Friday, June 25, 2010

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar

Pandit Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was a great scholar, humanist and reformer. He dedicated his entire life to the cause of social reform. He was born in 1820 and become the principal of the Sanskrit College in 1851. He represented a happy blend of Indian and Western culture. Possessed of immense courage and a fearless mind he practiced what he believed. He was simple in dress and habits and direct in his manner. He was a great humanist who possessed immense sympathy for the poor and the oppressed. He resigned from government service for he would not tolerate undue official interference.

He evolved a new methodology for teaching Sanskrit. He wrote a Bengali grammar. He opened the gates of the Sanskrit College to non-brahmin students for he was opposed to the monopoly of Sanskrit studies that the priestly caste was enjoying at the time.

He started a great campaign in favour of widow remarriage. His humanism was aroused to the full by the sufferings of the Hindu widows. To improve their lot he gave his all and virtually ruined himself. The first lawful Hindu widow remarriage among the upper castes in our country was celebrated in Calcutta in 1856 under the inspiration and supervision of Vidyasagar. He also protested against child-marriage. All his life he campaigned against polygamy. He was also interested in the education of women. As a Government Inspector of schools, he organized thirty-five girls’ schools, many of which he ran at his own expense. He was one of the pioneers of higher education for women. The Bethune School, founded in Calcutta in 1849, was the first fruit of the powerful movement for women;s education that arose in the 1840s and 1850s.

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