Social Reformer Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar

ALSO LISTED IN Philosophers, Social Reformers, Writers

FAMOUS AS Social Reformer, Philosopher

NATIONALITY Indian    Famous Indian Men

BORN ON 26 September 1820 AD

BIRTHDAY 26th September    Famous 26th September Birthdays

DIED AT AGE 70

SUN SIGN Libra    Libra Men

BORN IN Paschim Midnapore District, West Bengal, India

DIED ON 29 July 1891 AD 

PLACE OF DEATH Kokkata, India

FATHER Thakurdas Bandyopadhyay

MOTHER Bhagavati Devi

SPOUSE: Dinamani Devi

The social reformer who strived to make life better for the women of India and pushed the British government to pass the Widow Remarriage Act, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was a Bengali polymath who lived during the 19th century. Vidyasagar was a brilliant man, an educator by profession; he was deeply pained by the injustices faced by several sections of the Indian society.

Character

Vidyasagar came of an obscure orthodox Brahmin family in Midnapore. Yet he won the heart of the Bengali people by dint of his versatile activities. He roused the Bengali people from the caves of idleness and ignorance.

In his character of extra-ordinariness were reconciled the opposite: love and heroism, tenderness and manliness, precept and practice, action and contemplation.

Education & life

Ishwar Chandra was a brilliant student. His quest for knowledge was so intense that he used to study on 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.

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

After five years, in 1946, 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. Following this, Vidyasagar resigned from Sanskrit College and rejoined Fort William College but as a head clerk.

Reforms

Ishwar Chandra VidyasagarIshwar Chandra Vidyasagar initiated the concept of widow remarriage and raised concern for the abolition of child-marriage and polygamy. He also opened the doors of the colleges and other educational institutions to lower caste students, which was earlier reserved only for the Brahmins. For his immense generosity and kind-heartedness, people started addressing him as "Dayar Sagar" (ocean of kindness).

In 1828, eight year old Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (1820-91) walked with his father, from the village of Birsingha in Midnapur district to Calcutta to seek admission in an English language institution. The fees at Hindu college were too high for his father to pay, so Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was enrolled in Sanskrit college. While studying in Calcutta, he lived at the home of a friend whose sister was a child widow. This was Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar's first experience of the hardships this custom imposed on women. Sometime later, his old guru decided to marry a young girl. 

Widow Remarriage(Widow Remarriage Act)

Vidyasagar championed the uplift of the status of women in India, particularly in his native Bengal. Unlike some other reformers who sought to set up alternative societies or systems, he sought to transform orthodox Hindu society from within.[6]

With 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.

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 successful careers once they 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. Many widows had to shave their heads and don white saris, supposedly to discourage attention from men. They led a deplorable life, something Vidyasagar thought was unfair and sought to change.

He took the initiative in proposing and pushing the Widow Remarriage Act XV of 1856 (25 July) in India. He also demonstrated that the system of polygamy without restriction was not sanctioned by the ancient Hindu Shastras.

Bengali alphabet and language reconstruction

He reconstructed the Bengali alphabet and reformed Bengali typography into an alphabet (actually abugida) of twelve vowels and forty consonants. He contributed significantly toBengali and Sanskrit literature.Vidyasagar's "Barna Porichoy" is still considered a classic.

Nawab's shoe donation

One day, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar and his few friends decided to collect donations to form Calcutta University. He traveled across Bengal and neighboring states asking people to donate for the foundation. While doing so, one day he reached outside the palace of an influential King. After hearing his plea the King, pulled one of his shoes and dropped into Vidyasagar's bag as donation. Vidyasagar thanked Nawab and left.

The very next day Vidyasagar organized an auction of the Nawab's shoe and earned Rs. 1000. The Nawab after hearing that his shoe has fetched so much amount of money, he himself gave a similar amount of money as donation.

Death

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

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

·       Vidyasagar Setu, which connects Howrah and Kolkata, is named after him

·       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.

·       A fair named Vidyasagar Mela (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.

·       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.

·       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.

    In the final years of life, he chose to spend his days among the "Santhals", an old tribe in India.

·       There is Vidyasagar Street in Central Kolkata, which is named after him.

·       The West Bengal Government has established a stadium named after this great man ( Vidyasagar Stadium) at Barasat, the district center of North 24 Parganas.

·       Vidyasagar Hall, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur

 Conclusion

We get the opportunity to re-estimate Vidyasagar in a new light and arrange for seminars and debate-societies for disseminating Vidyasagar’s thoughts and ideas among the rising generation