Ishwar chandra vidhyasagarv -The Social Reformist

In nineteen century, out religion and social and normal degradation become prominent due to the western fusion in our society. And from that the change started. Rammohon Roy tried to change the society through a new religion, Derojio's group tried by attacking the Hinduism to change it. But Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (1820-1891) only concentrated on the social and educational system. He was one of the key figures of India’s renaissance in the nineteenth century.

He was a social reformer, and educationalist with a modern vision. He wrote book, “Barno-Porichoy” , Vidyasagar refined the Bengali language and made it accessible to the common masses of the society. Many Bengali alphabets were revised by him. He received the title "Vidyasagar" from Sanskrit College, Calcutta (from where he graduated), due to his excellent performance in Sanskrit studies and philosophy.

In the year 1841 Ishwar Chandra joined the Fort William College as a Head of the Sanskrit Department. At that time his age was only twenty-one years. In the year 1846 he joined Sanskrit College as Assistant Secretary. In the year 1849 he left the Sanskrit College due to some disagreements with College Secretary Rasomoy Dutta and in the same year he rejoined the Fort William College as a Head Clerk. But later in the year 1851 he again joined the Sanskrit College as a Professor of Literature and afterwards became the Principal of that College.

Social /Educational Reform

• Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar,opened not less than 35 girls schools, because, for him, educational reform was much important than any other reform. He believed that the status of women and all kinds of injustice that women face could be changed only through education . It was the result of his inspiration that Bethune School, the first women’s school of India came into existence in the year 1849 in Calcutta. John Elliot Drinkwater Bethune founded it and it became the first women's college of Asia in the year 1879.
• Along with female education, he continued social reforms. The main activity of him was the remarriage of the widows. He also started protests against marriage at lower age that means minors. Due to his untried efforts British Govt. passed the widow remarriage act in the year 1956. He also worked for the lower caste students. He raised concern for the abolition of child-marriage however, was not successful in getting child-marriage legally prohibited. Later legendary Indian figures like Swami Dayananda Saraswati (1824-1883) and Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902) also worked in this direction and their cumulative efforts brought about the Child Marriage Prevention Act in 1929.
• Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar called on his compatriots to adopt eternal Sanatana values, established thousands of years ago. He urged Indians to remain optimistic and come forward for the protection of basic dictums and teachings of Indian culture and unite for social and human welfare. In respect of optimism he went to the extent of saying, “Those who are atheists, they should believe in God by adopting a scientific approach. Their welfare remains only in this

By: Abhipedia