Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar Biography: Age, Birthday, Early Life, Education, Career, Death

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar Biography: Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, whose name is synonymous with the emergence of the Indian state of Bengal, was unquestionably one of the world’s most intelligent individuals. Chandra Vidyasagar brought about a revolution in Bengal at a time when the state was in a complete state of disrepair due to his extensive knowledge. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was one of the most influential members of the reformist team that introduced the concept of the Renaissance to Bengal. His education was reflected in Bengali language and literature, while his compassion was demonstrated in the support he provided for women in Bengali society. Even though he was known by his birth name, Ishwar Chandra Bandopadhyaya, he was quickly bestowed the honorific “Vidyasagar,” which translates to “ocean of knowledge” in English. Chandra was a polymath (someone who is well-versed in numerous subjects) in the Bengali society of the 19th century.

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar Biography

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar Early Years

Chandra Bandopadhyaya was born in Birsingha village in Bengal’s Midnapore district on September 26, 1820. Ishwar Chandra’s education also reflected the fact that his father was a very impoverished man, because his father was extremely poor. Thakurdas Bandopadhyaya did his best to educate his son at a local village school, but he soon realised that Ishwar Chandra deserved much more when the 8-year-old began pronouncing the English numbers by identifying a missing landmark, despite not having been taught the English digits at the village school. There are legends that Ishwar Chandra Bandopadhyaya accumulated his knowledge by reading books under street lamps at night because his parents could not afford a gas lamp for their house.

Obviously, Ishwar Chandra excelled academically throughout his elementary school years. His father then brought him to Calcutta, where Ishwar Chandra continued to excel, accumulating scholarship after scholarship to pay for his education. During his student years, he also began teaching to earn the additional funds necessary to support himself and his family. Ishwar Chandra completed his law studies in 1839, when he was only 19 years old, and two years later, in 1841, he resigned from his part-time position at the Jorasanko College to enrol as a permanent teacher of Sanskrit at the Fort William College. Ishwar Chandra has been appointed as the department director of Sanskrit at this institution. In those days, a professor was referred to as a pundit. At this time, he had also been awarded the title of Vidyasagar by his alma mater, Calcutta Sanskrit College, hence his name Pt. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar.

Profession In Education

Vidyasagar served as a Sanskrit expert at Fort William College for five years, garnering the same praise as a teacher as he had as a student. After five years, in 1846, Ishwar Chandra became the Assistant Secretary at the Calcutta Sanskrit College, where he had earned his bachelor’s degree. However, his tenure in said position was marred by controversies and conflicts, making it a less than pleasurable experience. Even though the entire team at the Calcutta Sanskrit College admired and respected him, they did not approve of the numerous changes he made to the college’s operations. The educational reforms proposed by Ishwar Chandra placed him at odds with Rasomay Dutta, the secretary of the Sanskrit College.

Vidyasagar desired that the college be open to students of all castes, whereas Rasomay Dutta favoured admitting only Brahmin students to the campus. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar advocated education regardless of caste or gender. Chandra chose to return to teaching Sanskrit in 1849 after resigning from his position as assistant secretary three years later. Ishwar Chandra ascended to the position of principal of the Calcutta Sanskrit College in 1851, but resigned due to his relationship with Rasomay Dutta deteriorating. Rasomay Dutta’s objection to Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar’s works reportedly hurt him so much that he left the Calcutta Sanskrit College to return to the Fort William College, this time as the institution’s chief clerk.

Though Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar’s name is synonymous with the development and progress of Bengal, he laboured for more than just this state. Ishwar Chandra was a brilliant thinker who worked to enhance India’s education system. In a predominantly male-dominated society, he was primarily concerned with the education of girls and women, believing that only education could serve to make them independent and instill them with confidence. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar established schools for females in Bombay at a time when only a handful of fortunate girls had the opportunity to attend school, let alone at home. The majority of households in India believed that schools were not an appropriate environment for females, who were expected to remain at home and perform housework.

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was responsible for bringing reformists from the 19th century, such as Raja Ram Mohan Roy, together for the cause of female education in India. Probably Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar’s most significant contribution to the field of education was the reconstruction of the Bengali alphabet into twelve vowels and forty consonants. As a consequence of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar’s research, much of the modern Bengali and Sanskrit typography in use today was developed. He made significant contributions to Bengali and Sanskrit literature during his lifetime.

As A Charitable Donor

Among his many vocations, philanthropy was unquestionably one. It is said that Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar possessed a nature that was both austere and shrewd. But Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar also had a softer side, which manifested itself whenever he confronted a poor or needy person. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar had a profound comprehension of what it was like to spend time on footpaths without a roof above and without proper clothing and food due to his childhood spent in abject poverty. His philanthropy included preparing payasam, a special Bengali dessert, for street petitioners, despite the fact that he was earning a meagre scholarship and had to split the funds with his family.

Later, when Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar began earning a permanent salary from teaching at the Fort William and Sanskrit Colleges, he distributed his money not only to his family members, but also to the servants serving his family, the needy families residing in his village Birsingha, and the school and medical facilities available at home. However, money was not the only indicator of his philanthropic nature. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar made it a priority to provide free medical care to the homeless who were ill. Cholera was among the most prevalent diseases during that time period. The altruistic side of him extended assistance to all patients. Vidyasagar also made education mandatory and free, opening the portals of schools and colleges to everyone.

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To be a Reformer

As stated previously, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar aimed to alter the conventional Hindu society. He laboured for the advancement of women’s status. Vidyasagar believed that men and women should have equal opportunity in all fields. The Bengali society of the nineteenth century did not encourage female education or widow remarriage. After advocating for the education of females, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar fought for the legalisation of second marriages for young widows. In addition, he spoke out against the inhumane torment that widowed women were subjected to in the name of rituals. Along with other reformists such as Akshay Kumar Dutta, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar fought diligently to introduce widow remarriage in Bengal. In 1856, it was he who proposed the Widow Remarriage Act XV.

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar Legacy & Death

The death of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar occurred on July 29, 1891. His passing was profoundly lamented by all the eminent figures of nineteenth-century Bengal. One cannot overlook Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar’s contribution to the intellectual and social advancement of Bengal society, making him one of the Bengal Renaissance’s most influential proponents. “Barnoporichoy,” Vidyasagar’s book on Bengali alphabets, is still required reading for school beginners. With the construction of the Vidyasagar Setu, a bridge connecting Kolkata and Howrah, the name of the great man has been immortalised. The annual Vidyasagar Mela is held in Kolkata and Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar’s native village of Birsingha to honour the educationist and reformer by disseminating his words through social and academic causes.