Bengal’s Renaissance man gets caught in the crosshairs of an ugly political slugfest
The body politic of Bengal has been ugly off late. Violence, bad language and then you have the whole issue around Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar, a man often considered the Renaissance man in Bengal.
It is rather sad that a visionary and well educated man like him has been dragged into petty politics. The debate around statue vandalism is for another day, but as someone who likes to soak in stories around great people, I was always fascinated by the story of how despite massive odds a young Ishwar studied under street lights, when his poor parents did not have the wherewithal to provide gas lights.
At a time when education has seen its fair share of highs and lows, the story of Ishwar has always made me a better person if not wiser. The story of how a Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar actually tied a small bit of his hair to the lamppost and then kept on studying to gain wisdom was a story often passed on via elders. Everytime he would start dosing off, the strain on his hair would make him alert about what his sole aim in life was.
Born on September 26, 1820 in West Bengal to poor Brahmin peasants, Ishwar had the knack to learn and grasp things fast. With no gaslight at home, his time was spent studying under streetlights.
Having learnt the basics of Sanskrit at a village school, he set out for a higher purpose moving to Calcutta with his father. The story of how he learned English numerals was also a thing of intrigue. He followed the mile-stone labels to get abreast with the numerals.
He was well versed in the Vedanta, vyakaran, Literature and other aspects of Sanskrit which he picked up in Sanskrit College.
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
It was because of his perfect command over Sanskrit that the luminary got the title Vidyasagar which meant Ocean of Knowledge in English.
Vidyasagar cleared his law exam in 1839.
By 1841 at 21 he was the head of the Sanskrit department at Fort William College.
He wore several hats as writer, philosopher and a supporter of humanity.
Vidyasagar spearheaded a revolution that he brought about in Bengali education system refining Bengali language education. His book, ‘Borno Porichoy’ is still a compulsory read for those who want to learn Bengali alphabets.
He made deep impact with his work on education, especially for girls.
As a man of the movement he spokeup on the cause of widow remarriage. He also reconstructed and reformed Bengali typography.
On Vidyasagar’s death on July 29, 1891, Kobiguru Rabindranath Tagore had famously quoted, “One wonders how God, in the process of producing forty million Bengalis, produced a man!”
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar made headlines when his bust was vandalized in Kolkata during a clash between Trinamool Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party cadres.
The bust was desecrated during a roadshow of the BJP chief Amit Shah. Installed about 20 years ago, the bust was inside a glass case in the college main office.
Since then the two parties have seen pitched battles with a massive war of words. On social media, the cadres in support of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar has replaced their DP with Vidyasagar’s picture.
Stone pelting and mob violence became an order of the day.
The BJP has meanwhile rubbished the allegation on them saying that the gates were shut. and the bust was inside a room, which would have presumably been locked.
While Mamata Banerjee is fighting a prestige battle this election, the BJP is already facing the outsider tag in Bengal.
Vidyasagar spent his last 18 years among Santhal tribals in present day Jharkhand, where he started India’s first school for Santhal girls.
As India heads for counting day and awaits it’s future leader, the memory of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar should not be scarred by petty chatter and politics.
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