Ramkamal Sen | |
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| Born | 15 March 1783 Gariffa |
| Died | 2 August 1844 (aged 61) |
| Spouse | Chandramani Debi |
| Parent |
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Ramkamal Sen (1783–1844) was the Diwan of the Treasury, Treasurer of the Bank of Bengal and Secretary of the Asiatic Society, Calcutta.
Ramkamal Sen | |
|---|---|
| | |
| Born | 15 March 1783 Gariffa |
| Died | 2 August 1844 (aged 61) |
| Spouse | Chandramani Debi |
| Parent |
|
Ramkamal Sen (1783–1844) was the Diwan of the Treasury, Treasurer of the Bank of Bengal and Secretary of the Asiatic Society, Calcutta.
Born at Garifa, Naihati town in North 24 pargana district. on the banks of the Hooghly River in a Baidya Brahmin family, [1] he proceeded to Kolkata in 1791 for his education. [2] His father was Gokul Bihari Sen and his wife was Chandramani Debi.
His grandson was the pre-eminent social reformer and founder of the Nababidhan Brahmo Samaj, Keshab Chandra Sen" [2]
A self-made man, starting as a petty compositor earning eight rupees a month, [3] "He worked for several years in a Hindustani press after which he was appointed as a clerk in the Asiatic Society". [2] Shibnath Shastri writes, "by dint of his capabilities, hard work and diligence, he rose to be its indigenous secretary. He was subsequently nominated a member of its committee." [4]
In 1812, he secured a job in Fort William College. [4] Finally, he rose to be a Dewani of the Treasury, and treasurer of the Bengal Bank. [2]
He was connected with many of the social activities of his time. When Hindu College was established in 1817, he was a member of its committee. After a failed first attempt to remove Derozio from the school for preaching Christianity, he also became principal of the newly established Sanskrit College for sometime.
Sastri wrote: "Babu Ramkamal Sen acting as their mouthpeice, ... called a Committee meeting, and moved that Mr Derozios's manners and conduct was such as to injure the morals of the boys in touch with him and he should be removed from the staff of masters." [2]
He was a member of the Medical Commission set up by Lord William Bentinck. [4]
Ramkamal Sen was well known as being a staunch pro-sati activist and lifelong opponent of Ram Mohan Roy. He publicly opposed (with Radhakanta Deb) Roy's agitation against sati (the practice of forcing Hindu widows to be burnt on their husbands funeral pyre). [5] He was also President of the Gaudiya Sabha, (a prominent association of Bengali Hindu ultra-conservatives).
Along with Radhakanta Deb, he was appointed as an Indian member of the "Tea Committee" in 1834. [6] In the same year he published an English-Bengalee dictionary in 2 volumes with 58,000 words which was commissioned by the Serampore Baptist Mission (1817–1834). Another famous book that he co-authored was Hitopadesha in 1820, a collection of fables modelled on Aesop's.
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The Young Bengal was a group of Bengali free thinkers emerging from Hindu College, Calcutta. They were also known as Derozians, after their firebrand teacher at Hindu College, Henry Louis Vivian Derozio.
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Rai Bahadur Dinesh Chandra Sen was a Bengali writer, educationist and researcher of Bengali folklore from the Indian subcontinent. He was the founding faculty member and the Ramtanu Lahiri Research Fellow of the Department of Bengali Language and Literature of the University of Calcutta. He died in Calcutta in 1939.
Henry Louis Vivian Derozio was an Indian poet and assistant headmaster of Hindu College, Kolkata. He was a radical thinker of his time and one of the first Indian educators to disseminate Western learning and science among the young men of Bengal.
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Peary Chand Mitra was an Indian writer, journalist, cultural activist and entrepreneur. His pseudonym was Tek Chand Thakur. He was a member of Henry Derozio's Young Bengal group, who played a leading role in the Bengal renaissance with the introduction of simple Bengali prose. His Alaler Gharer Dulal pioneered the novel in the Bengali language, leading to a tradition taken up by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and others. Mitra died on 23 November 1883 in Kolkata.
Rasik Krishna Mallick was an Indian journalist, editor, reformer, educationist and a leading member of Young Bengal group. He had shocked the court in British India in the 1820s with the statement that he did not believe in the sacredness of the Ganges.
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Gangadhar Bhattacharya was an Indian editor and printer, and pioneer of Bengali print and journalism. He was born in Bahar village, near Serampore, Bengal. He started his career as a compositor at the Serampore Mission Press, later moving to Calcutta, where he first worked at the Ferris and Company Press before setting up his own, the Bengali Printing Press, along with his business partner, Harishchandra Ray.
Ramtanu Lahiri O Tatkalin Bangasamaj is a book authored by Sivanath Sastri. It is considered one of the most important historical documents relating to the period commonly known as the Bengali Renaissance; in particular, it is the primary source of information on the Brahmo Samaj. Though named after the social reformer Ramtanu Lahiri, it covers a broad historical period beginning with Ram Mohan Roy and including the Brahmos, Henry Louis Vivian Derozio and his Young Bengal movement and other such important historical events of contemporary Bengali society. A translation into English, Ramtanu Lahiri, Brahman and Reformer: A History of Renaissance in Bengal, edited by Sir Roper Lethbridge, was published in London in 1907.
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Dwarkanath Gangopadhyay was a Brahmo reformer in Bengal, British India. He made substantial contributions towards societal enlightenment and the emancipation of women. Ganguly dedicated his life to the latter cause, encouraging women to participate in politics and the social services. He was the husband of the first female Indian physician, Kadambini Ganguly.
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