At that time, the entire society was under the sway of spiritualist religious thinking. The British government had not allowed the secular ideas based on scientific outlook proposed by Vidyasagar to be implemented. Ramkrishna-Bankimchandra-Vivekananda and later Rabindranath, each in their own way, had mixed spiritualism with humanism and championed religiosity in the main. The only exception was Vidyasagar.
—Susnata Das
Innumerable research papers about and biographies of Vidyasagar happen to be in circulation. This is quite natural given that he was one of the greatest Bengalis to have lived in the nineteenth century.1 Amalesh Tripathi has indicated the limitations of his work by terming him as a “traditional modernizer”.2 Power and expectations are limited for all which was the case with Vidyasagar as well. There cannot be any objection to admit the fact that Vidyasagar was traditional minded and yet had a remarkably progressive viewpoint. He had an uncompromising attitude and yet was not unduly rigid in his approach. Any sort of dilemma or indecisiveness was never his characteristic trait. Rabindranath Tagore was very appreciative of him in his essay, ‘Vidyasagar Charit’ too. Vidyasagar’s legendary knowledge, wisdom and magnanimity could not find a better comparison than himself. How this ‘Renaissance Man’ had brought about revolutionary changes in the superstitious Bengali society through his modern outlook would be discussed subsequently in this paper.
Two hundred years have passed since Iswarchandra Vidyasagar was born anybody would agree... “Yet the imprint he left on the social fabric in our country, especially in Bengal, has not worn off. Many a general personality has influenced this society, but the influence of Vidyasagar is unique in the more ways than one. He was a front ranking social reformer of his days, who championed the cause of the oppressed, especially of the womenfolk, and made relentless efforts to rid them of poverty, misery and illiteracy. He strove for the growth and spread of a modern democratic, scientific and secular education, for freedom of expression and democratisation of society. He forged ahead of the Hindu community, even against a section of the elite. He applied his genius to the myriad tasks he took upon himself, and through all these, he sought to dispel vain beliefs and to free countrymen from feudal confines”.3
Notwithstanding the discussions on the various aspects of his life and works, these works have not shed much light on Vidyasagar’s political thoughts and activities. Perhaps, this was because his political outlook had never influenced his life and works explicitly. However, it is undeniable that the rudiments of nationalist thought had germinated under his, almost invisible, tutelage. Vidyasagar’s role in sheltering and expanding nationalist consciousness in Bengal had not been through any institutionalized means. In the book Europe Reconsidered, famed historian Tapan Raychaudhuri had selected Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay, Bhudev Mukhopadhyay, and Swami Vivekananda as protagonists. London based famous intellectual Nirod C. Chowdhury had never mentioned the name of Iswarchandra Vidyasagar among his selective choice for the best ten Bengalis so far.4 As a historical persona, Vidyasagar’s character has gone largely unnoticed in popular culture, academia, and outside India when it came to his political outlook. His image as a ‘pundit’ has always overshadowed his other identity as a politically conscious stalwart. As a consequence of this neglect, any discussion on Vidyasagar’s political stance has remained severely constrained by rumors of whether he was a supporter of the Sepoy Mutiny or not. This paper will seek to locate Vidyasagar’s nationalist outlook and identify his political thoughts within the wider perspective of modernity and colonial rule.
Legend has it that Vidyasagar’s grandfather had once killed a bear singlehandedly. Whether courage can be inherited is another question altogether but the fact that Vidyasagar was an extremely brave man is evident from his disregard for the threats from the conservative sections of Bengali society when he took up took up the cause of widow remarriage. When the petition for a widow remarriage act was drafted, it was signed by 987 persons with Vidyasagar being the last signatory, a rival petition was drafted by Radhakanta Deb, boasting the signatures of 36000 signatures, most of which albeit forged, could not really dilute the brute majority who opposed Vidyasagar’s initiative. He, however, not being the person who would baulk at this, merely appointed Srimanta Lathial for his personal protection
However the Hindu Widows’ Remarriage Act, 1856, also Act XV, 1856, enacted on 26 July 1856, legalised the remarriage of Hindu widows in all jurisdictions of India under East India Company rule. It was drafted by Lord Dalhousie and passed by him before the Indian Rebellion of 1857. On the 7th of December, 1856, the first widow remarriage took place at his friend Rajkrishna Bandyopadhyay’s house, between Kalimati Devi and Srishchandra Vidyaratna at his own expense. The former Young Bengal members— Ramgopal Ghosh, Harachandra Ghosh, Pyarichand Mitra, Kaliprasanna Singha, Sambhunath Pandit and others were present there to help him fulfill his resolve. The Indian Mirror was one of the few contemporary periodicals which publicly praised (albeit retrospectively in 1882) Vidyasagar’s efforts in order to legalize widow remarriage. Unlike the efforts of Rammohan Roy, who as a Brahmo was not a part of the Hindu society, the task of Vidyasagar to reform the Hindu society from within was certainly even more difficult. Rammohan and Bentinck’s efforts at outlawing the practice of Sati could not be sustained without legalizing widow-remarriage. While the former was an act of resistance, the latter was an act constructive reform. He had to face a lot including social boycott enforced on him by the conservative leaders of the Hindu community for his reform initiatives. Nonetheless, he could not be discouraged from his efforts. His unflinching dedication towards the cause which Raja Rammohan Roy had taken up and which was to be carried forward by him can be understood from his outrage when Rammohan son and his friend, Ramaprasad Roy, could not muster the courage to attend the first widow remarriage organized by Vidyasagar
In fact, there was ample reason for Vidyasagar’s indignation. As can be known from Vidyasagar’s conversation with his friend, Madhusudan Vidyaratna, in the biography, authored by Chandicharan Bandyopadhyay, most of the widow-remarriages that used to take place was funded by him. In many of these occasions, he had been the victim of fraudulent practices and as a consequence, he also had become seriously indebted. However, even this could not stop him from canying forward his mission.
Vidyasagar role in enabling non-Brahmin students to get enrolled at the Sanskrit College by writing to the Colonial administration repeatedly is not widely known. Yet it should be for the simple reason that such an initiative at that time was no less than revolutionary. Moreover, his role in bringing education in the popular domain and to the grassroots level from the elite sphere by urging the government relentlessly had been largely ignored during his time and has almost passed into oblivion of social memory. This contribution of Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar, the lasting benefits of which are being enjoyed by the people of India even today according to Jadunath Sarkar, had been accentuated by Brajendranath Bandyopadhyay in his book Vidyasagar Prasanga.
If we glimpse at the perspective indicated by Benoy Ghosh, we would have to observe the tremendous increase of the Bengali middle class and professionals during Lord Dalhousie’s Governor Generalship with the advent of railway, telegraph, postal services and other means of communication. These developments facilitated internal trade, economic growth, flow of ideas and consequently, the rise of the English educated Bengali middle class.5
Epoch-making changes in the realm of ideas were also taking place in contemporary England. The autonomy of consciousness and social awareness of the middle classes were the driving forces behind this. The concepts of individual liberty, democracy, civil rights and equality were already gaining grounds in Britain-France-Russia-Germany. The ideas of John Stuart Mill, Jeremy Bentham and Auguste Comte had had a great impact even beyond Europe in India. John Stuart Mill’s On Liberty (1859), Representative Government (1861), Subjection of Women (1869) and other theoretical works, albeit limited because of their bourgeois nature, did broaden the horizon of social thought. Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle of Life also had a similar impact.
Vidyasagar never believed in any kind of parochial nationalism. In Tagore’s words, “Vidyasagar constructed the bridge between western and oriental education systems”. Today’s education policy of India has wasted away in tide of Globalisation and has also enslaved under changed system of western education. Vidyasagar did not want this type of education policy to sustain in our country. He himself took leadership in spreading science education keeping touch with the western system of education. He translated 72 English scientific words into Bengali language. In the book, Jivan Charit (1849), compiled by Chambers with Vidyasagar’s annotations, the biographies of western rationalists and humanists like Copemicus, Galilio, Newton and William Jones featured prominently.
On the other hand one of the landmark efforts of Vidyasagar in spreading science and education was the Publication of books on Algebra and Geometry in Bengali language. In reality one of the glaring examples of advancement of education system in our country by Vidyasagar was his efforts for building linkage between country’s classical Sanskrit education system and western education system and introduction of education in vermicular as well as spread of education (not merely literacy) for women of the country. Vidyasagar used to give importance to study of moral science as it used to think always about the education of the poor and economically and socially backward people of the both urban and rural society.
Vidyasagar’s political motivation was based on the three pillars of western rationalism, eastern humanism and an intense national pride. The bedrock of nationalism is language, which allows the spread of such thought and fervor. In order to provide textbooks in Bengali, Vidyasagar along with Madanmohan Tarkalankar bought a printing machine in 1847 and started vernacular publication. Starting with Betal Panchavimsati, Bangalar Itihas, Jivan Charit, Bodhoday, Sanskrita Vakarener Upakramanika, Vamaparichay, Kathamala, Chartitravali, Akhyan Manjari etc. were published. He also paid ample attention to develop the prestige of Bengali language and instruct teachers in their mother tongue, thereby paving the road for vernacular education in India.
Here we can mention the academic debate between Mr Ballantyne (Principal of the Sanskrit College, Benaras) and Pundit Iswarchandra Vidyasagar regarding the academic syllabus of the Sanskrit college in 1853. Vidyasagar established “Vedanta” and “Sankhya” as wrong theories. According to him it is necessary to oppose the philosophies of these two theories as educations arising out of these two theories are dependent on religion. Instead of this, those two theories could have been dependant on scientific philosophy.6 Sumit Sarkar argued that Hatcher’s is an unusual, if narrow, focus upon Vidyasagar’s educational plans and school-textbooks, he finds in them not a simple acculturation by Victorian notion of improvement and discipline, but a coming together of ‘bourgeois and Brahmanical educational ideologies within a Bengali idiom of modem pedagogy.7
Another modem Europeanresearcher argued in this regard Vidyasagar rejected most of all Ballantyne’s method of searching for correspondence between ancient Indian philosophy and European science in order to make modern science more acceptable for Indian pundits: After some hesitation and resistance Vidyasagar finally got the chance to go ahead with his project and in the course of time he was able to transform “the ritualistic corpus of Sanskrit learning into an updated and rational scheme of Sanskrit education.”...Though by the fact of colonial rule Vidyasagar was objectively prone to reflect on the adoption of the foreign culture, he nevertheless voluntarily and in a creative manner aimed at a self-conscious determination of this process. He looked at the European culture not as something foreign but as something which was more advanced on the way to truth which is only one and indivisible....In the case of Vidyasagar this can easily be recognized by his criticism of Vedanta and Sankhya, which he taught unsuitable as the philosophical base for modem science.8
Vidyasagar rising above the religious sentiment, of the very ancient form of Hinduism, wanted to give importance on man’s moral value to that one can be successful in truthfulness, righteousness and uprightness. He was a revolutionary, in real sense, against superstition, fundamentalism and illiteracy. He was totally free from the chains of orthodox religious mind-set. Even Ramakrishna Paramhangsa, the great sage of 19th century Bengal, could not be able to occupy Vidyasagar’s mind with any religious faith or belief. That is why in spite of showing love for religion, he gave more importance to the necessities of life, Sumit Sarkar argues.9 Vidyasagar’s response to the arrogance of Carr at the table of Sanskrit College in 1847 has become legendary and cannot but be read with nationalist undertones. Considering this to be an isolated incident involving his self-esteem would be a serious mistake. He laid the foundation of the ‘Metropolitan Institution’ in 1872, which received the mandate to start teaching law and post-graduate courses in 1882 and by 1888 had become the largest national college in India. Rabindranath Tagore said, “Single-handed, he saved the metropolitan Institution (a school founded by him) from all manner of set-back and disaster and creditably got it affiliated to the Calcutta University”10
This Metropolitan institution had immense political significance too. Firstly, about thirty years prior to the commencement of the Swadeshi Education enterprise, it began its journey as an autonomous institution for higher education, governed by Indian educators, the like of which simply did not exist in rest of the country. Secondly, this institution was the first and the most important secular institution in India. According to researcher Santoshkumar Adhikari, “The first tune of nationalism was echoed from this college. Where Surendranath Banerjee was a teacher, Brahmabandhab Upadhyay, Swami Vivekanand, were students and Suryakumar Adhikari had been a Principal had to be the Metropolitan Institution. It was Vidyasagar’s dream to impart scientific and humanist education to students come true”.11
It has to be kept in mind that although the then Colonial Government had refused to recognize the college initially, they had to accede later, being pressurized by Vidyasagar. He had shattered the myth that a college could not function without European Professors. Metropolitan Institute eventually developed into one of the most outstanding constituent colleges of the Calcutta University, along with Presidency (erstwhile Hindu) College and General Assembly (later Scottish Church College).
Another significant contribution of Vidyasagar was the spread of mass education. On witnessing the pervading darkness and superstitions in which people of Bengal lived in the absence of education, Vidyasagar explored local popular support and participation in the spread of mass education. He appealed to the people who responded positively and it was decided that schools would be set up at chosen localities where the financial burden of erecting school buildings were to come from the locality. Vidyasagar got quite a number of schools constructed in this way in areas under his official jurisdiction.
Being acutely conscious of his national pride, Vidyasagar had always refused to attend any meeting with the Governor General or for that matter enter the Asiatic Society in European formal clothes as a gesture of protest against such discriminatory colonial customs and insulting practices.12 This remarkable individual, however, was never really interested in joining any formal political association or organization, not even the Indian National Congress in 1885. In spite of being a highly educated Brahmin with great knowledge of the Shastras, he was completely indifferent about his personal religious convictions and practices in public. Yet, it cannot be denied that he played a crucial role in establishing and preserving the Bengali national prestige with great efforts (including the publication of the periodical Som Prakash with Dwarkanath Vidyabhushan as its editor, where articles defending the interests of peasants were published on a regular basis) which merit reevaluation of his illustrious contributions in the development of nationalist thought in India.
Iswar Chandra could be consider as a great preacher of socialism though not in terms of politics but otherwise. Throughout his life he struggled hard against religious fundamentalism, illiteracy and injustice. He always took leadership for preparing traditional mindset of people. Vidyasagar often used to say, “How many of us have understood the sorrow of poor people?” He had gone to Karmatar of Santhal Pargana to lend his service for the downtrodden people.
Throughout the life his constructive personality kept him away from the contact of political leaders. He did not even agree to take the responsibility of an organisation with which he had no conflict of opinion. One such example is Indian Association. Indian Association is the first organisation of our country’s educated middle class people. Vidyasagar was not averse to formation of Indian Association; but in 1876 when the association was established, the leaders came to Vidyasagar and requested him to be the first president of the association. He declined their request because he did not want to be involved in direct political activities. He knew better that it would hamper his endeavours for social reforms at that juncture yet he had some link with a few social as well as academic bodies of Kolkata at that period. During his time many societies of intellectuals were established. During the sixties and seventies of nineteenth century there was quick emergence of socio-political associations and groups. As a result a change in class and democratic system was noticed in the Bengal society. Mention can be made of two such societies namely ‘Bethune Society’ and ‘Bidyotsahini Sabha’ with which Vidyasagar had some close relationship. He had some link with “Tattobodhini Sabha” During this time Vidyasagar earned an unparallel personality in the society. But he did not accept the position of leadership of those societies because he would like to serve this country otherwise, by the way of social reforms, spread of rationalism and education as well among the common people. He had full leadership quality, but never wanted to be as national leader. But Vidyasagar had never forgotten the practice of nationalism and cultivation of swadeshi in his life and works. In 1839 when Debendra Nath Tagore’s “Tattobodhini Sabha’ was came into being, he was associated with it and tried to make the path of social movement much broader with the support of friends like Akshay Kumar Dutta Later on Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar during 1849-50 with the help of certain other friends established the ‘Sarbasubhakari Sabha’ and also started publishing a Bengali news paper entitled Sarbasubhakari Patrika. In the very first issue of this patrika his essay ‘Balya-Bibaher Dosh (Defects of Early Marriage’) and in the second issue the essay entitled ‘Education for Women’ had been published.13
Without national newspaper there would be no question about the introduction of nationalism in any country. Vidyasagar’s involvement in Bengali journalism was noteworthy. Though he was not a jouralist in a true sense, but he had close association with Bengali newspapers or journals. Those are i) Sarbasubhakari Patrika, ii) Tattabodhini Patrika, iii) Somprakash, and one English newspaper Hindu Patriot which after sudden demise of Harish Ch. Mukherjee in 1961, Vidyasagar took the responsibility for its regular circulation. However the political role of Somprakash in favour of toiling peasants mentioned before.
In the last years of Vidyasagar’s life, in 1886, the Indian National Congress was formed by some rich sections of upper class people act as a platform for appeals to the British Government. In the next year, on hearing that preparations were going on to organised the second session of the Congress in Calcutta, the remark made by Vidyasagar has not lost its great significance even today. On observing that the leaders of the then Congress did not give any thought whatsoever to the starving people of the country. He became aggrieved and exclaimed-” The ‘Baboos’ are active for the Congress, they are bragging, delivering speeches, bosting of saving India; every day thousands are dying of starvation, but nobody is paying attention to it”. When several organisers approached Vidyasagar and invited to participate in the Congress session, he asked them directly-”To achieve the country’s freedom, if it is finally necessary would you take up the sword?” On hearing this question the persons who had come to invite him became perplexed and begun to falter in their reply. Vidyasagar understood their answer and told them clearly, “... then you proceed without me”.14
That means he had no intention to join the Congress who did not care for the starving impoverished people of the country and who had no intention of conducting arms struggle against the British. Again during Vidyasagar’s time our society had been unable to accept his ideas of secular humanism free from religious prejudices. At that time, the entire society was under the sway of spiritualist religious thinking. The British government had not allowed the secular ideas based on scientific outlook proposed by Vidyasagar to be implemented. Ramkrishna-Bankimchandra-Vivekananda and later Rabindranath, each in their own way, had mixed spiritualism with humanism and championed religiosity in the main. The only exception was Vidyasagar.
Two hundred years have passed since Iswarchandra Vidyasagar was born anybody would agree... “Yet the imprint he left on the social fabric in our country, especially in Bengal, has not worn off. Many a general personality has influenced this society, but the influence of Vidyasagar is unique in the more ways than one. He was a front ranking social reformer of his days, who championed the cause of the oppressed, especially of the womenfolk, and made relentless efforts to rid them of poverty, misery and illiteracy. He strove for the growth and spread of a modern democratic, scientific and secular education, for freedom of expression and democratisation of society. He forged ahead of the Hindu community, even against a section of the elite. He applied his genius to the myriad tasks he took upon himself, and through all these, he sought to dispel vain beliefs and to free countrymen from feudal confines”.
Notwithstanding the discussions on the various aspects of his life and works, these works have not shed much light on Vidyasagar’s political thoughts and activities. Perhaps, this was because his political outlook had never influenced his life and works explicitly. However, it is undeniable that the rudiments of nationalist thought had germinated under his, almost invisible, tutelage. Vidyasagar’s role in sheltering and expanding nationalist consciousness in Bengal had not been through any institutionalized means. In the book Europe Reconsidered, famed historian Tapan Raychaudhuri had selected Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay, Bhudev Mukhopadhyay, and Swami Vivekananda as protagonists. London based famous intellectual Nirod C. Chowdhury had never mentioned the name of Iswarchandra Vidyasagar among his selective choice for the best ten Bengalis so far.
Legend has it that Vidyasagar’s grandfather had once killed a bear singlehandedly. Whether courage can be inherited is another question altogether but the fact that Vidyasagar was an extremely brave man is evident from his disregard for the threats from the conservative sections of Bengali society when he took up took up the cause of widow remarriage. When the petition for a widow remarriage act was drafted, it was signed by 987 persons with Vidyasagar being the last signatory, a rival petition was drafted by Radhakanta Deb, boasting the signatures of 36000 signatures, most of which albeit forged, could not really dilute the brute majority who opposed Vidyasagar’s initiative. He, however, not being the person who would baulk at this, merely appointed Srimanta Lathial for his personal protection
However the Hindu Widows’ Remarriage Act, 1856, also Act XV, 1856, enacted on 26 July 1856, legalised the remarriage of Hindu widows in all jurisdictions of India under East India Company rule. It was drafted by Lord Dalhousie and passed by him before the Indian Rebellion of 1857. On the 7th of December, 1856, the first widow remarriage took place at his friend Rajkrishna Bandyopadhyay’s house, between Kalimati Devi and Srishchandra Vidyaratna at his own expense. The former Young Bengal members— Ramgopal Ghosh, Harachandra Ghosh, Pyarichand Mitra, Kaliprasanna Singha, Sambhunath Pandit and others were present there to help him fulfill his resolve. The Indian Mirror was one of the few contemporary periodicals which publicly praised (albeit retrospectively in 1882) Vidyasagar’s efforts in order to legalize widow remarriage. Unlike the efforts of Rammohan Roy, who as a Brahmo was not a part of the Hindu society, the task of Vidyasagar to reform the Hindu society from within was certainly even more difficult. Rammohan and Bentinck’s efforts at outlawing the practice of Sati could not be sustained without legalizing widow-remarriage. While the former was an act of resistance, the latter was an act constructive reform. He had to face a lot including social boycott enforced on him by the conservative leaders of the Hindu community for his reform initiatives. Nonetheless, he could not be discouraged from his efforts. His unflinching dedication towards the cause which Raja Rammohan Roy had taken up and which was to be carried forward by him can be understood from his outrage when Rammohan son and his friend, Ramaprasad Roy, could not muster the courage to attend the first widow remarriage organized by Vidyasagar
In fact, there was ample reason for Vidyasagar’s indignation. As can be known from Vidyasagar’s conversation with his friend, Madhusudan Vidyaratna, in the biography, authored by Chandicharan Bandyopadhyay, most of the widow-remarriages that used to take place was funded by him. In many of these occasions, he had been the victim of fraudulent practices and as a consequence, he also had become seriously indebted. However, even this could not stop him from canying forward his mission.
Vidyasagar role in enabling non-Brahmin students to get enrolled at the Sanskrit College by writing to the Colonial administration repeatedly is not widely known. Yet it should be for the simple reason that such an initiative at that time was no less than revolutionary. Moreover, his role in bringing education in the popular domain and to the grassroots level from the elite sphere by urging the government relentlessly had been largely ignored during his time and has almost passed into oblivion of social memory. This contribution of Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar, the lasting benefits of which are being enjoyed by the people of India even today according to Jadunath Sarkar, had been accentuated by Brajendranath Bandyopadhyay in his book Vidyasagar Prasanga.
If we glimpse at the perspective indicated by Benoy Ghosh, we would have to observe the tremendous increase of the Bengali middle class and professionals during Lord Dalhousie’s Governor Generalship with the advent of railway, telegraph, postal services and other means of communication. These developments facilitated internal trade, economic growth, flow of ideas and consequently, the rise of the English educated Bengali middle class.
Epoch-making changes in the realm of ideas were also taking place in contemporary England. The autonomy of consciousness and social awareness of the middle classes were the driving forces behind this. The concepts of individual liberty, democracy, civil rights and equality were already gaining grounds in Britain-France-Russia-Germany. The ideas of John Stuart Mill, Jeremy Bentham and Auguste Comte had had a great impact even beyond Europe in India. John Stuart Mill’s On Liberty (1859), Representative Government (1861), Subjection of Women (1869) and other theoretical works, albeit limited because of their bourgeois nature, did broaden the horizon of social thought. Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle of Life also had a similar impact.
Vidyasagar never believed in any kind of parochial nationalism. In Tagore’s words, “Vidyasagar constructed the bridge between western and oriental education systems”. Today’s education policy of India has wasted away in tide of Globalisation and has also enslaved under changed system of western education. Vidyasagar did not want this type of education policy to sustain in our country. He himself took leadership in spreading science education keeping touch with the western system of education. He translated 72 English scientific words into Bengali language. In the book, Jivan Charit (1849), compiled by Chambers with Vidyasagar’s annotations, the biographies of western rationalists and humanists like Copemicus, Galilio, Newton and William Jones featured prominently.
On the other hand one of the landmark efforts of Vidyasagar in spreading science and education was the Publication of books on Algebra and Geometry in Bengali language. In reality one of the glaring examples of advancement of education system in our country by Vidyasagar was his efforts for building linkage between country’s classical Sanskrit education system and western education system and introduction of education in vermicular as well as spread of education (not merely literacy) for women of the country. Vidyasagar used to give importance to study of moral science as it used to think always about the education of the poor and economically and socially backward people of the both urban and rural society.
Vidyasagar’s political motivation was based on the three pillars of western rationalism, eastern humanism and an intense national pride. The bedrock of nationalism is language, which allows the spread of such thought and fervor. In order to provide textbooks in Bengali, Vidyasagar along with Madanmohan Tarkalankar bought a printing machine in 1847 and started vernacular publication. Starting with Betal Panchavimsati, Bangalar Itihas, Jivan Charit, Bodhoday, Sanskrita Vakarener Upakramanika, Vamaparichay, Kathamala, Chartitravali, Akhyan Manjari etc. were published. He also paid ample attention to develop the prestige of Bengali language and instruct teachers in their mother tongue, thereby paving the road for vernacular education in India.
Here we can mention the academic debate between Mr Ballantyne (Principal of the Sanskrit College, Benaras) and Pundit Iswarchandra Vidyasagar regarding the academic syllabus of the Sanskrit college in 1853. Vidyasagar established “Vedanta” and “Sankhya” as wrong theories. According to him it is necessary to oppose the philosophies of these two theories as educations arising out of these two theories are dependent on religion. Instead of this, those two theories could have been dependant on scientific philosophy.
Another modem Europeanresearcher argued in this regard Vidyasagar rejected most of all Ballantyne’s method of searching for correspondence between ancient Indian philosophy and European science in order to make modern science more acceptable for Indian pundits: After some hesitation and resistance Vidyasagar finally got the chance to go ahead with his project and in the course of time he was able to transform “the ritualistic corpus of Sanskrit learning into an updated and rational scheme of Sanskrit education.”...Though by the fact of colonial rule Vidyasagar was objectively prone to reflect on the adoption of the foreign culture, he nevertheless voluntarily and in a creative manner aimed at a self-conscious determination of this process. He looked at the European culture not as something foreign but as something which was more advanced on the way to truth which is only one and indivisible....In the case of Vidyasagar this can easily be recognized by his criticism of Vedanta and Sankhya, which he taught unsuitable as the philosophical base for modem science.
Vidyasagar rising above the religious sentiment, of the very ancient form of Hinduism, wanted to give importance on man’s moral value to that one can be successful in truthfulness, righteousness and uprightness. He was a revolutionary, in real sense, against superstition, fundamentalism and illiteracy. He was totally free from the chains of orthodox religious mind-set. Even Ramakrishna Paramhangsa, the great sage of 19th century Bengal, could not be able to occupy Vidyasagar’s mind with any religious faith or belief. That is why in spite of showing love for religion, he gave more importance to the necessities of life, Sumit Sarkar argues.
This Metropolitan institution had immense political significance too. Firstly, about thirty years prior to the commencement of the Swadeshi Education enterprise, it began its journey as an autonomous institution for higher education, governed by Indian educators, the like of which simply did not exist in rest of the country. Secondly, this institution was the first and the most important secular institution in India. According to researcher Santoshkumar Adhikari, “The first tune of nationalism was echoed from this college. Where Surendranath Banerjee was a teacher, Brahmabandhab Upadhyay, Swami Vivekanand, were students and Suryakumar Adhikari had been a Principal had to be the Metropolitan Institution. It was Vidyasagar’s dream to impart scientific and humanist education to students come true”.
It has to be kept in mind that although the then Colonial Government had refused to recognize the college initially, they had to accede later, being pressurized by Vidyasagar. He had shattered the myth that a college could not function without European Professors. Metropolitan Institute eventually developed into one of the most outstanding constituent colleges of the Calcutta University, along with Presidency (erstwhile Hindu) College and General Assembly (later Scottish Church College).
Another significant contribution of Vidyasagar was the spread of mass education. On witnessing the pervading darkness and superstitions in which people of Bengal lived in the absence of education, Vidyasagar explored local popular support and participation in the spread of mass education. He appealed to the people who responded positively and it was decided that schools would be set up at chosen localities where the financial burden of erecting school buildings were to come from the locality. Vidyasagar got quite a number of schools constructed in this way in areas under his official jurisdiction.
Being acutely conscious of his national pride, Vidyasagar had always refused to attend any meeting with the Governor General or for that matter enter the Asiatic Society in European formal clothes as a gesture of protest against such discriminatory colonial customs and insulting practices.
Iswar Chandra could be consider as a great preacher of socialism though not in terms of politics but otherwise. Throughout his life he struggled hard against religious fundamentalism, illiteracy and injustice. He always took leadership for preparing traditional mindset of people. Vidyasagar often used to say, “How many of us have understood the sorrow of poor people?” He had gone to Karmatar of Santhal Pargana to lend his service for the downtrodden people.
Throughout the life his constructive personality kept him away from the contact of political leaders. He did not even agree to take the responsibility of an organisation with which he had no conflict of opinion. One such example is Indian Association. Indian Association is the first organisation of our country’s educated middle class people. Vidyasagar was not averse to formation of Indian Association; but in 1876 when the association was established, the leaders came to Vidyasagar and requested him to be the first president of the association. He declined their request because he did not want to be involved in direct political activities. He knew better that it would hamper his endeavours for social reforms at that juncture yet he had some link with a few social as well as academic bodies of Kolkata at that period. During his time many societies of intellectuals were established. During the sixties and seventies of nineteenth century there was quick emergence of socio-political associations and groups. As a result a change in class and democratic system was noticed in the Bengal society. Mention can be made of two such societies namely ‘Bethune Society’ and ‘Bidyotsahini Sabha’ with which Vidyasagar had some close relationship. He had some link with “Tattobodhini Sabha” During this time Vidyasagar earned an unparallel personality in the society. But he did not accept the position of leadership of those societies because he would like to serve this country otherwise, by the way of social reforms, spread of rationalism and education as well among the common people. He had full leadership quality, but never wanted to be as national leader. But Vidyasagar had never forgotten the practice of nationalism and cultivation of swadeshi in his life and works. In 1839 when Debendra Nath Tagore’s “Tattobodhini Sabha’ was came into being, he was associated with it and tried to make the path of social movement much broader with the support of friends like Akshay Kumar Dutta Later on Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar during 1849-50 with the help of certain other friends established the ‘Sarbasubhakari Sabha’ and also started publishing a Bengali news paper entitled Sarbasubhakari Patrika. In the very first issue of this patrika his essay ‘Balya-Bibaher Dosh (Defects of Early Marriage’) and in the second issue the essay entitled ‘Education for Women’ had been published.
Without national newspaper there would be no question about the introduction of nationalism in any country. Vidyasagar’s involvement in Bengali journalism was noteworthy. Though he was not a jouralist in a true sense, but he had close association with Bengali newspapers or journals. Those are i) Sarbasubhakari Patrika, ii) Tattabodhini Patrika, iii) Somprakash, and one English newspaper Hindu Patriot which after sudden demise of Harish Ch. Mukherjee in 1961, Vidyasagar took the responsibility for its regular circulation. However the political role of Somprakash in favour of toiling peasants mentioned before.
In the last years of Vidyasagar’s life, in 1886, the Indian National Congress was formed by some rich sections of upper class people act as a platform for appeals to the British Government. In the next year, on hearing that preparations were going on to organised the second session of the Congress in Calcutta, the remark made by Vidyasagar has not lost its great significance even today. On observing that the leaders of the then Congress did not give any thought whatsoever to the starving people of the country. He became aggrieved and exclaimed-” The ‘Baboos’ are active for the Congress, they are bragging, delivering speeches, bosting of saving India; every day thousands are dying of starvation, but nobody is paying attention to it”. When several organisers approached Vidyasagar and invited to participate in the Congress session, he asked them directly-”To achieve the country’s freedom, if it is finally necessary would you take up the sword?” On hearing this question the persons who had come to invite him became perplexed and begun to falter in their reply. Vidyasagar understood their answer and told them clearly, “... then you proceed without me”.
That means he had no intention to join the Congress who did not care for the starving impoverished people of the country and who had no intention of conducting arms struggle against the British. Again during Vidyasagar’s time our society had been unable to accept his ideas of secular humanism free from religious prejudices. At that time, the entire society was under the sway of spiritualist religious thinking. The British government had not allowed the secular ideas based on scientific outlook proposed by Vidyasagar to be implemented. Ramkrishna-Bankimchandra-Vivekananda and later Rabindranath, each in their own way, had mixed spiritualism with humanism and championed religiosity in the main. The only exception was Vidyasagar.
(LM-01551, Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata)
NOTES & REFERENCES:
1. Sumit Sarkar, ‘Vidyasagar and Brahmanical Society’ in Writing Social History, Oxford, 1998
2. Amalesh Tripathi, The Traditional Modemiser, Kolkata, 1998.
3. Manik Mukhopadhyay’s, article in Golden Book of Vidyasagar, 1991, Kolkata.
4. We can remember in the early ‘90s, Mr. Nirad C. Chaudhuri wrote an article in Anandabazar Patrika about 10 greatest Bengalis according to his opinion. Very interestingly, he excluded Vidyasagar from his list. He had offered a sort of explanation in a later article by saying he did not include Vidyasagar in his list because despite he was bom out of Bengali parents & was brought up in the midst of Bengali values, all that he did seemed so much influenced by Westem culture that he found Vidyasagar to be a Westem concept camouflaged in a Bengali get up! Mr. Chaudhuri found a place for Saratchandra Chattopadhyay in his list because he legitimized the decadence of the Bengalis! So this is how we have pushed the man who has changed the essence of our modern lives away from us.
5. Benoy Ghosh, Vidyasagar and Bangali Samaj, Kolkata, 1973.
6. Asok Sen, Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar and His Elusive Milestones, Kolkata, 1977, pp. 169-70.
7. Brian A. Hatcher, Idioms of Improvement: Vidyasagar and Cultural Encounter in Bengal, Calcutta, 1996, p. 117.
8. Hiltrud Rustau’s article in Golden Book of Vidyasagar, Kolkata, 1991.
9. Summit Sarkar, ‘Vidyasagar and Brahmanical Society’ in Writing Social History, Oxford, 1998.
10. Golden Book of Vidyasagar, Kolkata, 1991.
11. Santoshkumar Adhikari, Vidyasagarer Jibaner Sesh-dinguli, Kolkata,1985.
12. Indra Mitra, Kanunasagar Vidyasagar, Kolkata, 1971. The entire episode has been depicted there along with Vidyasagar’s letter.
13. Ananda Deb Mukherjee, Vidyasagar: Man of Multi-Dimensional Thinking, Kolkata, 2019, pp. 56-57.
14. Indra Mitra, Kannasagar Vidyasagar, Kolkata, 1971.
Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, Vol. 80 (December 2019), pp. 657-666 (10 pages)
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