Bhudev Mukhopadhyay (1827–1894) was a writer and intellectual in 19th century Bengal. His works were considered ardent displays of nationalism and philosophy in the period of the
Bengal renaissance
The Bengal Renaissance (), also known as the Bengali Renaissance, was a cultural, social, intellectual, and artistic movement that took place in the Bengal region of the British Raj, from the late 18th century to the early 20th century. Histo ...
. His novel ''Anguriya Binimoy'' (1857) was the first historical novel written in Bengal.
Early life
He was born at 37, Haritaki Bagan Lane in
North Kolkata
North Kolkata encompasses the northern part of Kolkata, including the city's oldest neighborhoods.
Notable areas within North Kolkata include Shyambazar, Bagbazar, Kumartuli, Shobhabazar, Posta, Jorasanko, Rajabazar, Phoolbagan, Manikta ...
on 22 February 1827 to Pandit Biswanath Tarkabhusan, a renowned Sanskrit scholar. His ancestral village was Natibpur (
Khanakul
Khanakul is a village in Khanakul I CD block of Hooghly district in the state of West Bengal, India. Khanakul is the birthplace of Raja Rammohan Roy. It is famous for Ratnavali Temple, Gopinath Temple, Radhavallabh Temple, Ghontashor Temple. ...
) in
Hooghly District
Hooghly district () is one of the districts of the Indian state of West Bengal. It can alternatively be spelt ''Hoogli'' or ''Hugli''. The district is named after the Hooghly River. The headquarters of the district are at Hooghly-Chinsurah (' ...
.
[''Bhudev Jibani'' (Ed. 1), Bhattacharya, Kashinath, Calcutta, 1911, p. 1] He was a student of
Sanskrit College
Sanskrit College and University (erstwhile Sanskrit College) is a state university located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It focuses on liberal arts, offering both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in Ancient Indian and world history, Be ...
and
Hindu College, studying at the same time as other
Bengal renaissance
The Bengal Renaissance (), also known as the Bengali Renaissance, was a cultural, social, intellectual, and artistic movement that took place in the Bengal region of the British Raj, from the late 18th century to the early 20th century. Histo ...
figures such as
Michael Madhusudan Dutt
Michael Madhusudan Dutt (born Sri Madhusudan Dutta; ; 25 January 1824 – 29 June 1873) was a Bengali poet and playwright. He is considered one of the pioneers of Bengali literature.
Early life
Madhusudan was born in Sagardari, a villag ...
. After completing his education at Hindu College, Bhudev became the headmaster of the Hindu Hitarthi School in 1846. He later founded Chandannagar Seminary and taught there. In 1848, he joined
Calcutta Madrasa(Madrasa 'Aliya) as English teacher. In 1856, he was selected for the post of Principal of Hooghly Normal School through a competitive examination for which his former class-mate
Michael Madhusudan Dutt
Michael Madhusudan Dutt (born Sri Madhusudan Dutta; ; 25 January 1824 – 29 June 1873) was a Bengali poet and playwright. He is considered one of the pioneers of Bengali literature.
Early life
Madhusudan was born in Sagardari, a villag ...
was also a candidate.
[Sengupta, Subodh Chandra and Bose, Anjali (editors), 1976/1998, ''Sansad Bangali Charitabhidhan'' (Biographical dictionary) Vol I, , p. 380, ]
Later career
In 1862 he was appointed Assistant Inspector of Schools. He was appointed as the first Indian headmaster of
Howrah Zilla School. He was later appointed Inspector of Schools and served in the states of
Bengal
Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...
,
Bihar
Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...
and
Odisha
Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...
. Recognizing his services, Mukhopadhyay was awarded the CIE (Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire) in 1877 by the
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.
* British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
.
In 1882 he was appointed as Director of Public Instruction and was also nominated to the Lt.-Governor's Council and the Education Commission later that year. Mukhopadhyay retired from public service in 1883. He was also involved with several educational journals including Shiksadarpan O Sangbadsar and the Education Gazette, which he edited. This involvement lasted from 1868 until his retirement.
His sense of nationalism was so strong that the English principal of Presidency College once noted, "Bhudev with his CIE and 1500 a month is still anti-British."
Writings
Mukhopadhyay was a renowned writer and thinker and combined
nationalism
Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, I ...
with
rationalism
In philosophy, rationalism is the Epistemology, epistemological view that "regards reason as the chief source and test of knowledge" or "the position that reason has precedence over other ways of acquiring knowledge", often in contrast to ot ...
in his works. He strived to reform Hindu customs and family laws to synergize with modern times. He had an immense knowledge of Sanskrit, as evidenced by his numerous essays, and critiques of
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
literature. He wrote several books for young people, historical novels and fused many different philosophies into characters he portrayed.
Works
* ''Paribarik Prabandha'' (1882) - essay
* ''Samajik Prabandha'' (1892) - essay
* ''Achar Prabandha'' (1895) - essay
* ''Prakrtik Bijnan'' (in two parts, 1858 & 1859) - Book
* ''Purabrttasar'' (1858) - Book
* ''Englander Itihas'' (1862) - Book
* ''Romer Itihas'' (1862) - Book
* ''Banglar Itihas'' (3rd Part, 1904) - Book
* ''Ksetratattva'' (1862) - Book
* ''Puspanjali'' (1st part, 1876) - Book
* Anguriya Binimoy (1857) - Novel
* ''Aitihasik Upanyas'' (1857) - Historical Novel
* ''Svapnalabdha Bharatbarser Itihas'' (1895) - Novel
References
*
*
*
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mukhopadhyay, Bhudev
1827 births
1894 deaths
Presidency University, Kolkata alumni
The Sanskrit College and University alumni
University of Calcutta alumni
Bengali Hindus
19th-century Bengalis
Bengali-language novelists
Bengali philosophers
Indian civil servants
Indian writers
Indian male writers
Indian novelists
Indian male novelists
Indian historical novelists
Indian educators
Indian editors
Indian magazine editors
Indian non-fiction writers
Indian male non-fiction writers
Indian theologians
19th-century Indian male writers
19th-century Indian novelists
19th-century Indian educators
19th-century Indian philosophers
19th-century Indian non-fiction writers
Hindu philosophers and theologians
19th-century Hindu philosophers and theologians
People from West Bengal
Educators from West Bengal
Novelists from West Bengal
Writers from Kolkata
Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire
Indian historical fiction writers