to Kolkata at the age of eight where Thakurdas took a job of bookkeeping. The saying is that Vidyasagar learned English numbers by following the milestone labels on his way to Kolkata. Ishwar joined a pathshaala in Jorasanko in Kolkata. His father's wish was for him to be educated as a Sanskrit scholar so that he would go back to his village and start a Chatuspathi (a Sanskrit school) thus maintaining the family tradition in teaching Sanskrit. But one family relative - Madhusudan Bachaspati who was then studying at the Sanskrit College - convinced his father to send Ishwar to that college arguing that this course of education would allow young Ishwar to gain access to both Sanskrit and English streams of education.
It is not clear as to what role Ishwar played in this decision but with the possibility of enhanced job opportunities in the future his father relented. Within a short while Ishwar was admitted to the Sanskrit College. As it turned out, this decision was a small turning point in the life of one man, but a giant leap in the history of Bengal.Young Ishwar applied himself to learning with full discipline, diligence and perseverance - often in the most arduous of circumstances. He passed successive annual examinations with exemplary brilliance. His meritorious performance in every field of study rewarded him with accolades and scholarships that brought welcome relief to his impoverished financial condition. It was here that he came in close contact with half a dozen Sanskrit scholars who would leave an indelible mark on the young impressionable mind of Ishwar.In 1829, he got admitted to Sanskrit College. His determination and quest for knowledge was so intense that he was used to study on street light as his family couldn't afford gas lamp at home. In 1839, he passed Hindu Law Examination and was honored with the title of 'Vidyasagar'. His well-rounded education at Sanskrit College saw him amassing considerable knowledge and mastery in a number of shastras or disciplines like kabya (poetry), alonkar (rhetorics), vedanta (vedic literature and anthology), smriti (philosophy of law), nyaya (logic, science and jurisprudence), and jyotish (astronomy). Vidyasagar started his first job as the Chief Pundit in Fort William College, Calcutta in 1841 at the age of 20. He started learning English and Hindi here. In 1846, he joined Sanskrit College as Assistant Secretary. He wanted to improve the teaching system in the college and faced difference in opinion from then secretary Rasomoy Dutta. Vidyasagar left the job and joined Fort William College again. In 1850, he became a Professor at Sanskrit College with one condition that he should be allowed to do the redesign of the education system. Satisfied with his hard work and his substantive contribution to the betterment of the education system, his remuneration was doubled. Soon afterwards, in 1851, he became the Principal of this college. Vidyasagar's principles, self-respect, determination and courage was legendary. He never deviated from his goals in the face of all adversities. On matters of principle, he stood like a rock. Fear was not a word in his dictionary. Once Vidyasagar went to visit the Principal of the Hindu College (now Presidency College) , where he was offended by Mr. Kerr's rude manners as the latter sat in his chair in a posture resting his booted feet on the desk in a complete disregard for showing any courtesy to his native visitor. Mr. Kerr was reported to have been very displeased when this same courtesy was reciprocated to him on his visit to Sanskrit College at a later date. Paying back in the same coin!
His well-documented protestations against Education department officials of the day testify to the degree of intensity with which he pursued the course of education reform. He favored English and Bengali as a medium of learning alongside Sanskrit and wanted to offer to students a wider range of subjects and thus broaden their horizons in examining European and Indian concepts and practices side by side so they could apply their own judgment in discovering the truth for themselves. He was not afraid of discarding erroneous beliefs of Indian shastras and in preferring European science in its place where appropriate. By the same token he did not accept everything that Europe had to offer. His mind was open and was open only to discovering the truth and reality. In these matters his determination was unmistakable and his resolve unshakable. In addition to his responsibilities as the Principal of Sanskrit College, he traveled around Bengal in the capacity of Inspector of Schools. This latter role gave him the opportunity to witness the pervading darkness and superstitions in which people of Bengal lived in the absence of education. This caused him great distress. He hurriedly established 20 Model schools in only two months. He also realized that unless women of the land could be educated it was impossible to emancipate and liberate them from the terrible burden of inequalities and injustice imposed on them by the cruel society of the day. He worked day and night and opened thirty girls’ schools.
In 1854 FWC was closed and a Board of Examiners was created instead. Vidyasagar was an active member of that Board. He resigned from Sanskrit College after a disagreement with the young new head of the Education department in 1958. It was not in his blood to work under a regime that did not pay full respect to his unquestionable ability to manage the affairs of his institution independently without undue outside interference.
Vidyasagar the Benevolent
 Vidyasagar's heart was gold - full of mercy and kindness! It always cried out in distress of the poor, in sufferings of the sick and for injustice to humanity. Even when he was a student at Sanskrit College, he would spend part of his scholarship proceeds to feed the poor and buy medicine for the sick. Later on, he paid fixed sums of monthly allowances to each member of his joint family, to family servants, to needy neighbors, to villagers who needed help and to the village health center and school. This he continued without break even when he was unemployed and had to borrow substantially from time to time. In his will he kept all those regular names as beneficiaries who received his monthly allowance and he added more names to that list. Then he had also added a blanket category 'who needed help'. His benevolence earned him the title of “Dayar Sagar” – the ocean of kindness and benevolence.
Vidyasagar the Social Reformer
Vidyasagar did not believe that his social responsibility to the suffering humanity ended with his financial donation. He nursed sick cholera patients (and cholera was an epidemic in Bengal those days), went to crematorium to bury unclaimed dead-bodies, dined with the untouchables, walked miles in darkness to take urgent messages to people who would not have received such messages in time otherwise. from them. When he became the Principal of Sanskrit College, only the Brahmins (the uppermost caste in Hindu caste system) were allowed to study in Sanskrit College. Himself a Brahmin, he changed that rule ignoring all criticism and opened it for everybody. The list goes on.
Perhaps his greatest legacy is his unflinching resolve to change the plight of Indian women, especially in his native Bengal. At that time, the prevailing social custom (primarily among Brahmins) was polygamy and child marriage. Very old persons often got married to teenage and even child girls. The ill-fated girls used to be widowed very soon. The rest of their lives used to be full of inhuman social restrictions, exploitation, grief, torture and woes. Vidyasagar was moved by the plight of these helpless widows. He vehemently opposed both polygamy and child marriage and dared to go against all odds to suggest Hindu society should allow remarriage for widows – an unthinkable proposition at that time.He took up his pen, called discussion meetings, ran seminars and saw Government officials. All of these efforts were directed to wipe out the evil traditions of Bengali Hindu society. But his call fell on deaf ears. On every instance, dictates from Hindu shastras were forwarded by the clergy as an excuse! So Vidyasagar set out to prove them wrong! He conducted extensive research into Hindu scriptures and puranas and tried to explain that there was nothing against widows marrying a second time and why polygamy was an evil and hence unacceptable. He published two separate volumes on remarriage of widows and another two volumes on polygamy citing quotes from scriptures and explaining the validity of his arguments.
To prove that his compassion for widows was not empty rhetoric as some might have assumed, he married his own son off to a widow. He compiled a list of “distinguished” polygamous Calcuttans and another for surrounding districts. For his stand, he was virulently attacked by conservatives of that time. He often received threats of physical violence and death. But nothing stopped Vidyasagar from what he set out to do! His iron-will prevailed in the end. On 26th July 1856 widow remarriage was legalized by the then British Government.
Vidyasagar and Education Reform in Bengal
Vidysagar noticed that there was no place for education of women in society at that time. With his tireless effort to uplift the status of women in the society, he was able to establish many Girls' schools in different places of Bengal. But there were no good Bengali text books for basic Bengali education. He wrote Bengali books with basic language construct and fundamentals, like, "Barnaparichay", "Bodhoday", "Kathamala" etc. and then easy grammar books like "Upakramonika" and "Byakaron Kaumudi". He also introduced some basic books for Mathematical logic. Rabindranath Tagore called him as the father of modern Bengali language. Vidyasagar translated some masterpieces of Sanskrit and English literature into Bengali: "Betaal Panchabingshati"(Sanskrit “Kathasarit Sagar”, "Shakuntala", "Bhranti Bilaas" , "Sitaar Banabaas" and edited books like "Raghubangsha", "Kumarsambhab" etc.Vidyasagar proposed the widow remarriage act in 1856. Widows could not marry again in those days. There was strong protest from the upper class and orthodox people of the society. He encouraged his son to get married to a widow. Sometimes, he spent money from himself to get widows married. He wanted to stop the Hindu men from getting married to many women. Not withstanding the miserable condition of Hindu widows, he introduced “Hindu Family Annuity Fund”. Vidyasagar opened as many as 1200 schools for women in those early days of women education. Vidyasagar was one of the founder members of University of Calcutta which was established in 1857. With help from some friends, in 1859 he also established Calcutta Training School. This school was later named as Metropolitan Institution and later was converted to a college named after him as Vidyasagar College.
Vidyasagar was responsible for introducing major reforms in the educational system in India in the 19th century. His pioneering works in Bengali education - in laying the foundation stone of modern Bengali prose and in translation of the Sanskrit masterpieces to Bengali - shall remain as the fitting monument of human endeavor in the quest for and the spread of knowledge. He introduced the use of English-like punctuations in Bengali writing. The modern way of writing Bengali that we are familiar with is his contribution to Bengali language. Perhaps his greatest contribution is the "Barnaparichay" (or, " Bornoporichoy") - a first-book of the Bengali alphabet (part I and II) that was first published in 1855. Even till this day, this is the first book that a bengali child reads to learn the Bengali alphabet and its elementary usages.
His act of kindness, his fierce determination and courage, his education and social reform programs, his philanthropy and social work, his contribution the Bengali language made Vidyasagar immortal. He lived as a modest man but his work of charity would belittle that of a king. On July 29, 1891 (13th Shrabon 1298 of Bengali calendar) this great son of Bengal left for his heavenly abode.
Vidyasagar Mela
 To promote the ideals and messages of Vidyasagr about education with social welfare, the Bangiya Saksharata Prasar Samity of Kolkata holds a unique fair called “Vidyasagar Mela”. Vidyasagar Mela was held for the first time in 1992 at Vidyasagar’s native village Beersingha. In 1994 it was moved to Kolkata, and since then it is held at Kolkata Maidan utta Maidan during the winter every year. The fair aims at uplifting moral values, ethical standards and increasing general awareness which, once achieved, will lead to social development. Apart from these, folk cultures of different districts are highlighted in this fair. Cultural competitions viz, song, dance, recitation, drawing, public speaking/debate etc. are held in order to boost up the spirits of the school children. Healthy entertainment is arranged and cultural festivals are held to recognize the budding talents. Seminars are held in the fair where debates and discussions are held on important issues of social relevance. Health Camps are also held here. Renowned physicians and a well-equipped medical team with promising and enthusiastic physicians, offer precious medical advices to the masses.
|
