Remembering Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar on his death anniversary.

 Remembering Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar on his death anniversary. 

• The revered Bengali Icon, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar is a Bengali Sanskrit pundit, educator, social reformer, writer and philanthropist. 

• He was one of the greatest intellectuals and activists of the 19th century. 

• He was born on 26th September, 1820 in West Bengal. He was a well-known writer, intellectual and above all a staunch supporter of humanity. 

• He was one of the pillars of Bengal renaissance. He also brought about a revolution in the Bengali education system and refined the way Bengali language was written and taught.

Widow Remarriage

• The focus of his social reform was women — and he spent his life’s energies trying to ensure an end to the practice of child marriage and initiate widow remarriage.

• He launched a powerful attack on the practice of marrying off girls aged 10 or even younger, pointing to social, ethical, and hygiene issues, and rejecting the validity of the Dharma Shastras that advocated it.

• He showed that there was no prohibition on widows remarrying in the entire body of ‘Smriti’ literature (the Sutras and the Shastras).

Educational Reforms

• He is credited with the role of thoroughly remodeling the medieval scholastic system prevailing in Sanskrit College and bring about modern insights into the education system.

• He introduced courses of European History, Philosophy, and Science alongside Vedic scriptures. He encouraged students to pursue these subjects and take away the best from both worlds.

• He also changed the rules of admission for students in Sanskrit College allowing non-Brahmin students to enroll in the prestigious institution.

Campaign against polygamy

• Alongside the campaign for widow remarriage, he campaigned against polygamy.

• In 1857, a petition for the prohibition of polygamy among Kulin Brahmins was presented to the government with 25,000 signatures, led by the Maharaja of Burdwan.

• The mutiny of the sepoys resulted in the postponement of action on this petition, but in 1866, Vidyasagar inspired another petition, this time with 21,000 signatures.

• In the 1870s, the great rationalist, wrote two brilliant critiques of polygamy, arguing to the government that since polygamy was not sanctioned by the sacred texts, there could be no objection to suppressing it by legislation.

Women’s education

• He was a keen advocate of education for women. He rightly viewed education as the primary way for women to emancipate themselves from all the social oppression they had to face at the time.

• He went door to door, asking family heads to allow their daughters to be enrolled in schools. Across Bengal, he opened 35 women’s schools and succeeded in enrolling 1300 students.

• To support women's education, he organized a fund called Nari Shiksha Bhandar.