All these he did mostly as a loner fighting on different fronts simultaneously against both the orthodox Hindus of those days and the orientalist Englishmen. He was the target of most personal attacks at that time from the cream of the Calcutta society for his consistent actions but he was singleminded in his pursuit for doing things which he thought best. After his birth, his grandfather called him ’erebachur’ in Bengali meaning bull calf. - very obstinate. Iswar Chandra was true that all through his life without caring for his sufferings and financial losses.

Let us look at the period of Iswar Chandra when he was born. In 1820,. Bengal was in ferment in terms of the clash between the orthodox section of the Calcutta Hindus and the emerging group of young men looking for western knowledge and education through English with the setting up of Hindu College in 1817. Iswar Chandra Bandyopadhyay born in a poor family of pundits and Brahmin preachers. got his initial education in a village school in his village in Birsingha in Midnapore district and excelled his studies in school y with his quick grasp of subjects and sharp memory.

Iswar went to Calcutta for higher studies in 1828 and from 1829 he was a student of Sanskrit college adjacent to Hindu College, till 1841. This period of Iswar Chandra in Sanskrit College was most crucial in shaping his mind about his future goals. It was an extraordinary feat of his intellectual acumen that he was not overwhelmed by the young Derozians next door in the Hindu College which was the fashion in those days of the brightest Hindu kids of Calcutta families.

Iswar closely followed the developments, witnessed how the orientalists were losing the ideological battle. Macaulay's decision in 1835 opened up a new window for English education limiting it to the urban elite of Kolkata. Iswar also observed how these young Derozians were showing spirit of inquiry while blindly rejecting the old Hindu rituals. Iswar had a mind of his own. He appreciated the adventurous spirit of the young Bengal group for knowledge and more knowledge but rejected the excesses. He decided that while accepting the English as the language for seeking new knowledge, the Bengali language has to be modernised to make it easier for studies and writing. His goal was set.

After getting his degree from Sanskrit College and empowered with both western knowledge and orientalist education including complete command over Sanskrit language and literature, Iswar served for four years at Fort William College as head pandit. He improved his skills in English language. He started working for bringing new style to the Bengali grammar and language to make it easier and reader savvy. He also began his connection with Tattvavodhini journal which he backed along with his close friend Akshoy Kumar Datta, a legendary exponent of science education in Bengal at that time and one of the pioneers of the knowledge based movement that took over after the Derozians lost in the social churning process of Bengal. Iswar Chandra resigned from Sanskrit College differing with the authorities on how to bring about educational reforms. He was still not financially comfortable as he had a large poor family to look after. But the westernized pandit told Rsamay Datta with whom he differed, ‘I ill rather sell potatoes and patals in the market rather than serve any institution against my principle’

What followed was something unthinkable for an educated Bengali belonging to a poor family in 1840s. Iswar Chandra founded two business firms Sanskrit Press and Sanskrit Press Depository for the publication of Sanskrit text books and literature. He also started writing Bengali text books. Sanskrit College was feeling his absence, that innovative efforts during last four years were missing. Iswar was again made Prof: of Literature in 1850 and in 1851, Iswar took over as the principal of Sanskrit College. He was then only 31.

The period from 1851 to 1858 was the golden period in his career. He did multiple activities in the areas of strengthening Bengali language, setting up girls schools and colleges as also taking part and leading the agitation for widow remarriage and finally getting it legislated n 1856. Iswar Chandra was the busiest man during these eight years. He cared for nothing excepting work, work and work. His enemies in Hindu society constantly questioned him on his faith and rituals but he rarely cared to enter into a discussion. Once he told a friend’ I have no time to think about religion, there are so much work to do for the people of poor Bengal that I don’t feel any need to think of other things.’

However his strong individuality and singlemindedness created both social and family problems for him in his later years. In fact the period from 1859 till his death in 1891 was marked by many setbacks in his personal life which affected the pace of his work. He had business acumen, earned enough money but he continued his donations to all who needed. In the last two decades of his life, he had illnesses and mentally also he was bitter at the treatment he got from the lazy selfish middle class society of Calcutta.

Iswar Chandra was closely involved with English periodical Hindu Patriot of Harish Mukherjee and Soma Prakash, a Bengali journal. He was a pioneer in writing books in Bengali for beginners. With Varnaparichay, he started a course in Bengali reading and writing which opened the uncharted road for improving the language and making it simple for common students. As the well known literary historian Gopal Halder said ‘Vanrnaparichay is the first book for beginners and shows scientific accuracy in systematising the Bengali orthography step by step from the simple alphabets’.

Long before Bakim Chandra Chatterjee started writing, Iswar Chandra wrote Betal Panchavimsati and followed it up with JivanCharit in 1849 and Bodhodaya in 1851. At higher level, he wrote Sakuntala in 1854 and Sitar Banavas in 1860. Iswar Chandra’s writing style reflect different aspects of the great man, the scientifically minded educationist as also a great humanist and dayarsagar, the sea of kindness.

But this great mind has to be remembered mostly for his modernist views on education. In fact , many Bengali historians call him as the first thinker of modern education in India. More than 150 years ago Iswar Chandra recommended that Indian education must have knowledge of the science and civilization of the western world and the regional languages will be the medium of education while English and Sanskrit are to be the link languages.

Today in 2024, this seems so relevant. Similarly, his secular ideas and strong determination to fight all superstitions, both religious and social should give us lessons about the need for fight against the forces in India which want to divide the country once again on the basis of religion. The battle which Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar fought in 19th century, remains more relevant in the second decade of 21sr century. (IPA Service)