Dinanath Sen (1839/1840–1898) was a Bengali social reformer and journalist. He played an important role in the education and cultural spheres of 19th-century Dhaka. He served as the second editor of the first Bengali newspaper in

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

, Dhaka Prakash.

Early life

Sen was born in 1839/1840 in the village of Dashora,

Manikganj District Manikganj District (; ) is a district in central Bangladesh and part of the Dhaka Division. Manikganj is called the land of rivers & cultural heritage of central Bangladesh.It was established in 1845 as a subdivision of Faridpur District, then in ...

. His father was Golaknath, and his mother was Dayamoyee. Due to his father's work in Comilla, he initially studied at Comilla Zilla School. Later, he attended

Dhaka College Dhaka College (), informally known as DC, is a public educational institution of Bangladesh located in Dhanmondi, Dhaka. It is one of the oldest educational institutions in the subcontinent. It offers Honours degree, honours and Master's degree ...

for higher education.

Career

From 1861 to 1864, Dinanath served as the headmaster of

Pogose School Pogose Laboratory School and College, IER, Jagannath University () was established in Dhaka on June 12, 1848, as the first private school of the country by Armenians, Armenian merchant Nicholas Pogose, who was an ex-student of Dhaka Collegiate Sch ...

, becoming its first Bengali principal. In 1866, he began teaching at

Dhaka Collegiate School Dhaka Collegiate School is a secondary school in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is one of the oldest schools in Bangladesh. The students of collegiate school are called Collegiatian. History The school was established in Dhaka on 21 June 1835 as Dhaka E ...

and later worked as a deputy inspector of schools in East Bengal. Along with others, he helped establish

's first Bengali newspaper, Dhaka Prakash. The paper's first editor was Krishna Chandra Majumdar, and Dinanath subsequently took on the editorial role. In 1858, he was among the founders of Dhaka's Brahmo School (now

Jagannath University Jagannath University (JnU) () is a public university located in Sadarghat, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Founded as ''Dhaka Brahma School'' in 1858 and renamed ''Jagannath School'' in 1872, and later renamed ''Jagannath College'' in 1884, the institution wa ...

), the Sthri Shiksha Sabha, and Eden School. In 1866, Dinanath proposed building a Brahmo worship center in Dhaka. Following this proposal, a nine-member construction committee was formed on 25 August 1866, with Dinanath as its general secretary. This led to the establishment of the Brahmo Samaj Temple in Dhaka. He purchased land in the

Gendaria Gendaria () is a Thana of Dhaka District in the Division of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Its area is . The name is a portmanteau of original name Grand Area, still found in deeds prior to 1950s. Demographics According to the 2011 Census of Bangladesh, ...

area and built his residence there, initiating the development of the Gendaria residential area. He founded Antahpur Stree Shiksha Shabha, a school for housewives of "gentlemen".

Legacy

A street in Gendaria is named "Dinanath Sen Road" in his honor. It was renamed after the fall of the

Sheikh Hasina Sheikh Hasina (''née'' Wazed; born 28 September 1947) is a Bangladeshi politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Bangladesh from June 1996 to July 2001 and again from January 2009 to August 2024. Premiership of Sheikh Hasina, Her ...

led

Awami League The Awami League, officially known as Bangladesh Awami League, is a major List of political parties in Bangladesh, political party in Bangladesh. The oldest existing political party in the country, the party played the leading role in achievin ...

government after one of the protestors who was killed protesting against the government of Sheikh Hasina.

Literary works

Dinanath authored several books, including: * ''Shikshadan Pranali'' (Method of Teaching) * ''Manasik Ganana'' (Mental Calculations) * ''Bongodesh O Ashamer Songkhipto Biboron'' (Brief Description of Bengal and Assam)

Personal life

Dinanath's son was Adinath Sen, whose son Dibakar Sen married the renowned Bengali actress

Suchitra Sen Suchitra Sen, widely known as the Mahanayika (), was an Indian actress who worked in Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali and Hindi cinema. The movies in which she was paired opposite actor Uttam Kumar became classics in the history of Cinema of Wes ...

. The couple's daughters are

Moon Moon Sen Moon Moon Sen, also credited as Moonmoon Sen (born Srimati Sen; 28 March 1954), is an Indian actress, known for her works in Hindi, Bengali, Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, and Marathi films. She eventually starred in Bollywood films. S ...

, whose children include

Raima Sen Raima Sen (born Raima Dev Varma) is an Indian actress and model, born into the royal family of Tripura to Bharat Dev Varma and Moon Moon Sen. Sen is known for her work in Hindi and Bengali films. Early life Raima Sen was born on 7 November ...

and

Riya Sen Riya Sen (born Riya Dev Varma; 24 January 1981) is an Indian actress and model born into the royal family of Tripura to Bharat Dev Varma and Moon Moon Sen Sen predominantly appears in Hindi, Bengali, English, Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam fi ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sen, Dinanath 1840 births 1898 deaths Dhaka College alumni Comilla Zilla School alumni People from Manikganj District Bangladeshi social workers Bangladeshi journalists Bengali writers Bangladeshi Hindus