bengali alphabet ishwar chandra vidyasagar

'One wonders how God, in the process of producing forty million Bengalis, produced a man! Rabindranath Tagore said this after the event of his death, and one couldn’t agree more. On this day in 1891, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar passed away at the age of 70. Being the scholar that he was, he also rationalised and simplified the Bengali alphabet and type. Ishwar’s life work wasn’t just limited to women’s rights. His hard work paid off as, in 1856, Lord Dalhousie finalized the Hindu Widows’ Remarriage Act. He worked extensively for their rights, particularly in Bengal and became a strong advocate for women’s rights. But, Ishwar felt that he wanted to dedicate himself to a larger cause, which was the upliftment of women. After this, he joined Fort William College as a Sanskrit professor. His excellence at Sanskrit got him the title of Vidyasagar (which translates to ‘Ocean of Knowledge’ from Sanskrit).Īt the age of 14, he was married off to Dinamayee Devi. He gained expertise in Sanskrit Grammar, Literature, Dialectics, Vedanta, Smriti and Astronomy. Apart from this, to support his family he also took up a part-time job teaching at Jorasanko.Įven after having gained such immense knowledge, Ishwar did not want to stop learning, For this reason, he went on to attend the Sanskrit College college where he studied not for just three to four years but twelve long years.

After looking at his academic success, everyone began offering him scholarships. His examinations came by in quick succession and he completed them all with excellence. So deep that he’d study under the street light if it was not possible to arrange for a gas lamp at home. Bhagabat’s youngest daughter had a great bond with Ishwar she influenced most of his later works on the upliftment of women’s status in India.įrom a very young age, Ishwar had a deep quest for knowledge. Not once did Ishwar feel uneasy there, in fact, Bhagabat’s large family made him feel at ease. Both of his parents, Thakurdas Bandyopadhyay and Bhagavati Devi hailed from this district.Īt the tender age of 9, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar went to Calcutta and began living at Bhagabat Charan’s place.

Moreover, they were like torture and humiliation, particularly for the women in society.Īt a time like this, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (originally known as Ishwar Chandra Bandyopadhyay), was born into a Bengali Brahmin family, at the Birsingha village in the Hooghly district of West Bengal. They were practices being carried down from generations for long that they had almost become meaningless.

The 1800s in India were marked by staunch commitment towards Hindu customs like Sati. Died on 29th July 1891 The man who possessed an 'ocean of knowledge.(ThisDayApp)

Bengali alphabet ishwar chandra vidyasagar