Biography of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (Project for Class-X, 3rd Term)

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar

- Biography

 

 

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar: Introduction

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was a celebrated Indian reformist and presenter, born on twenty six September 1820 at Birsingha village, Paschim Midnapore District in Bengal province. His father was Thakurdas Bandyopadhyay and Mother Bhagavati Devi. They belonged to an orthodox Brahmin family. At associate early age of half dozen, his parents sent him to Calcutta to live with Bhagabat Charan’s house. He started studies by joining in a local school. Ishwar Chandra influenced loads by staying in Bhagabat Charan’s family. Especially, Raimoni the youngest girl of Bhagabat Charan showed loads of motherly tenderness towards the boy. This made a immerced influence on Ishwar and was the cause to fight for women’s equal status with the men in Indian society in further years. According to the Hindu customs in those days he married Dinamani Devi at the age of fourteen. They were blessed a son named Chandra Bandyopadhyaya.

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar: Education

Since his childhood days, the boy was very intelligent in the studies. He completed his education with high marks. The colleges and local princely states awarded him with the scholarships for his eminent success in the education. He passed in Indic descriptive linguistics in 1841 with disguised marks. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar wished to support his family thanks to their poor standing of the family. So he joined in a Sanskrit College to teach as a part-time job. He also got eminent knowledge in Vedanta and Astronomy. He additionally completed Law examinations and eventually joined in Fort William School as an academician to show the Indic language. There he worked five years and tried to bring the reforms in the education system in those days. Later in 1856 AD, he opened a school in Kolkata in the name of Barisha High School. He runs the varsity per his views on education.

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar as a Social Reformist

As a decent professional, his thoughts were revolving round the ladies standing within the society. Especially, the orthodox customs created him vex at the beliefs. He wanted to bring the reforms in the status of women in those days. Raimondi the youngest girl of Bhagabat Charan had a noble character. She had been depressed regarding the standing of Hindu widows within the society. Her thoughts created Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar to form one thing of the helplessness and pains of Hindu widows. As a Indic academician, he questioned the aristocrat authorities regarding the widow standing within the ancient scriptures. He additionally evidenced however the religious text scriptures permitting the marriage ceremony of a widow. He didn’t stop his efforts, met land Authorities and made them to bring the Hindu Widows’ marriage ceremony Act. The convinced British authorities brought the decree on July twenty six, 1856, regarding the ‘Widows marriage ceremony Act. 1856. Since then he searched within the society the adolescent widows and convinced the families and celebrated the marriages to the widows. Even his son, Chandra, also married an adolescent widow in 1870.

Vidyasagar’s Contribution to Widow Remarriage 

Vidyasagar championed the upliftment of the standing of ladies in India, notably in his native Bengal. Unlike other reformers World Health Organization wanted to line up different societies or systems, he wanted to rework society from inside.

With support from folks like Akshay Kumar Dutta, Vidyasagar introduced the follow of widow remarriages to thought Hindu society. The prevailing custom of Kulin Brahmin matrimony allowed old men — generally on their deathbeds — to marry teenaged or immature women, purportedly to spare their oldsters the shame of having an unmarried girl attain puberty in their house. After such marriages, these girls would usually be left behind in their parental homes, especially if they were subsequently widowed. These enclosed a semi-starvation, hard domestic labour, and close restriction on their freedom to leave the house or be seen by strangers.

Unable to tolerate the maltreatment, many of these girls would run away and turn to prostitution to support them. Ironically, the economic prosperity and lavish lifestyles of town created it attainable for several of them to possess thriving careers once they stepped out of the sanction of society and into the demi-monde. In 1853 it had been calculable that Calcutta had a population of twelve,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.

Bengali alphabet and language reconstruction

He reconstructed the Bengali alphabet associated simplified Bengali typography into an alphabet (actually abugida) of twelve vowels and forty consonants, eliminating the Sanskrit phonemes ৠ (), and ৡ (ḹ) and a few punctuation marks, while adding three new letters, ড় (ṛô), ঢ় (ṛhô), and য় (yô), to reflect contemporary pronunciation. Vidyasagar additionally removed ৱ (wô) though native, as it had merged with ব (bô) in his own dialect (The distinction still exists in eastern dialects even though the letter does not). He contributed considerably to Bengali and literature, with one in every of his works, Bôrṇô Pôrichôy ("Character Identification"), being thought of a classic. 

Books authored by Vidyasagar

Bangala-r Itihaas (1848)

Jeebancharit (1850)

Bodhadoy (1851)

Upakramanika (1851)

Bidhaba Bibaha Bishayak Prostab

Borno porichoy (1854)

kotha mala(1856)

Sitar Bonobas(1860)

Vidyasagar’s contribution to Women Education 

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, beside several different active reformers, opened schools for girls. This was as a result of, for him, educational reform was much more important than any other reform. He believed that the standing of girls and every one types of injustice and inequalities that they face may be modified solely through education. 

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar worked endlessly to produce equal education to all or any men and ladies regardless of their caste, religion and gender. He allowed individuals from lower castes in his Indic school that was meant just for higher caste men. 

Vidyasagar worked to uplift the standing of girls in Asian nation, especially in his native Bengal. He was a social reformer and needed to alter the orthodox Hindu society from inside. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar introduced the follow of widow wedding and worked against matrimony. 

During his time period, Vidyasagar had written many books and thus enriched the Bengali education system to a great extent. Till date, the books written by him square measure scan by all.

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was so an excellent temperament and a reformer. Today, Asian nation wants such dedicated, humble and determined personalities UN agency will bring all styles of needed reforms by operating only for the betterment of the society, over and above their own interest.

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar: Death 

He was awarded the title of ‘Vidyasagar’, from the ‘Sanskrit College’ in city. The Indic word, ‘Vidya’ means that data and ‘Sagar’ was Ocean. So ‘Vidya Sagar’ means ‘Ocean of Knowlege’. He wrote many books on the social issues and the need of reforming the Orthodox beliefs. Anil Kumar Gain, the famous Mathematician founded ‘Vidyasagar University’ in Calcutta to honour Ishwara Chandra Vidyasagar. Ishwara Chandra Vidyasagar died at the age of 70 on 29 July 1891.

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