Satish Ranjan Das (1870–1928) was the

Advocate-General of Bengal The Advocate-General of Bengal was charged with advising the Government of the British administered Bengal Presidency on legal matters. The Presidency existed from 1765 to 1947. Prior to 1858, when it was administered by the East India Company, ...

and later the Law Member of the Executive Council of the Viceroy; he was sometime treasurer of the Boy Scouts of Bengal and the Lodge of Good Fellowship, and a prominent member of the reformist

Brahmo Samaj Brahmo Samaj ( bn, ব্রহ্ম সমাজ, Brahmô Sômaj, ) is the societal component of Brahmoism, which began as a monotheistic reformist movement of the Hindu religion that appeared during the Bengal Renaissance. It was one of t ...

in Bengal. Das was part of a group of moderate Indian nationalists that sought to create a "British-style" public school in India, which ultimately led, after his death, to the creation of

The Doon School The Doon School (informally Doon School or Doon) is a selective all-boys boarding school in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India, which was established in 1935. It was envisioned by Satish Ranjan Das, a lawyer from Calcutta, who prevised a school mod ...

Early life and career

After completing school and university education in England, Das returned to India in 1894. The idea of The Doon School originated from his participation in the"growing search for a national Indian identity." Although he died seven years before the school actually opened, Das and others in his informal group had lobbied for it during the 1920s. Das and the rest of the group envisaged an Indian school patterned on the British public school, which he felt had effectively trained young men to become responsible and resourceful administrators throughout the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...

. But in contrast to British schools, the founders of the Doon School wanted an Indian school to be nonsectarian and responsive to Indian aspirations. The founders saw Doon as the training ground for a new generation of Indian leaders who would take over the reins of administration and government following Independence. By copying the model of the British public school, the founders were attempting to show that Indians could compete with the British on their own terms without relinquishing their national or cultural identity. This reflected the views of many Indian leaders and intellectuals of the time, but certainly not all. Characteristically,

Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian Anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India du ...

welcomed the creation of the school but

Mohandas K. Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

would have nothing to do with it. In 1922, Das he was appointed Advocate-General of Bengal.The Edinburgh Gazette. 7 November 1922. Page 701 In 1927, he became a member of the Viceroy's Executive Council of

Lord Irwin Edward Frederick Lindley Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax, (16 April 1881 – 23 December 1959), known as The Lord Irwin from 1925 until 1934 and The Viscount Halifax from 1934 until 1944, was a senior British Conservative politician of the 19 ...

Death

In the summer of 1928, SR Das spent a good deal of his time in England visiting schools and discussing his scheme with well known educationists. Towards the end of that summer, he returned to India and went to Shimla to resume his duties. He soon became unwell and died in Calcutta on 26 October 1928.

Early life and career

Death

References

Further reading