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| Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar |
Great people are born to leave their impact on the society. One such personality was Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar who was very humble, who spent his entire life with determination and purpose to accomplish certain objectives. He was a great social reformer, writer, teacher and entrepreneur and worked continuously to change the society. Her contribution towards education and changing the status of women in India was remarkable. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar strongly opposed polygamy, child marriage, widow remarriage and women's education in India. Due to his contribution towards such issues, the Widow Remarriage Act was passed in 1856 under which remarriage of widows became legally valid.
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar made many efforts to provide education to women. He opened many schools at his own expense in which girls took admission. Due to his charitable nature and generosity, he is called “Dayaar Sagar” or “Karuna Sagar” (literally “Ocean of Kindness”).
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was born on 26 September 1820 in an orthodox family. Since childhood, he was eager to acquire more and more knowledge. The financial condition of his family was not good, so he used to study under the streetlight at night. The people of his village addressed him by the name “Vidyasagar”, because of his vast knowledge on various subjects. Vidyasagar means an ocean of learning (“vidya” – education, “sagar” – ocean). He became a scholar of Sanskrit and attained immense proficiency in the subject. Before his retirement, he served as Professor of Sanskrit at the Sanskrit College, Calcutta. When he was the principal of the college, the college became a place of reform. Not only this, but Vidyasagar was also a great writer and is known as the father of modern Bengali language. He modified many Bengali alphabets. He also wrote a book on the grammar rules of Sanskrit which is used till today.
An Inspirational Story
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was a very humble personality and at times his nature inspired others. Many stories of his life prove his simplicity which is very inspiring for the readers. Apart from his contribution towards the society, his humility made him a well-known and respected personality throughout India.
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar along with some of his friends was working on a mission to start the University of Calcutta and for this they were asking for donations. Under the same, he went to the palace of the Nawab of Ayodhya. However, his fellow members refused to go there. Although the Nawab was not a kind person, Vidyasagar presented the entire situation before the Nawab.
Hearing this, the Nawab put his shoes in Vidyasagar's donation bag. At this, Vidyasagar did not react but just thanked him and left from there. The next day, Vidyasagar organizes an auction of the Nawab's shoes in front of the Nawab's palace. To influence the Nawab, the Nawab's Jahangir Dar and members of the court etc. came forward and placed the bid. The shoes were sold for Rs 1000. The Nawab was very happy to hear this and donated the same amount.
When the Nawab had put his shoes in the donation bag, Vidyasagar could have reacted differently. He could have felt disappointed considering it an insult to him. But on the other hand, he used those shoes as an opportunity to accomplish his mission. He not only got money but also made the Nawab happy. He always worked towards a goal, regardless of his personal feelings. Ultimately his dream of opening Calcutta University came true.
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar died on July 19, 1891, at the age of 70. After his death, his son sold Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar's house to the Malik family of Kolkata, which was later purchased by the Bengali Association, Bihar on 29 March 1974. She maintained her house in original condition and also started a girls' school and a free homeopathic clinic. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar actually reformed the education system of Bengal by removing the omnipresent darkness in it.
Contribution of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar along with many other active reformers opened schools for girls. This was because for him educational reform was more important than any other reform. She believed that the status of women and all kinds of injustices and inequalities they faced could change only through education.
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar did remarkable work to provide equal education to all men and women irrespective of caste, religion and gender. He allowed people from lower castes instead of people from upper castes in his Sanskrit college.
Vidyasagar raised the status of women in India, especially in her native Bengal. He was a social reformer and wanted to change the orthodox Hindu society from within. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar started the practice of widow remarriage and worked against the practice of polygamy.
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar has written many books and thus enriched the Bengali education system to a great extent. All the books written by him are read even today.
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was indeed a great personality and reformer. Today India needs such dedicated, humble and determined personalities who can bring about the necessary reforms by completely dedicating themselves to the betterment of the society.
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