Ishwar

Chandra Vidyasagar Biography

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was an Indian polymath and a
social reformer. This biography of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
provides detailed information about his childhood, life,
achievements, works & timeline.
Quick Facts
Famous as

Social Reformer, Philosopher

Nationality

Indian

Born on

26 September 1820 AD

Zodiac Sign

Libra

Born in

Paschim Midnapore District, West Bengal, India

Died on

29 July 1891 AD

Place of
death

Kokkata, India

Father

T hakurdas Bandyopadhyay

Mother

Bhagavati Devi

Spouse:

Dinamani Devi

Children

Narayan Chandra

The social reformer who strived to make life better for the
women of India and pushed the British government to pass the
Widow Remarriage Act, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was a
Bengali polymath who lived during the 19th century. Vidyasagar
was a brilliant man, an educator by profession; he was deeply
pained by the injustices faced by several sections of the Indian
society. He was moved particularly by the plight of child widows
who were often ill-treated and tortured. He played a key role in
convincing the British government to allow for the remarriage of
these innocent young girls so that they could have a second
chance at life. In addition to being a social reformer, he was
also a writer, philosopher, entrepreneur and philanthropist. He
was a key figure of the Bengal Renaissance which had begun
with Raja Ram Mohan Roy who was among the first Indians to
challenge the traditional norms of the society. Vidyasagar had a
deep love of learning and it is no surprise that he became an
educator. He was a kind hearted man who tried his best to
reform the society so that the downtrodden like so-called lower
castes and widows could also live a dignified life.
Childhood & Early Life
He was born to T hakurdas Bandyopadhyay and Bhagavati
Devi in a small village. When he was six years old he was
sent to Calcutta to stay with Bhagabat Charan.
Bhagabat Charan had a large family which was very
affectionate towards the little boy. T he youngest daughter
of the house especially doted on him, and this imbibed in
him a great respect and concern for the women, which

later influenced his social activities.

His thirst for knowledge was so great that he used to
study under the street lights as he could not afford to buy
a gas lamp. He was a good student and earned a number
of scholarships to further his education.
He attended the Sanskrit College, Calcutta where he
studied Sanskrit Grammar, Literature, Vedanta, Smruti and
Astronomy, and passed out in 1841. Meanwhile he had
also cleared his Law examination in 1839.
Due to his in-depth knowledge in Sanskrit and philosophy,
he received the title Vidyasagar from Sanskrit College.
Care e r
He joined Fort William College (FWC) as a Principal
Lecturer in 1841. G.T. Marshall who was the secretary of
the college was much impressed by the young mans
dedication and hard work. He worked in the college for
five years.
In 1846, he joined the Sanskrit College as Assistant
Secretary. During his first year he suggested several
changes to the existing education system. T his did not go
well with the College Secretary Rasomoy Dutta.
Vidyasagar resigned due to the differences with Dutta,
and temporarily took up the position of head clerk position
at FWC on Marshalls advice. He joined the Sanskrit
College again in 1849 as a professor of literature and was
made the principal of the college in 1851.
He was made the special inspector of schools in 1855. He
traveled around Bengal and visited schools. During his
travels, he witnessed the pathetic conditions in which
people lived. Superstitions and blind faith were prevalent
due to lack of education.
T his motivated him to establish schools all over Bengal to
spread the light of education. Within two months he
arranged for 20 schools to be built. In order to encourage
gender equality, he also established 30 schools

exclusively for girls.

T he FWC was closed in 1854 and a Board of Examiners
was created in its place. He was an active member of the
board.
T he Education Department had a new head by now who
did not give Vidyasagar the freedom or the respect he
deserved to go about his work. T hus he resigned from the
Sanskrit College in 1854.
Disturbed by the plight of child widows in India, he worked
hard to make life better for these young girls and women.
He was a staunch believer in the remarriage of widows
and tried to create awareness about this issue.
One of the major factors contributing to the increase in
number of child widows was the fact that many wealthy
men of high castes used to have numerous wives which
they would leave behind as widows upon their death.
T hus Vidyasagar also fought against the system of
polygamy.
He was a very kind hearted person who felt sorry for the
sick, poor, and downtrodden. He used to donate money
from his salary to the needy regularly. He also nursed sick
people back to health, admitted students of so-called
lower castes to his college, and cremated unclaimed
bodies at the crematorium.
As an academician he reconstructed the Bengali alphabet
and laid the base for Bengali prose. It is he who reformed
Bengali typography into alphabets consisting of twelve
vowels and forty consonants.
Major Works
He is best remembered for his relentless efforts in fighting
the injustices meted out to women, especially widows.
Moved by the plight of child widows, he persuaded the
British Government to take action and pushed for it to
pass T he Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act, 1856.
Pe rsonal Life & Le gacy

In 1834 when he was 14 years old he married Dinamani

Devi. T he couple had one son, Narayan Chandra.
He was very unhappy with his family due to their narrowmindedness and went to live with the Santhals at Nandan
Kanan in the district of Jamtara where he spent the last
two decades of his life. During his later years his health
deteriorated and he died in 1891.