Prasanna Kumar Roy (1849 – 1932; better known as Dr. P. K. Roy) was an educationist and the first Indian principal of

Presidency College, Kolkata Presidency University, formerly Presidency College, is a public state university located in College Street, Kolkata. Established in 1817 as the ''Hindoo College'', it was later renamed ''Presidency College'' in 1855 and functioned as a leadi ...

Early life

The son of Shyam Sundar Ray, he belonged to a family originated from Subhaddya in Karimganja,

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 ...

(now in Bangladesh). He was a student 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 ...

in Dhaka. He was attracted towards the

Brahmo Samaj Brahmo Samaj ( ) is the societal component of Brahmoism, which began as a monotheistic reformist movement during the Bengal Renaissance. It was one of the most influential religious movements in India and made a significant contribution to ...

early in life. His family were observant Hindus of Kayastha that's high caste, whereas the Brahmo Samaj was a radical reformist sect closely aligned with Christian missionaries; many of the leaders of the Brahmo sect were converts to Christianity. Roy's attraction for the Brahmo Samaj (and Christianity) alienated his from his family and he was turned out of his home. The well-funded Christian missionaries gave him support and patronage; guided by his new friends, he won the Gilchrist Scholarship to go to England. He graduated from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

in 1873. He was awarded the D.Sc. degree in psychology from the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

and the University of London in 1876. He and

Ananda Mohan Bose Ananda Mohan Bose () (23 September 1847 – 20 August 1906) was an Indian politician, academic, social reformer, and lawyer during the British Raj. He co-founded the Indian National Association, one of the earliest Indian political organization ...

got together to establish a Brahmo Samaj,

Indian Association Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peopl ...

and a library in the United Kingdom.

Teaching career

On returning to India, Roy taught at

Patna College Patna College is a constituent state aided College of Patna University which was established in 1863 during the British Raj. It offers undergraduate and postgraduate courses in science, arts and commerce as well as some vocational courses like ...

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 ...

and

. He was the first Indian to serve as principal of Presidency College from 1902 to 1905. Thereafter, he became Registrar of the

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta, informally known as Calcutta University (), is a Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Kolkata, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India. It has 151 affiliated undergraduate c ...

and on retirement served as Inspector of Colleges under the University. He was posted to England for two years as education assistant to the Secretary for India. Roy was active in the affairs of the

Sadharan Brahmo Samaj The Sadharan Brahmo Samaj or Universal Brahmo Samaj is a division of Brahmoism formed as a result of schisms in the Brahmo Samaj first in 1866 and then another in 1878. Due to ideological differences, Keshab Chandra Sen, one of Brahmo Samaj ...

. He was secretary of the

chapter of the Brahmo Samaj, and secretary and president of Sadharan Brahmo Samaj, Kolkata, for some time. He and his wife used to stay or visit regularly

Hazaribagh Hazaribagh is a city and a municipal corporation in Hazaribagh district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. It is also the administrative headquarters of Hazaribagh district and divisional headquarters of North Chotanagpur division. It is known ...

, which had a small Brahmo community.

Family

Roy's education in London and links with the British establishment made him a prize catch for marriage, and his estrangement from his family was an advantage in this context. He married Sarala, a daughter of

Durga Mohan Das Durga Mohan Das ( ''Durga Mohon Das''; 1841–1897) was a Brahmo Samaj leader and a social reformer. Early life Durga Mohan was born in a well-known Baidya family at Telirbagh, Bikrampur, Dhaka in Bengal, now part of Munshiganj District of Ba ...

, who was a convert to Christianity and a leading stalwart of the Brahmo Samaj. The marriage connected Roy to many leading lights of Bengali society who prospered under the colonial regime after accepting English education and a huge dose of European culture, not least in matters of religion. His wife Sarala was a sister of

Abala Bose Abala Bose (8 August 1864 – 25 April 1951) was an Indian social worker and feminist. She was known for her efforts in women's education and her contribution towards helping widows.Sengupta, Subodh Chandra and Bose, Anjali (editors), 1976/1998 ...

, wife of scientist

Jagadish Chandra Bose Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose (; ; 30 November 1858 – 23 November 1937) was a polymath with interests in biology, physics and writing science fiction. He was a pioneer in the investigation of radio microwave optics, made significant contributions ...

; among her cousins were Deshbandhu

Chittaranjan Das Chittaranjan Das (5 November 1870 – 16 June 1925), popularly called ''Deshbandhu'' (friend of the country), was a Bengali freedom fighter, political activist and lawyer during the Indian Independence Movement and the political guru of Indi ...

and

Sudhi Ranjan Das Sudhi Ranjan Das (1 October 1894 – 18 September 1977) was the 5th Chief Justice of India, serving from 1 February 1956 to 30 September 1959. Das also served as chairman of '' The Statesman''. Background and education S.R. Das was born i ...

(later

Chief Justice of India The chief justice of India (CJI) is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of India and the highest-ranking officer of the Indian judiciary. The Constitution of India grants power to the President of India to appoint, as recommended by the outg ...

). Roy and Sarala became the parents of two daughters,

Charulata Mukherjee Charulata Mukherjee was a noted women's rights activist and social worker from Calcutta, who was associated with Brahmo Samaj and All India Women's Conference. She was noted for her social and women rights activism. She was an active member of A ...

and Swarnalata Bose. Roy gave his daughter Charulata in marriage to

Satish Chandra Mukherjee Satish Chandra Mukherjee (5 June 1865 – 18 April 1948) was a pioneer in establishing a system of national education in India, along with Sri Aurobindo. The positivist background Satish Chandra was born at Bandpur, Chanditala-I, Bandipur in Ho ...

, the educationist; they became the parents of Air Marshal Subroto Mukerjee, first Indian Chief of Air Staff, the feminist and politician

Renuka Ray Renuka Ray (4 January 1904 – 11 April 1997) was a noted freedom-fighter, social activist and politician of India. She was a descendant of Brahmo reformer, Nibaran Chandra Mukherjee, and daughter of Satish Chandra Mukherjee, an ICS officer ...

and Prasanta Mukherjee, a General Manager employed by the Bengal Nagpur Railways. Roy's other daughter Swarnalata Bose was the mother of five children, two sons, namely Akshay Kumar Bose and Jagat Kishore Bose, and three daughters, being Kamala Dutt (married to B.C. Dutt, Accountant General of

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

), Manorama Bose (a single woman; principal of Rani Birla College for Girls, Kolkata, and briefly Chief Inspector of Women's Education in

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

) and Anila Khastgir (married to Satish Ranjan Khastgir, Khaira Professor of Physics at

Calcutta University The University of Calcutta, informally known as Calcutta University (), is a Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Kolkata, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India. It has 151 affiliated undergraduate c ...

References

* ''Saṃsada Bāṅālī caritābhidhāna'' (Biographical dictionary) in Bengali edited by Subodh Chandra Sengupta and Anjali Bose. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ray, Pasanna Kumar 1849 births 1932 deaths People from Keraniganj Upazila People from the Bengal Presidency Bengali educators Brahmos Das family (Telirbagh) Alumni of the University of London Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Academic staff of Dhaka College Academic staff of Presidency University, Kolkata Principals of Presidency University, Kolkata Academic staff of the University of Calcutta Scholars from Kolkata Scholars from British India 19th-century Indian educational theorists Indian academic administrators Indian academics 20th-century Indian educational theorists