Biography

The Biography of Famous Personalities of India will tell you about the controversies, the dark sides of a person that you may have never heard of.

Living Accountant Breathing Science, Marriage and Education of C.V. Raman

Living Accountant Breathing Science

One evening Raman was returning from his office in a tramcar. He saw the nameplate of the ‘Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science’ at 210, Bow Bazaar Street. Immediately he got off the tram and went in. Dr. Amritlal Sircar was the Honorary Secretary of the Association. There were spacious rooms and old scientific instruments, which could be used for the demonstration of experiments.

Raman asked whether he could conduct research there in his spare time. Dr. Sircar gladly agreed. Raman took up a house adjoining the Association. A door was provided between his house and the laboratory. During the daytime, he would attend his office and carry out his duties. His mornings and nights were devoted to research. This gave him full satisfaction. So he continued his ceaseless activities in Calcutta.

His work was interrupted by a transfer to Rangoon for about a year in 1909, and also to Nagpur, in 1910. At both these places, he continued his experiments at his residence, with limited, insignificant facilities. Fortunately, in 1911, he was transferred back to Calcutta and could continue his work at the Indian Association for Cultivation of Science.

Marriage

Raman had cleared his FCS examination at the age of 18 in 1907. Once, he saw a 13 years old girl playing a Thyagaraja Keerthana on the Veena. He was a great lover of music and was deeply impressed by her performance. Against all conventions of that time, he arranged his marriage with her. Her name was Lokasundari.

The saying “there is always a woman behind every great man” is very true in Raman’s life. Lady Lokasundari Raman was a wonderful wife and happily interested in mothering all her husband’s students. But for her ever loving care and shouldering the unavoidable worries of the day to day existence, Professor Raman would hardly have been able to devote himself so wholeheartedly to scientific research.

In 1907, when Raman was just over 18 years old, he along with his wife went to Calcutta to join the Finance Department there as Assistant Accountant General. Within a week of his reaching Calcutta, he noticed, while he was on his way to work, a sign board which read “The Indian Association for Cultivation of Sciences”, and this was to play a major role in his life, and in the very history of scientific culture in our country.

Ever since Raman was part of the IACS, he played a dual role. He would work efficiently as a finance officer all the day, and after office hours, move to the IACS, where he would immerse himself in research until late night. During these years, his papers appeared in International journals such as Nature and Philosophical Magazine, published in England, and the Physical Review, published in the USA. He started communicating with the physicists round the world at this time. He also liked to teach and would give popular lectures in Calcutta. People loved his lectures as they would include live demonstrations that made even non-specialists understand his work.

Education

Raman finished his schooling at a very young age of 11. He spent the next two years studying in his father’s college. When he was barely 13, he went to Madras to join the B.A. course in Presidency college. Raman was failed to win a word of praise initially from his teachers. Besides being young in his class, Raman was also quite unimpressive in his appearance. He could recall the incident occurred during his first English class that he attended. Observing Raman, his English Professor E.H.Elliot asked him whether he really belonged to the junior B.A. class. Raman immediately answered him ‘yes’ in affirmative tone. By the end of the course, he stunned all the skeptics and stood first in the B.A. Examinations.

At 15, Raman passed his B.A. exam and got gold medals for Physics and for English. He passed his M.A. examination in 1907, at the age of 19. Being so young, it would surprise even his teachers to believe that this inconspicuous child could be a college student at all. His Professors in the Presidency College found him to be so knowledgeable, that they recognized that Raman did not need classroom instructions, and they exempted him from attending all science classes.

Raman was an extraordinary observer. At 16, while doing a routine experiment on his college spectrometer, he observed some diffraction bands. We all do these experiments, but rarely does anybody observe the findings critically, investigate the data, and analyze the same thoroughly. Raman’s observations in that routine experiment constituted the subject of his first research paper, which was published by one of the most prestigious scientific journals of that time, namely, the Philosophical Magazine. In the very same issue, he published yet another article on a totally different topic: a short note on a new method he devised to measure a liquid’s surface tension.

When Raman completed his B.A. education, it was suggested that he go to England for further studies and take up the Indian Civil Services (ICS) examination. It was a very prestigious exam in those days and very rarely did non-Britishers get through it. Yet, Raman impressed his teachers so much that they urged him to take it up at a very early age. Despite Raman’s brilliance, the plan was not to work.

Raman had to undergo a medical examination before he could qualify to take the ICS test, and the civil surgeon of Madras declared him medically unfit to travel to England. This was the only exam that Raman failed in his life. Later in his life, he remarked in his characteristic style about the man who disqualified him, “I shall ever be grateful to this man”, but at that time, he simply put the attempt behind him and went on to study Physics. Subsequently, after he completed his M.A., he took the Civil Services competitive exam for the Finance Department (FCS). Sure enough, he topped the score in that exam.

The Biography of Famous Personalities of India will tell you about the controversies, the dark sides of a person that you may have never heard of.

Anandamath and Vande Mataram Bankim Chandra Chatterjee

Anandamath

The is the temple, the mosque, the vihara and the gurudwara of Mother India. Cast aside all Fear From your heart.

Anandamath was published in 1882. The historical background of this novel is not quite clear. The story is not compact but seems to be some disjointed events put together. Yet for its subject matter and quick movement of the plot in has become very attractive. A great ideal – love for one’s country and work without reward – is its subject matter The Monk Rebellion is a matter of history.

Bankim Chandra’s story of ‘Anandamath’ depicts the struggle for freedom ANANDAMATH that took place in Bengal in the year 1773. That was the year of a terrible famine in Bengal. The white men who ruled were indifferent to the hardship of the people and the people feared their masters. Life in Bengal was full of misery. But people did not have the courage to talk about it openly.

So there was darkness in Bengal and the silence of misery. In such an age one noble man, Satyananda, yearns to end the sufferings of his Motherland. The country has become a wilderness, darkness and silence rule; and a lonely voice asks, “Is it possible that my wish will be fulfilled?” It is the voice of Satyananda, yearning to bring freedom and happiness to his country.

The story of ‘Anandamath’ begins with a description of the terrible famine in Bengal, an a village called Padachinha there is a wealthy man. He is Mahendra; his wife is Kalyani. They have a child. The famine forces them to leave the village. They get lost in the forest. Kalyani and the child are captured by famine-stricken people. Fortunately she escapes with the child. Satyananda is the chief of a group of sanyasins called the Santanas. Kalyani takes shelter with him. He sends Bhavananda, a sanyasin, to search for Kalyani’s husband. Bhavananda comes upon Mahendra. Both of them are captured by soldiers of the British Company which was ruling Bengal. They are bound with ropes and dumped into a bullock cart, which was carrying boxes of money. Bhavananda and Mahendra manage to escape by cutting the ropes. Later the sanyasins seize the money-laden boxes.

Mahendra is reunited with his wife. He joins the Santana group with her consent; he wants to take part in the freedom struggle. In the meantime Kalyani is drowned, and saved by Jeevananda, another sanyasin. He leaves her with his wife and his sister.

The famine grows worse. The village is nothing but a wilderness. Wild animals from the forest roam about there and robbers prowl. Warren Hastings, the Governor General of India, appoints one Captain Thomas is to suppress the Santanas—Thomas is defeated and killed. On the side of the Santanas, after a heroic fight, Bhavananada breathes his last with the song ‘Vande Mataram’ on his lips.

Victorious, Satyananda returns to Anandamatha. There he is met by a great man who prophesies, “The era of Muslim power is over. Put an end to this war; there have been enough deaths. The British will be in power and right now it is not possible to conquer them. They will continue to rule as long as the Hindus are ignorant, degraded and weak.” So, Satyananda is still angry and vexed, for he does not want the British to rule, either. That is the end of the novel.

The story sustains interest to the end. As he watches the joys and sorrows, the victories and defeats of the characters, he is eager to find out what happens next. Besides, these men and women are not gods and goddesses, but men and women like us. The Santanans, too, are ordinary folk, sons of the soil, who have dedicated themselves to the service of their Motherland.

‘Anandamath’ is mainly a novel of patriotism. It is the story of people who live and die for their country. Here even the sanyasins play an admirable role in the struggle of freedom. Shanti, the wife of Jeevananda, is one such heroic sanyasini.

She dons men’s clothes and when necessary wears moustaches and a beard. She boldly moves about in the midst of the enemies. She even succeeds in deceiving officers of the British army. She wins their confidence and sends information to Satyananda.

Though ‘Anandamath’ is based on the history of our land not all of it is pure history. In fact there was no institution by name ‘Anandamath’. Bankim Chandra made use of history, but created a number of characters. And he gave a novel, which ennobles the reader. It enables the reader to escape from the petty thoughts of selfishness. It gives unforgettable pictures of men and women who live only for the country.

Whatever may be the virtue of Anandamath as a novel, its popularity as an absorbing story and the respect that it commands in undeniable. By writing this novel Bankim Chandra has greatly helped to arouse our desire for independence. On the one hand ‘Anandamath’ inspired Swami Vivekananda to establish his Mission and directed and guided the Anushilan Samiti in the path of acquiring independence, on the other, the song of salutation in Anandamath, Vandemataram, first inspired the people of Bengal and later that of the whole of India, to fight for the country’s independence and eventually it was given the pride of place as the National Song of India.

Vande Mataram

Because the British keep India in subjection by the sword. And she can be Freed only by the sword. Those who talk of winning India’s independence by peaceful means do not know the British, I am sure. Please say Vande Mataram.

Bankim Chandra Chatterjee struck a new path in the realm of novels. Until then a novel was generally a cock and bull story, full of unbelievable incidents. ‘Durgeshanandini’ broke this tradition. It began a new trend. The story by itself was very interesting. At the same time it was about persons like us – good persons and bad persons, short-tempered persons and patient persons. Moreover what happened to the characters, who prospered and who suffered was no longer the most important thing to the reader. He began to ask himself: why did this happen this way? Who was right? Who was wrong?’ People no longer read novels just to kill time. In addition to entertainment the novels taught people to think objectively.

The other notable contribution by Bankim Chandra is, of course, ‘Vande Mataram.’ It became the sacred battlecry of freedom fighters. It became such a source of inspiration that the British officers were enraged at the very mention of this. People were sent to prison just because they sung this song.

‘Vande Mataram’ has an honoured place in independent India. It keeps bright in the hearts of the people the ideal of dedication to our country.

In ‘Anandamath’ Bhavananda says, “Our Motherland is our Mother. We have no other mother, no father, no wife, no children, no home and no family; we have only this Sujala, Suphala, Malayajasheetala.”

In the same novel Shanti says to her husband Jeevananda, “My Lord, you are my Guru. Can I teach you your sacred duty? You are a hero. Need I teach you the way of a hero? Let us now chant Vande Mataram.”

Men like Bhavananda and women like Shanti live for ever in our hearts. It was Bankim Chandra who created such characters.

The National Song reads as follows :

Vande Mataram!
Sujalam, Suphalam, Malayaja Shitalam,
Shasyashyamalam, Mataram!
Shubhrajyothsna Pulakitayaminim,
Phullakusmita drumadala Shobhinim
Suhasinim Sumadhura bhashinim
Sukhadam Varadam, Mataram!

It was first sung at the 1896 session of the Indian National Congress.

The Biography of Famous Personalities of India will tell you about the controversies, the dark sides of a person that you may have never heard of.

Chatterjee’s Social Issues About Hinduism and Women

Social Issues

No study is likely to be Fruitful in results if carried on without a system.

Bankim Chandra Chatterjee worked in the field of journalism too. Those were the days of few journals. He felt that there was need for a journal offering variety of reading material. The periodical should, of course, publish stories and novels, but it should publish articles on modern science; it should also include articles, which stimulate thinking. So in April 1872 he brought out the first issue of ‘Banga Darshan’.

In the very first issue of Banga Darshan Bankim wrote: ‘I have no ill feeling towards either English or Englishmen ………… It is very good to study English as much as possible…………. (but) pure silver is better than gilt brass…………. A true Bengali is better than one who poses as an Englishman…………

Bengal will not progress as long as educated people and scholars do not express themselves in Bengali.’

Thus one of the aims of Bankim was to interest people in science and in the problems of the progress of their society and their country. It was a time when educated Indians spoke only English instead of their own language. So Bankim Chandra wanted to foster the love of the Bengali language in the educated Bengalis, and to make them share their knowledge with others through their language. This was his second aim.

Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore has said that ‘Banga Darshari was like the first rains of the month of Ashadh. This month of the Indian calendar falls in June-July. Its first rains bring a new liveliness to nature. ‘Banga Darshan’ created such a liveliness in Bengal. People eagerly looked forward to its issues. Besides, Banga Darshan made possible the publication of numerous stories, poems, novels, plays and articles of criticism; it also paved the way for later journals.

In any list of good writers of India, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee is bound to find a high place. Most of his writings are in Bengali. But they upheld Indian culture. He wrote excellent books on Hinduism and critically examined its teachings. He offered his own views on necessary social reforms; he explained the mental attitudes necessary for the country’s progress. Several people opposed him and many laughed at him. His views on Lord Krishna were resented by orthodox people. But Bankim Chandra did not budge.

He courageously continued on his own independent path. Most of the educated people were attracted to the ways and fashions of the English and to the English language. To such people he declared that no man, however highly educated, need be ashamed to use his own language. He declared that people could progress only through their own language. We need not hate any language; we ought to use every language to add to our storehouse of knowledge. But if we are to progress there is only one royal road – and that is our own language and no other.

Bankim Chandra Chatterjee is one of those who stimulated in Indians the desire for independence. His writings brought home to people the meaning of nationalism. ‘Anandamath’ is a magnificent novel of noble patriotism.

In his social novels Bankim Chandra Chatterjee was bold for his time in creating characters who broke with traditional codes of behaviour, but he was careful to see that in the end the conventional prevailed over the unconventional. In his two best social novels, Vishavriksha (1873) and Krishnakanter Will (1878), he explores the questions of extramarital love and remarriage of widows, but by means of suicide and murder he clears the way for convention to win out.

He was guilty of helping the right as he saw it to overcome the wrong by undisguised authorial intervention in the affairs of his characters. However, Bankim Chandra’s works possessed vitality. In the numerous, short chapters, dramatic events happened frequently, humour appeared everywhere, and there was movement, action, and feeling. Many of the names of his fictional characters have passed into the idiom of the language.

About Hinduism

This country belongs to us. This is our Motherland. We are the children of this soil. You have no more moral or legal right to rule over this country than we have to rule over your England.

Bankim Chandra Chatterjee became an adult at a time when the educated people of Bengal were beginning seriously to re-examine their ideals. The easy acceptance of everything Western and the derogation of everything Hindu had by this time given rise to a strong Hindu reaction.

Bankim Chandra became a spokesman for the orthodox point of view. He wrote a book on the Lord Krishna which showed a personal God with attributes more lofty than those of the Christian God.

Bankim Chandra defended the institution of caste, though he acknowledged some of its evils. In one of his last novels, Anandamath, he described a strongly disciplined order of sanyasis who revolted against the medieval Muslim rulers of Bengal. These sanyasis worshiped the mother-goddess Durga, who became to Bengali readers a powerful symbol of religion and patriotism. A long poem in this book, Vande Mataram (Hail to the Mother), became after Bankimchandra’s death the anthem of Hindu nationalists in the early 20th century.

Bankim Chandra’s impact on nationalist thought and action was based on his teaching of a renewed faith in Hinduism, and occasionally this was used to exacerbate communal antagonism between Hindus and Muslims. Though he proposed no specific plan for gaining independence or for governing the country after independence, his ideas blossomed in other men’s minds and were a force in the Indian nationalist movement.

Towards the end of his life, Bankim Chandra turned his attention to write about spirituality – the very essence of Hindu civilisation. A Life of Krishna and a book on the Essence of Religion, a rendering of the Bhagavad Gita and a commentary on the Vedas were his aims to give to his fellow countrymen. The first two he managed to complete, and the rendering of the Bhagavad Gita was three parts finished, but the commentary on the Vedas, which should have been a priceless possession, never got into the stage of execution.

Death, in whose shadow he had so long dwelt, with his ailing health, took the pen from his hand before he could accomplish this feat. Yet his contributions to literature are enough to immortalise his memory.

About Women

I worship my motherland For she truly is my mother.

Bengal was going through the first phase of modernity in the nineteenth century which brought many new tensions within gender relationships, love, marriage, illicit affairs, jealousy, break up of marriage and similar other issues. And all of these issues we find in Bankim’s novels. Bankim was endowed with a remarkable literary genius and is often regarded as a literary monarch of Bengal. He was first writer to portray women as individuals in his works within the framework of realistic society.

Bankim Chandra Chatterjee was the first to introduce the pre-marital romance in his novels in Bengali literature and which was completely in opposition of the male-dominated orthodox society of that time. He brought into picture a very different kind of image of women which was baffling for the existing social structure of that time. He deals with the emotional and sexual tangles among women within the conservative society. He also depicts the frustration of Bengali women within these patriarchal structures. He questions the values and the beliefs of male-orthodox society and resents women’s roles determined by conservative society merely as a respectable wife and mother with no individuality of their own.

Although his views and ideas were assisted by the socio-political milieu of that time because there was British rule at that time and western education was taught in schools and colleges which supported such kinds of ideas and concepts but at the same time the conservative society of that time was completely in the opposition of this new and different image of women portrayed by Bankim in his novels. They believed that these new kinds of attitudes would spoil women and then they would become rebellious and assertive and would question the existed male patriarchal order and they would threaten its security.

The women had no life of their own. Their function was to keep the family together, adoring their husbands, taking care of their children within the domestic atmosphere. They did not have an identity and individuality of their own. Women’s education was derived from two sources – knowledge of epics largely conveyed through the oral tradition and their own work within the household. They were born to serve others. Their personal feelings and desires were not taken into consideration.

Bankim’s main concern was the issues like his love of humanity and his anxiety to work to raise the voice of the oppressed women. His women characters assert his deep understanding of the human mind and his remarkable power of delineation. His novels also portray many defiant heroines like Ayesha in Durgeshnandini, Prafulla in Devi Chaudhrani and Shanti in Anandamath and many other characters.

Bankim Chandra as a novelist was chiefly concerned with suffering of these women. He has depicted the crisis of individual will and the problem of agency that his characters have to face. Women have really powerful roles in almost all of his novels. One of the important point is that Bankim has situated his women in the past and not in present social milieu because he had a kind of fear in his mind that these women, so inflamed with passion and desires, could not be accepted by the conservative orthodox society. He has shown the courage to reveal the attraction between men and women even outside the conjugal life which was not acceptable in orthodox society and which that society did everything to suppress.

It is said that Bankim derived this courage and strength by reading European literature. On the one hand he has made his women characters to question the social injustice done to them without any serious fault committed by them and on the other hand there was a conflict within his mind which forced him to cling to autocratic males who dominated social life.

He brought into play the conservatism of the society even when acknowledging the power of socially transgressive romantic love. He reveals the secret passions and desires of Hindu wives and widows and men drawn into clandestine relationship with others outside their marital life. The very striking point about him is that although he represents the conflicts between personal aspirations and cultural practices and emotional and sexual needs of his characters but he has made all these clandestine and transgressive thoughts and feelings invariably ending in death and disaster. The women characters once deviating from social code and following their own desires meet disaster and death and are left with no other alternative.

Although a taste for transgression could be detected in all his novels and it is central theme in Vishavriksha, Krishanakanter’s Will, Indira. In his novel Vishavriksha he has tried to morally caution men and women of illicit passion. Here he has adopted a very conservative approach. This illicit passion is not justified in his eyes even when it leads to the marriage of Nagendra and Kundanandini, two characters in this novel. It seems that here he is giving a message that once drawn to the life of immoral acts, men and women are unable to redeem themselves.

He is making a point that lack of judgment is responsible for the growth of this illicit love and passion. Here, the widow Kundanandini as forced to end her life once Nagendra and his wife are reunited after having both realized their folly. Nagendra feels that he has fallen a prey to carnal temptation by loving and marrying Kundanandini and his wife Suryamukhi realizes her fault for not having thwarted her husband’s marriage with her.

At the same time he is upholding family values and also quick to condemn any injustice done to a wife as in the case of Bharmar in Krishnakanter’s Will. He is on the side of wronged wife Bharmar who has the courage to say to her husband that she will respect him as long as he is worthy of respect. This point also illustrates the idea that to what extent he justifies the conduct of his characters.

Another example from his novel Devi Chaudhrani in which Bankim has once again proven his idealization of domestic life by the way how Prafulla, the protagonist who is so defiant and courageous that she participates in the freedom struggle against British Government is finally made to return to her in-law’s home and accepting her role as a respectable wife leaving her previously powerful role as a great freedom fighter. Now here as well he has portrayed a very different image of a woman because at that time it was very unnatural for women to participate in independence movement and they always remained behind purdah and seclusion, Bankim here shows the freedom struggle led by a woman, Prafulla. This proved to be a powerful message for the women who gradually began to come outside of their homes to participate in the freedom struggle.

In his short story Indira, He has also described the issue of transgression but in a very different way by making a husband falling in the illicit love with his wife not knowing her true identity. Here he has represented a very triumphant figure of woman. Here the speaker-narrator is a woman who tells her own story, this technique of narration was very new in the Bengali novel. It clearly shows the importance of women in society. We can not imagine a woman who is so individualistic engineers in the medieval literature of Bengal. Here Indira shuns the hesitation, fear and the Sastric shackles of medieval woman and establishes her superiority in worldly affairs.

Here, Bankim has represented a new kind of woman apart from the role of woman as mother, wife or sister assigned by the orthodox Hindu society. Bankim is here asserting a woman’s identity which was missing in Bengali society of that time. Here individuality is the essence of Indira’s personality. Here Bankim is depicting the inner conflict in the Bengali woman ‘modern’ and yet conformist under social compulsions slowly discovering her individuality and identity. She is the champion of women’s place in society.

In his novels we mainly find a struggle between individual and social being shackled by conventions. In this process the individuality of women suffers most. They have been denied of their primary rights and at the time the opportunities of self-fulfillment. At that time women were deprived of the rights of education, inheritance, free choices in male dominated society. On the one hand they are seen clinging to the social roots and on the other hand fighting against the blind conformism and social tyranny.

In a sense Bankim exposes the false moral conventions of Bengali society without developing empathy for the victims he has portrayed in his novels. He did not show the compassion towards the victims and at the same time, he could not treat the sinner with love, and kindness.

The Biography of Famous Personalities of India will tell you about the controversies, the dark sides of a person that you may have never heard of.

Religious Commentaries, National Spirit and Essays of Chatterjee

Religious Commentaries

In our work, we do not differentiate between Hindu or Muslim, Buddhist or Sikh, Parsee or Pariah. We are all brothers here—all Children of the same Mother India.”

Bankim Chandra Chatterjee’s novels made him famous. But he has also written excellent books which are not novels. ‘Krishna Charitra’, ‘Dharmatattva’ (Philosophy of Religion), ‘Devatattva’ (Principle of Divinity) and a commentary on ‘Srimad-Bhagavad Geetha are some of his other books. He wrote articles on Hinduism both in English and in Bengali. He had deeply studied choice books in English. Besides, he had himself grown up in an orthodox Hindu family.

Bankim Chandra Chatterjee was an original thinker, too. The ‘Krishna Charitra’ is a fine work. To most Hindus Krishna is the incarnation of God and so they worship him. But there are many legends and beliefs associated with Krishna which sometimes make one think. ‘Does Krishna deserve to be worshipped?’ One such belief, for example, is that Krishna had sixteen thousand wives.

Bankim Chandra had studied the ‘Mahabharatha’, the ’Harivamsha’ and the Puranas which narrate the story of Lord Krishna’s life. In his work he examines the accounts contained in each of these books, and what we may accept and what we should reject, and give reasons. According to him there is no higher religion or nobler way of life than that preached by Krishna; Krishna is holiness himself. He was full of compassion and lived only for the sake of justice. He desired nothing for himself. Bankim Chandra shows that Krishna is an ascetic even though he lived in the midst of people.

The Krishna Charitra and Dharma Tatwa by Bankim Chandra are two large volume of essays on religious topics. In his Krishna Charitra he has wholeheartedly believed Lord Krishna to be an Avatar, an incarnation of God. He has depicted Lord Krishna the man—as the foremost man and also as an ideal person. To establish Sri Krishna as an ideal person Bankim Chandra has quoted profusely from Mahabharat, Haribangsa, the Puranas etc. to support his contention.

So Bankim Chandra has written, “Krishna is a homely and family man, a politician a fighter, inflicts punishment, a meditator, and a missionary; an ideal person for the family man, the kings and soldiers, for the statesman, for the meditators, for man of religion and in general, and ideal person in his totality”.

Bankim Chandra has tried to establish the greatness and the historicity of Sri Krishna basing his arguments chiefly on the conversations of Krishna as told in Mahabharat and the strange stories of Krishna’s life.

Bankim Chandra Chatterjee wrote his distinctive book Dharmatatwa for the true and correct interpretation of the message of the Geeta and for its wide-spread circulation. In this book he has identified the cultivation of the ideal of truth in life with religion. To inspire all men to cultivate human virtues in their life, is the chief aim of Bankim Chandra Chatterjee in this book. Such easy and lucid interpretation of an important religious topic is rare in Bengali literature.

The religious message expounded in the Geeta has been truly and systematically interpreted in Dharmatatwa and Bankim Chandra Chatterjee has established it in its own pristine glory. In this way he has sung the glory of human virtues in all his works. This was due to the influence of Bengal or that of the Indian Renaissance.

National Spirit

The Motherland is our only mother. Our Motherland is higher than heaven. Mother India is our mother. We have no other mother. We have no Father, no brother, no sister, no wife, no children, no home, no hearth—all we have is the Mother.

Bankim Chandra Chatterjee was 19 years of age when India’s First War of independence known in the West as the “Sepoy Mutiny”, was waged. The following year (1858) India had lost the war. Bankim was finishing his studies at the time, and in that same year graduated from the University of Calcutta. The British authorities immediately appointed him to the post of Deputy Magistrate.

Young Bankim Chandra had suffered a shock in seeing the failure of India’s First War of Independence. He could not rest until he knew why the great movement for liberation ended up being crushed in the manner in which it was, and that too with the help of many Indians themselves. In his effort to discover the causes of that failure he set his sharp intellect to the task of analysing the great problems that India was facing. Influenced and inspired by three great figures of that epoch, Raja Rammohan Roy, Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar and Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi he soon recognised the existence of a number of startling facts.

Foremost among these was that the people of India were fast becoming denationalised by English manners and customs, English fashions, and English whiskies and wines- not to mention the Christian missionaries who had made Bengal their storm centre. The British government used their educational system to further this agenda after abolishing and outlawing the traditional Indian education systems. Chatterji’s soul winced when he perceived that the Indian who spoke good English was more honoured by his own people than the man who spoke and wrote their own tongue exquisitely. Wherever he looked, he saw educated Indians jumping frantically on the bandwagon of British culture.

From the moment he had first learned to think for himself, Bankim Chandra realised that there was a great struggle ahead to reverse the trend and bring physical and cultural freedom to the sacred motherland. He felt that he had his own divinely ordained effort to make in this veritable battle – which he played silently and humbly. If India was to be uplifted, her children must once again create literature and language dynamic and inspiring to enlighten and inspire the entire population of India.

Soon, the profound effect of Bankim Chandra Chatterjee’s novels and essays, with their compelling beauty, subtle humour and inspiring themes could be seen, firstly in Bengal and then spilling over into greater India. Indians who were nurtured on Shakespeare, Milton and Shelley began to read the works of Kalidas, Bhavabhuti, Chandidas and Vidyapula. They turned eagerly to the Puranas, Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita.

Whereas before, elite Indians took pride in their knowledge of the Magna Carta struggle, the times of Oliver Cromwell and the tragedy of Charles the First, they began to relish the ballads of Rajasthan and Maharashtra. A new feeling was born. Millions of Indians began to hold, their heads high once again and talk in terms of “our language”, “our literature”, “our history” and “our country”.

Bankim Chandra Chatterjee was a very refined person. Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, the world famous Nobel Laureate poet of India, has related an incident about him.

There was a gathering. People were talking in-groups. One of them was reading Sanskrit verses composed by him. Bankim was standing nearby. The subject of the composition was patriotism. As the poet read, he made a remark making ! fun of Indians in poverty. When Bankim heard the remark he covered his face and left the place at once.

Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, one of the great sons of India, and Bankim Chandra were acquaintances. The word ‘Bankim’ also means ’that which is bent’. Paramhansa once jokingly asked Bankim Chandra, “What is it that has bent you?” “The kick of the Englishman’s shoe,” Bankim replied. Paramhansa was acquainted with Bankim Chandra’s historical novels, too. When Swami Vivekananda was still known as Narendranath, Paramhansa had sent him to Bankim Chandra.

Essays

When a man is in doubt what to do, he goes wherever he happens to be First called.

Though Bankim Chandra Chatterjee is regarded as a novelist who started a new era in Bengali literature, yet we cannot ignore him as a great essayist who holds a dignified position for his extra-ordinary merit in this branch of literature. For the all round development of Bengali language and literature, Bankim Chandra published a magazine, Banga Darshan in 1872. Banga Darshan was the principal medium for the publication of all his essays.

A revolutionary change came in his prose style through this magazine. A clear, simple and logical language is the life and soul of a literary composition. In the pages of Banga Darshan we find a sincere effort to make the language lively, easy and easily intelligible to the readers.

He picked up various topics and wrote essays on them. There is hardly any topic like, science, literature, sociology, philosophy, religion, history, etc., which he left untouched and had not written essays on them. The volume of essays authored by him are, (1) Bijnan Rahasya (1875), (2) Bibidha Samalochana (1876), (3) Roy Dinabandhu Mitra Bahadurer Jibani (1877), (4) Samya (1879), (5) Prabandha Pustak (1879), (6) Krishna Charitra 1st part (1886) and Krishna Charitra, the complete book, (1892), (7) Bibedha Prabandha 2nd part (1892). Apart from these books of essays Bangiya Sahitya Parishad has collected his other essays scattered here and there, and published them in a single volume with the title Bibidha”. Besides all these his Lok Rahasya (1874) and Kamala Kanter Daptar (1875) are essays with a different taste.

In the essays published in Lok Rahasya and Kamala Kanter Dapter Bankim Chandra has revealed his thoughts and opinions about national consciousness and social problems, through subtle irony and light hearted humour. These two books are allegorical by nature. With the help of allegory he has criticised the contemporary Bengali society and the Bengali people through irony, ridicule and subtle humour. His intention was to awaken the sleeping Bengali people and make them conscious about their own tradition and culture.

His Bijnan Rahasya is a collection of essays where he has chiefly dealt with animal life and astronomical matters. Of course, his essays on astronomical matters are easy and beautifully written and are extremely readable. The dry facts of science, added with the sauce of literary artistry, have made them very interesting and attractive. Though the essays of Bijnan Rahasya are based on the inventions and discoveries of Western scientists, yet for the handling skill of the author, no external influences are visible in them.

His original political thoughts have come out in his essays on political matters and sociology. The direct consequence and the fruit of his political consciousness in his Samya. This is a remarkable book of essays dealing with politics and state matters. We get a clear image of the evil consequences of casteism prevalent in the society and the economic injustice done to the people, in the essays included in this book. He was the first who initiated discussions about the problems of the peasantry and about communism, in Bengali language. Bankim Chandra proclaimed his message about Liberty, Equality and Fraternity, in the pages of Samya.

Bangadesher Krishak is a long and thoughtful essay. Here he not only exposed the misery and suffering of the peasantry of Bengal, the cruel and inhuman tortures inflicted upon them by the Zamindars, the evil laws of the country and the deplorable way of life of the people, but also suggested ways and means for their remedy.

He was the first who showed the way to study and discuss the history of Bengal and the Bengalis, in a scientific manner- He wanted to write the history of Bengal, for the self-assertion of the Bengalis. The literary essays of Bankim Chandra also can claim a distinctive place in Bengali literature.

Influenced by the literary tradition of the West, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee was the first to initiate essay writing in Bengali literature with various literary ingredients. In his essay Geetikabya he has dealt briefly with the signs, its nature and the distinctive qualities of lyrical poetry. Within the very limited space of this essay he has shown the relative differences between epic, drama and lyrical poetry and thereby has shown his originality in literary thoughts. In his essay Sangeet also he has given enough evidence of his matured literary genious.

Bankim Chandra Chatterjee was also a first rate literary critic. He had deep knowledge in English language and literature. He has chiefly tried to assess Bengali literature setting it against the Sanskrit and English literature. His Uttar Charit; Vidyapati O Joydeb; Shakuntala; Miranda O Desdemona are critical essays on literature and they have enriched the treasure-house of literary criticism.

Pure philosophical essays of Bankim Chandra also carry the sure signs or his extraordinary talent and genius. In this type of essays, he has expounded the special features of Indian philosophy in an easily intelligible style and within a very limited space. Of the serious and light subject on which he wrote essays, some are definitely literary successes, e.g., Anukaran, Bhalehas Atyachar, Dharma Ebong Sahitya, Sangeet, Bahubal of BakyabaI, Ramdhan Pod, etc. Both their short length and their manner of presentation make them proper subject for writing essays on.

The Biography of Famous Personalities of India will tell you about the controversies, the dark sides of a person that you may have never heard of.

Literary Career and Fiction of Bankim Chandra Chatterjee

Literary Career

Prose must be written in language that is well understood by its readers. The world would hardly miss those literary works that are mastered by only half-a-dozen pundits.

Bankim Chandra in due course emerged as a great writer in Bengali. He wrote novels and poems. He wrote articles, which stimulated impartial thinking. He became well known outside Bengal, also. His novels have been translated into many Indian languages. He was an exceptionally intelligent man. He read with interest books by all established authors.

Bankim Chandra belonged to an orthodox family. So he was familiar with the Ramayana and the Mahabharatha right from his childhood. These epics made a lasting impression on him. A variety of experiences – some of them sweet, and some bitter – came to him in his life. And these must have been stored in his memory. He had traveled widely. He worked in several offices. So he came across many types of people. They were of different kinds – some good, some bad, some humble, some snobbish, some intelligent and some dull. This vast knowledge of life and men is very well reflected in the characters he created in his novels.

Though Bankim Chandra did not start writing at this time yet this sensitive and creative mind could not remain satisfied with the unpolished and vulgar language of one of two books of this period. In his speech delivered in 1870 a “Bengal Social Science Association” and in an article published in “Calcutta Review” in 1871, he criticised the behaviour of the Bengali young men educated in English and the crude, rough and slang language used in Bengal literature.

At that time many people made the mistake of thinking that he nourished a hatred against the Bengalis and Bengali literature. But later in every page of Banga Darshan, his deep love for the Bengalis and Bengali language and literature was vividly expressed. He thought deeply for the development of the Bengali language and literature, He laid stress on the use of a clear, easy and logical language in literature. All his arguments, remarks and opinions show this penchant. He was surely in favour of English education but nowhere he humiliated or spoke ill of, the Bengalis or the Bengali language.

At this time in Bengal as well as in the whole of India a new wave of awakening came in all aspects of life, through changes in social, religious matters and also in language and literature. Bankim Chandra was also greatly influenced by this awakening of national consciousness. At this time he was transferred to Berhampur in Murshidabad. When he was working at Berhampur in 1869-74 his literary talent truly came to light. In this changed situation of the country, Bankim Chandra proceeded to serve his country and his people through the medium of his mother tongue.

He started publishing a magazine Banga Darshan in 1872 for the upliftment and development of his country, his people, and the culture and literature of the country. Under his leadership and centering around Bo/igcr Darshan a powerful group of writers grew up.

When Bankim started writing, there was a new spirit, an awakening all over Bengal. People thought along new lines. The conditions of our country must improve; we must realize ourshortcomings and improve ourselves – such were the thoughts of the people. Some persons toiled hard to translate these wishes into action.

Raja Rammohan Roy was one such reformer. He worked for a new system of education, for a free flow of new ideas from outside the country and to wipe off the blind beliefs of the people.

Another great son of Bengal, Ishwarachandra Vidyasagar, worked for the progress of Bengali language and society. Many were the people who worked with similar ideas to improve the country. Patriotism grew stronger and a new enthusiasm was in evidence every where. Thus the very atmosphere was inspiring.

Bankim first wrote poems. Then he wrote a novel in English. But after this he began to write novels in, Bengali. He wrote while still in service. Because of constant pinpricks, he grew weary of service. He felt that government service curbed his freedom and challenged his self-respect. So he sought permission to retire, though he was only fifty-three years old.

But his superior officers were displeased with him. So they would not even allow him to retire. When a new Lieutenant Governor, Charles Eliot, was posted, Bankim approached him. He told him that he wished to write books and needed leisure. Eliot agreed. At last Bankim was free. He was retired on a pension of four hundred rupees a month.

Fiction

When, O Master, when shall we see our Mother India in this garh again—so radiant and so cheerful? Only when all the children of the Motherland shall call her Mother in alt sincerity.

Bankim Chandra Chatterjee wrote his first novel, Rajmohan’s Wife in 1864, in English. Thereafter he wrote 14 novels in Bengali from 1865 to 1884. He combined Sanskritized and colloquial Bengali in a manner that made it for the first time an adequate vehicle for expressing a wide range of subjects that hitherto had to be stated in Sanskrit or English. His first Bengali novel, Durgeshnandini (1865), is said to have created a sensation in Calcutta.

Bengalis had read English novelists, like Sir Walter Scott, but Bankim Chandra’s novels were the first that gave them a satisfying semblance of their own world in fictional form. His first three novels were pure romance decked out in historical costume. While the history in these and in later novels with historical themes was often inaccurate, the bravery of the heroes and the beauty, endurance, and self-sacrifice of the heroines served to inspire Bengalis with notions of a glorious past.

Bankim Chandra Chatterjee had founded a journal called ‘Banga Darshan’. ‘Anandamath’ appeared in installments in this monthly journal. People used to read one installment in ‘Banga Darshan’ and wait impatiently for the next installment. In 1882 it appeared in book form. Soon the copies were sold out and the book was reprinted. The second edition, too, was soon sold out. During Bankim Chandra’s lifetime alone, in ten years ‘Anandamath’ was reprinted five times.

Undoubtedly Bankim Chandra’s most famous novel is ‘Anandamath.’ But he wrote several other novels which delighted the readers. One of them is ‘Durgeshanandini’.

‘DurgeshanandinF was first published in 1865. It was so popular that it had to be reprinted thirteen times in twenty- eight years.

Bankim Chandra Chatterjee came to be regarded as one of Bengal’s treasures; this was because of his novels. Readers found reading a Bankim Chandra’s novels an altogether new kind of experience. The people of Bengal were fascinated by his novels. When the novels were translated into other Indian languages they delighted the new readers, also.

Bankim Chandra Chatterjee had given thought to the question of an author’s style. A novelist tells a story. How should he write? His language must be the language of the people – language they can understand; he must write as they speak, thought Bankim Chandra. He wrote in that manner.

Though his language was close to the spoken form of his day, it was attractive. The Bengali language acquired a new dignity because of his writings.

Bankim Chandra Chatterjee wrote fifteen novels in all. ‘Durgeshanandhinf, ‘Kapalkundala’, ‘Mrinalini’, ‘Chandrashekar’ and ‘Rajsimha’ are well known for their interesting stories. ‘Anandamatha.’ ‘Devi Chowdhurani’ and ‘Seethararri are based on the history of our land. Bankim Chandra was a keen observer of the life of the people around him; and he used to reflect deeply on what was right and what was wrong in the social life of his day. ‘Vishavriksha’, ‘Indira’, ‘Yugalanguriya’, ‘Radharani’, ‘Rajani’, and ‘Krishna Kanther Will’ – these reflect the good and the bad in society.

Bankim wrote novels about the people around him. One such novel was ‘Vishavriksha’. This was Bankim’s first social novel.

‘Vishavriksha’ means the poisonous tree. The tree of the poison of this novel represents the anger and the desire for comfort found in every man. This tree grows within anybody. If the mind is firm the tree cannot grow there. It grows when the mind is weak. If a man cannot develop strength of mind, if he cannot control desire and anger, he will be unhappy and he will make others unhappy.

Bankim Chandra may be called the uncrowned king of the modern Bengali literature. He has been given the pride of place for his novels and literary essays. Though he is better known as the pioneer of successful novel writers of Bengal literature yet his literary essays claim equal dignity and respect. Brightened by the genius of Bankim Chandra, Bengal literary essays have secured the most dignified place of Bengali literature.

Though Bengali literature went through gradual developments in different aspects before Bankim Chandra but he was the first writer who gave Bengali literature and language a definite and satisfactory shape in its totality. He was a versatile genius with rare talent. His essays are analytical and full of thought-provoking ideas and opinions. Though his essays are analytical yet by the virtues of their language and style, they have achieved a glorius place on literature.

The subject matters of most of his essays are national life and social matters. In all his works there is a wonderful confluence of high thinking and intellectual ability on the one hand and poetic talent on the other, and for this he is considered as an extra-ordinary and the foremost writer of the 19th century. Besides this, there was a genuine feeling of a true nationalist in all his works.

Bankim Chandra wrote fifteen novels, big and small, taken together. The first one was written in English but he could not publish it in the form of a book. The rest were all written in Bengali. Of these fourteen works, four were novelettes or big stories. Later he enlarged two of them and made them standard novels.

His first novel was ‘Rajmohon’s wife’, written in English. He did not publish it in his lifetime because he was not satisfied with it himself. We may call the work a crime story. The story is eventful and the descriptions move quite fast. Even in this first work he laid stress on the story element, conflicts of characters, courtship and love and the flow of events. None of the three principal male characters Rajmohon, Madhab and Mathur and the female character Matangini, have developed naturally. Yet in this novel, he made the beginning of his astounding literary career and in this we find the seeds of a great novelist that was to come.

His second novel was ‘Durgeshnandini’ (1865). The publication of ‘Durgeshnandini’ was an epoch making ever in the history of Bengali literature. It brought in a new era in language and ideas in Bengali literature. The denouement of Durgeshnandini is quite artistic. “After finishing it, it wiil appear that it has not been finished” this opinion of Rabindra Nath about the ending of a story in perfectly applicable to Durgeshnandini and hence it is quite successful work, from an artistic point of view.

His Mrinalini was published in 1869. In this novel the far away 13th century has been very wonderfully described. We find the first trace of the chief object of his love in the last part of his life, his love for his country, in this novel.

After the publication of Mrinalini, Bankim Chandra published the magazine, Banga Darshan for the progress and development of the Bengalis and Bengali literature. From the first issue his fourth novel. Vishvriksha began to be published serially. In this novel we find Bankim Chandra as a mature literary artist. The characters of this story are his own people, it is about his own society and country and of the contemporary times. From the beginning to end it is quite a homely story. There is no violence or fighting here but there is murder and sucide. There are two heroes and three heroines in Vishvriksha. In matters of love and pride, attraction and annoyance between them, the story is more or less simple.

Since it is a purposeful novel, its artistic success has been a little dampened. Lust and infatuation born out of physical charm and beauty is the Vishvriksha (poison tree) here.

The Biography of Famous Personalities of India will tell you about the controversies, the dark sides of a person that you may have never heard of.

Early Life and Education of Bankim Chandra Chatterjee

To die without accomplishing our work, is that desirable?

Bankim Chandra Chatterjee was born on June 26, 1838 in the village Kantalpara of the Twenty-four Paraganas District of Bengal. He belonged to a family of Brahmins.

Bankim Chandra’s father Yadav Chandra Chattopadhyaya was in government service. He was learned in English as well as in Persian and in connection with his service he was intimately acquainted with many well-placed Englishman. In the very year of his son’s birth he went to Midnapur as Deputy Collector. Bankim Chandra’s mother was a pious, and affectionate lady.

Long before, Bankim Chandra got admitted into the English School of Mr. F. Teed to learn English, English education had started to spread in Bengal. On the one hand a group of young men who had English education learned heavily towards English culture and life style and began to copy the English in all aspects of their life and, on the other hand another group, highly educated under the skilled guidance of Mr. P.L. Richardson, a teacher of repute, developed an independent power of thinking and had definite opinion of their own. This latter group showed their guts and courage in standing up against and criticising the many superstitions, beliefs and evil customs of the Hindu society in their later life.

Bankim Chandra Chatterjee finished his early education at Midnapur. He joined the Mohsin College at Hooghly and studied there for six years. Even there he was known for his brilliance. His teachers were all admiration for his intelligence. With the greatest ease Bankim Chandra passed his examinations in the first class and won many prizes.

Bankim was not very enthusiastic about sports. But he was not a student who was glued to his textbooks. Much of his leisure was spent in reading books other than his texts. He was very much interested in the study of Sanskrit. He would read and understand Sanskrit books on his own. He was struck by the beauty of that language. His study of Sanskrit stood him in good stead. Later when he wrote books in Bengali this background of Sanskrit was of great help to him.

Even in his student life Bankim Chandra published his anthology of poems, Lalita Tatha Manas. Between the years 1849 and 1858 the social and political life of India passed through some revolutionary changes of various types.

Bankim Chandra Chatterjee was appointed Deputy Magistrate. He was in Government service for thirty-two years and retired in 1891. He was a very conscientious worker. Most of his officers were Englishmen. They were a proud lot for they were the ruling power of this country. Bankim Chandra never submitted to their proud, unjust or stubborn behaviour. He would resist any unjust person and teach him a lesson. Because of this, some of the British officers were displeased with him and he had to face their hostility. They used to harass him. But he bore everything with patience. He worked hard and with integrity.

Bankim Chandra would never sacrifice justice or self-respect. The arrogance of the white men never frightened him. When he was a Deputy Magistrate there was a Commissioner named Munro, who was the head of the province. Bankim Chandra came across Munro once. A British officer in those days expected any subordinate Indian official to show him respect by bowing modestly before him. But Bankim Chandra just walked past Munro. Munro was enraged. He transferred Bankim Chandra to a remote place.

There were many such incidents during his service. His self-respecting behaviour angered the British officer. As a result, he was often transferred from place to place and much harassed in his service.

In 1858 the English monarch, Queen Victoria, took up the administration of India directly into her own hands. She assured the Indian people that the government would not interfere in any of their religious matters and observances and henceforth there would be no bar for Indians to get a high office in government departments.

At this juncture of national awakening, Bankim Chandra joined services as Deputy Collector and Deputy Magistrate at Jessore. Bankim remained in that position without promotion for more than 30 years. He retired in 1891. But while he was a government official, he began to write novels in his spare time. While he was posted at Khulna in 1860-61, he wrote an English novel named Rajmohan’s wife.

Bankim Chandra Chatterjee was married when he was only eleven and his wife was five years old. Within a year or two of his appointment as a Deputy Collector at Jessore, he lost his wife. He was only twenty-two then. The death of his young and beautiful wife made him very unhappy. He had a son from his first wife, who died in 1859. After some time he married again. His second wife was Rajalakshmi Devi. They had three daughters but no son.

The Biography of Famous Personalities of India will tell you about the controversies, the dark sides of a person that you may have never heard of.

Introduction of Vande Mataram by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee

Bankim Chandra Chatterjee was a Bengali Indian poet, novelist, essayist, and journalist. He is famous as the author of ‘Vande Mataram’, which inspired the freedom fighters of India, and was later declared the National Song of India.

Bankim Chandra was born on June 26, 1838 in the village, Kantalpara of the 24 Paraganas District of Bengal. He belonged to Brahmins.

Bankim Chandra’s father, Yadav Chandra Chattopadhyaya was in government service. After Bankim’s birth, he was posted to Midnapur as Deputy Collector.

Bankim had his early education in Midnapur. He was a brilliant student. After his primary education in Midnapur, Bankim joined the Mohsin College at Hoogly and studied there for six years. Apart from textbooks, he used to read other books in his leisure time. He was very much interested in the study of Sanskrit. His study of Sanskrit stood him in good stead. Later, when he wrote books in Bengali, his knowledge of Sanskrit helped him immensely.

In 1856, Bankim joined the Presidency College in Kolkata. In 1857, there was a strong revolt against the rule of East India Company but he continued his studies and passed his BA examination in 1858. The Lieutenant Governor of Kolkata, appointed him as Deputy Collector in tht same year. Bankim was in Government service for thirty-two years and retired in 1891. He was a very conscientious worker.

Bankim was married when he was only eleven. At that time, his wife was only five years old. He was only twenty two when his wife died. After some time, he married again. His second wife was Rajlakshmi Devi. They had three daughters but no son.

Bankim Chandra Chatterjee began his literary career as a writer of verse. He then turned to fiction. Durgeshnandini, his first Bengali romance, was published in 1865. His famous novels include Kapalkundala (1866), Mrinalini (1869), Vishbriksha (1873), Chandrasekhar (1877), Rajani (1877), Rajsimha (1881), and Devi Chaudhurani (1884). His most famous novel was Anandamath (1882). It contained the song “Vande Mataram”, the national song of India.

Bankim Chandra Chatterjee wanted to bring about a cultural revival of Bengal by stimulating the intellect of the Bengali speaking people through literary campaign. With this end in view, he brought out a monthly magazine called Banga Darshan in 1872.

He was a superb story-teller, and a master of romance. No Bengali writer before or since has enjoyed such spontaneous and universal popularity as Chatterjee. His novels have been translated in almost all the major languages of India. The British government honoured him with the title, “Roy Bahadur” in 1892. He became a Companion, Order of the Indian Empire (CIE) in 1894.

Bankim Chandra Chatterjee passed away on April 8,1894, at the age of 61. People consider Chatterjee as the best novelist in Bangla literature. They believe that few writers in world literature have excelled in both philosophy and art as Bankim has done.

The Biography of Famous Personalities of India will tell you about the controversies, the dark sides of a person that you may have never heard of.

Bal Gangadhar Tilak Address At Inc

In 1907, Tilak addressed the Indian National Congress to call for a boycott of British goods and resistance to British rule.

“Two new words have recently come into existence with regard to our politics, and they are Moderates and Extremists. These words have a specific relation to time, and they, therefore, will change with time. The Extremists of today will be Moderates tomorrow, just as the Moderates of today were Extremists yesterday. When the National Congress was first started and Mr. Dadabhai’s views, which now go for Moderates, were given to the public, he has styled an Extremist, so you will see that the term Extremist is an expression of progress.

We are Extremists today and our sons will call themselves Extremists and us Moderates. Every new party begins as Extremists and ends as Moderates. The sphere of practical politics is not unlimited. We cannot say what will or will not happen 1,000 years hence — perhaps during that long period, the whole of the white race will be swept away in another glacial period. We must, therefore, study the present and work out a programme to meet the present condition.

It is impossible to go into details within the time at my disposal. One thing is granted, namely, that this government does not suit us. As has been said by an eminent statesman — the government of one country by another can never be a successful, and therefore, a permanent government. There is no difference of opinion about this fundamental proposition between the old and new schools. One fact is that this alien government has ruined the country.

In the beginning, all of us were taken by surprise. We were almost dazed. We thought that everything that the rulers did was for our good and that this English government has descended from the clouds to save us from the invasions of Tamerlane and Chingis Khan, and, as they say, not only from foreign invasions but from internecine warfare, or the internal or external invasions, as they call it. . . . We are not armed, and there is no necessity for arms either. We have a stronger weapon, a political weapon, in boycott. We have perceived one fact, that the whole of this administration, which is carried on by a handful of Englishmen, is carried on with our assistance.

We are all in subordinate service. This whole government is carried on with our assistance and they try to keep us in ignorance of our power of cooperation between ourselves by which that which is in our own hands at present can be claimed by us and administered by us. The point is to have the entire control in our hands. I want to have the key of my house, and not merely one stranger turned out of it. Self-government is our goal; we want a control over our administrative machinery. We don’t want to become clerks and remain. At present, we are clerks and willing instruments of our own oppression in the hands of an alien government, and that government is ruling over us not by its innate strength but by keeping us in ignorance and blindness to the perception of this fact. Professor Seeley shares this view.

Every Englishman knows that they are a mere handful in this country and it is the business of every one of them to be fool you in believing that you are weak and they are strong. This is politics. We have been deceived by such policy so long. What the new party wants you to do is to realize the fact that your future rests entirely in your own hands. If you mean to be free, you can be free; if you do not mean to be free, you will fall and be for ever fallen. So many of you need not like arms; but if you have not the power of active resistance, have you not the power of self-denial and self-abstinence in such a way as not to assist this foreign government to rule over you? This is boycott and this is what is meant when we say, boycott is a political weapon. We shall not give them assistance to collect revenue and keep peace.

We shall not assist them in fighting beyond the frontiers or outside India with Indian blood and money. We shall not assist them in carrying on the administration of justice. We shall have our own courts, and when time comes we shall not pay taxes. Can you do that by your united efforts? If you can, you are free from tomorrow, Some gentlemen who spoke this evening referred to half bread as against the whole bread. I say I want the whole bread and that immediately. But if I can not get the whole, don’t think that I have no patience.

I will take the half they give me and then try for the remainder. It is a reasoned impulse. Try to understand that reason and try to strengthen that impulse by your logical convictions. I do not ask you to blindly follow us. Think over the whole problem for yourselves. If you accept our advice, we feel sure we can achieve our salvation thereby. This is the advice of the new party.

Perhaps we have not obtained a full recognition of our principles. Old prejudices die very hard. Neither of us wanted to wreck the Congress, so we compromised, and were satisfied that our principles were recognized, and only to a certain extent. That does not mean that we have accepted the whole situation. We may have a step in advance next year, so that within a few years our principles will be recognized, and recognized to such an extent that the generations who come after us may consider us Moderates.

This is the way in which a nation progresses, and this is the lesson you have to learn from the struggle now going on. This is a lesson of progress, a lesson of helping yourself as much as possible, and if you really perceive the force of it, if you are convinced by these arguments, then and then only is it possible for you to effect your salvation from the alien rule under which you labour at this moment.”

The Biography of Famous Personalities of India will tell you about the controversies, the dark sides of a person that you may have never heard of.

Bal Gangadhar Tilak – The Great Thinker

Tilak was a great scholar and his researches in Indology were widely recognised by his contemporaries in the world. He tried to give a true identity to the great Indian civilization. Therefore, he wrote the monumental work called ‘The Orion’. The origin and history of the Indian civilization has been scientifically described in this book.

Tilak had realised that western scholars were not prepared to accept a high antiquity for the Vedic literature. Max Mueller in particular had assigned the Rig Veda to about 1200 BC. He had divided the entire vedic literature into four strata viz. the Chhandas, Mantra, Brahmana and Sutra.

These were placed in the chronological order in which the Chhandas were the earliest to be composed and the Sutra literature was the last, and all this was completed before the rise of Buddhism about 400 BC. Max Mueller allowed some two centuries for each stage, and thus arrived at 1200 BC as the date of the Rig- Veda. According to him the Vedic literature developed during 2400-2000 BC.

All this dating by Max Mueller and others was done on the basis of literary evidence, particularly the style which, however, could reveal only the relative chronological position and no evidence was produced in support of a calendrical date. Tilak was justified in arguing that this method was rather vague and uncertain and could at best be cited as supportive evidence. The entire gamut of Vedic literature was thus, hanging in a sort of chronological vacuum.

Tilak was deeply interested in Sanskrit literature, particularly Vedic, and also mathematics. It was at this time precisely that Shankar Balakrishna Dikshit published his Bharatiya Jyotish Shastracha Itihas in Marathi which is a shining example of Indian scholarship. It demonstrated to the world how the Indians had made remarkable progress in astronomy in ancient times.

When Tilak came across a reference in the Bhagwad- Gita that Krishna was ‘the Margasirsa of the months, (Masanam Margasirsoham) it immediately struck him like a flash that astronomy may offer some clue to the dating of the Vedas and he therefore, collected the astronomical references occurring in the Vedic literature.

To his great surprise he was proved right and he could therefore, develop his chronology of the Vedic literature. He had given two lectures on it in Pune in 1891, and later prepared his paper for the 9th Oriental Congress which was to be held in London in 1892.

But it became such a longish essay that it was later in 1893 published in the form of a separate monograph and only a short summary was included in the proceedings of the Congress. All this was done when he was fully involved in all sorts of political and social controversies. The idea first occurred to him in 1890 as he stated in the Preface to ‘The Orion’ and it took four years to complete.

Everyday the Nakshatra close to the Sun was noted, and the time it took to come to the same position was counted as one year. The beginning of the year was the commencement of the sacrifice and it continued for the whole year. According to the Vedanga-Jyotisha, new year starts from winter. This is known as the Uttaryana, which means the Sun’s movement from the south to the north.

It has been observed that the seasons lag behind by one month after every two thousand years, and this change has to be adjusted in the calendar. This can be proved by the statement that “the Sun is in the asterism of Krittikas,” which occurs in the Taittiriya Samhita.

The equinoxes are the two days of the year when the Sun is directly above the equator. As the Earth moves in its orbit around the Sun, the position of the Sun changes in relation to the equator. The Sun appears north of the equator between the March equinox and the September equinox. It is south of the equator between the September equinox and the next March equinox.

This happened in 2350 BC. With this as a fixed datum, the various stages of the Vedic literature have been dated by Tilak. According to him, the oldest Vedic calendar, the oldest Vedic hymn, was sacrificial, and therefore the sacrifice of the year commenced with Aditi at the vernal equinox in or near Punarvasu.

The tradition about the old beginnings of the year is mentioned in the Taittiriya Samhita, and the same is corroborated by the oldest traditions and records of the Parsis and the Greeks who also belonged to the Aryan race. On the basis of the evidence furnished by astronomical references in the Taittiriya Samhita Tilak developed his chronology for the Vedic literature.

This period started from the time when the vernal equinox was in the asterism of Ardra (Orion) and continues upto the time when it receded to the asterism of the Krittikas. This, according to Tilak, was the most important period in the development of the Aryan civilization. It was pre-eminently the period of the hymns which contain a record of the beginning of the year when several legends were conceived.

Pre-Buddhist period (1400-500 BC) was the period when the Sutra literature was composed. He further adds “thus we find that of all the ancient nations the Hindus alone had well nigh accurately determined the rate of the motion of the procession of the eajuinoxes.”

In the Orion, Tilak has given quite a new and convincing interpretation of some eighty verses in the Rig Veda besides shedding a welcome light on many more. These verses had baffled the students of Vedic literature for long even from the time of Sayanacharya. His theory of ‘cosmic circulation of aerial waters’ properly explained the Indra-Vrtra myth.

Tilak’s dating of the Vedas to such an early period in the fourth millennium was not acceptable to a majority of western scholars, as for instance, Max Mueller who was not prepared to go beyond the second millennium BC although he had at one stage concluded that it is impossible to determine the date of the Vedic literature and that it may be four thousand or five thousand year old. But there were quite a few who agreed with Tilak.

Professor Hermann Jacobi had simultaneously, but independently, arrived at the conclusion that the antiquity of the Vedas could go back to 6000 BC. Dr. Bloomfield, an eminent American scholar, was sceptical at first but, as he read through, he was inclined to agree with Tilak’s views.

He confessed that he was convinced in all essential points and that the book was unquestionably the literary sensation of the year.

It will be interesting to examine Tilak’s theory in the light of recent archaeological research. Hundred years have passed since Tilak expounded his views. In his time, the Indus civilization had not been discovered; but now we know it in all its glory.

It most be stated that there are quite a few who identify it as the civilization of the Vedic Aryans although the general opinion seems to assign it to a post- Harappan date in the later half of the second millennium BC. It may not be out of place to mention here that the recent archaeological data have not yielded any evidence for the Aryan invasion. Moreover, the beginning of the settled life in the Indian subcontinent now goes back to almost ten thousand years as is clear from the excavation at Mehragh which is located at the mouth of the Bolan Pass near Quetta in Pakistan.

The excavated evidence points to continuous habitation starting from 7500 BC and ending around 3000 BC which marks the Early Harappan phase out of which evolved the Indus or the Harappan civilization.

The only noticeable culture change in all the four and a half millennia of continuous habitation is between 6000 BC to 4500 BC which indicates the arrival of a new group of people or new cultural influences. These are precisely the dates that Tilak has assigned to his Pre-Orion period.

Tilak is known more for his Gita Rahasya than his other scholarly works. He was once asked by his father, who was on his deathbed, to read the Gita to him. He was then a young lad of sixteen in 1872, but even at tender age he was thinking as to what was really the message of the Gita. He was pondering over it and was very much interested in writing on it but could not do so because of his multifarious activities—social and political, and had therefore to postpone it every time. Finally, when he was imprisoned in 1908 in Mandalay, he requested the government to permit him to take some books with him.

Among the ancient commentaries on the Gita, only that by Shankaracharya is available, and it is highly likely that there were others also. It is well known that the Prasthana-trayi consisting of the Upanishads the Brahma-Sutras and the Gita, constitutes the foundation of the philosophy of Hinduism.

Sankaracharya advocated Advaita and preached that only sannyasa leads to the final salvation (moksa). Tilak, on the other hand, argued that the Gita teaches us to do our duty in whatever station of life we are. The message of the Gita is thus Karma-yoga.

On the battlefield, at the very commencement of the Mahabharata war, Arjuna was perplexed that the enemy was his own kith and kin, and was in two minds about whether he should fight or not. Hence Krishna, who was also his charioteer, had to impress upon him that he should do his duty, that is to fight. What the Lord emphasizes is that one should do his ordained duty and while performing it, one should not expect any fruit. This is the niskam-karma-yoga of the Gita.

In the Gita, Tilak found that the cult of sacrifice was replaced by that of Bhakti and that it gave the message of karma-yoga and not that of sannyasa as propounded by Sankaracharya. The Gita Rahasya received numerous accolades from different quarters but the most telling was the praise showered by Sri Aurobindo who found the work “an original criticism and presentation of ethical monumental work, the first prose writer of the front rank in importance … and is likely to become a classic. ”

Tilak wrote the Gita Rahasya in Marathi, and when his friends asked him why did he not write in English, he replied that it is not a piece of research, but was written for the common man who should imbibe the karma-yoga as interpreted by him. Moreover, he said that the people in the western world are already practicing karma-yoga and that is why they have prospered; hence they need not be taught it.

When the book was first published in 1915, the first edition of six thousand copies was sold like hotcakes, and there were queues outside the Kesari office in Gaikwad Wada. Although a vast majority of the people agreed with Tilak’s interpretation of the Gita there were some, particularly in Pune, who criticized it out of sheer jealousy.

The Biography of Famous Personalities of India will tell you about the controversies, the dark sides of a person that you may have never heard of.

Philosophical And Social Contributions of Bal Gangadhar Tilak

Although Tilak was basically a proponent of Advaita Vedanta, he differed from the classical Advaitin view that jnana (knowledge) alone brings release. He added a measure of karma yoga (the yoga of activity) to this, not as subordinate to jnana yoga, but as equal and complementary to it.

Tilak was a critic of Mahatma Gandhi’s strategy of non-violence and civil disobedience. Although once considered an extremist revolutionary, in his later years Tilak had considerably mellowed. He favoured political dialogue and discussions as a more effective way to obtain political freedom for India and did not support leaving the British Empire.

However, Tilak is considered in many ways to have created the nationalist movement in India, by expanding the struggle for political freedoms and self-government to the common people of India. His writings on Indian culture, history, and Hinduism spread a sense of heritage and pride amongst millions of Indians for India’s ancient civilization and glory as a nation.

Tilak was considered a political and spiritual leader of India by many, and Gandhi is considered his successor. When Tilak died in 1920, Gandhi paid his respects at his cremation in Bombay, along with 200,000 people. Gandhi called Bal Gangadhar Tilak “The Maker of Modern India”.

Tilak is also today considered the father of Hindu Nationalism. He was the idol of Indian revolutionary Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, who penned the political doctrine of Hindutva.

The personality and life-philosophy of Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak had a profound effect on his society. He had contributed to almost all important fields like politics, social reforms, philosophy and education. The objectives of education were not very clear to many people.

For Tilak, learning was not just acquisition of knowledge useful in preparing for native clerical jobs. The creation of educated men through the learning process was certainly beneficial to the alien rulers for running their administrative machinery. People so turned out, welcomed the golden fetters, by entering into the government jobs. To break through this British black magic was the first and foremost need of the hour.

All this happened when the British rule was, half a century old. People, as well as, their leaders had come to look upon the British rule as a Divine Gift and British as their respected preceptors and such ideas had become firmly rooted in their thinking. They had got excited and captivated by the wholesome results of the British Rule.

Slowly however, the wicked intentions of the rulers were getting clear, and with it, dawned the realisation, that loss of freedom stood for, not mere loss of political power, but for total destruction of the indigenous culture, religion and language.

The enlightenment of the true difference between slavery and independence, and consequential awareness of the responsibility to awaken the masses to this reality, were at work in the founding of an independent school by leaders like Chiplunkar, Tilak and others.

Bal Gangadhar Tilak was a brilliant politician as well as a profound scholar who believed that independence is the foremost necessity for the well being of a nation and that to win it through extreme measures should not be dispensed with. He was the first intellectual leader to understand the importance of mass support and subsequently became the first mass leader of India.

As a result, although he was helpful to revolutionaries such as Savarkar, Aurobindo Ghosh and Chiplunkar, he did not venture into it himself. Instead, he martialled the extremist wing of Indian National Congress. His movement was based on the principles of Swadeshi, Boycott and Education. It was he who, through his own example, gave prestige to imprisonment in freedom struggle.