Sir Rashbehari Ghosh (23 December 184528 February 1921) was an Indian politician, lawyer, social worker and philanthropist.

Early life

Rashbehari Ghosh was born on 23 December 1845 at Torkona village in Khandaghosh area in Purba Bardhaman district in

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William and later Bengal Province, was a subdivision of the British Empire in India. At the height of its territorial jurisdiction, it covered large parts of what is now South Asia and ...

. He attended Burdwan Raj Collegiate School and

Presidency College, Kolkata Presidency University, Kolkata (formerly known as Presidency College, Kolkata) is a second major public state aided research university located in College Street, Kolkata. Considered as one of best colleges when Presidency College was affilia ...

. He obtained a first class in the MA examination in English. In 1871, he passed with honours the Law examination and was awarded the degree of Doctor of Laws in 1884.

Political career

Ghosh became a member of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British ...

and leaned towards the moderate wing. He had deep faith in progress but was opposed to radicalism in any form. He served as the President of the Congress for two terms. First in the 1907 Surat Session, succeeding

Dadabhai Naoroji Dadabhai Naoroji (4 September 1825 – 30 June 1917) also known as the "Grand Old Man of India" and "Unofficial Ambassador of India", was an Indian political leader, merchant, scholar and writer who served as 2nd, 9th, and 22nd President of t ...

, after which the Congress split into Moderates and Extremists, and then the year after in Madras, 1908. Ghosh was a member of the Bengal Legislative Council (1891–94, 1906–9) and the

Council of India The Council of India was the name given at different times to two separate bodies associated with British rule in India. The original Council of India was established by the Charter Act of 1833 as a council of four formal advisors to the Govern ...

. He was appointed a Companion of the

Order of the Indian Empire The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria on 1 January 1878. The Order includes members of three classes: #Knight Grand Commander ( GCIE) #Knight Commander ( KCIE) #Companion ( CIE) No app ...

(CIE) in the 1896 New Year Honours and appointed a Companion of the

Order of the Star of India The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes: # Knight Grand Commander ( GCSI) # Knight Commander ( KCSI) # Companion ( CSI) No appointmen ...

(CSI) in the 1909 Birthday Honours. He was knighted in the 1915 New Year Honours and conferred with his knighthood on 14 July of that year.

Contributions

Ghosh's ability and contributions earned him a series of honours, such as the Tagore Law Professorship (1875–76) at Calcutta University and an honorary DL degree from Calcutta University (1884). He made a fortune through his legal practice, but donated much of it by way of charity and endowments. In 1913, he established an endowment for scientific studies at Calcutta University with an initial capital of ten lakh rupees. He also donated 13 lakh rupees to establish a National Council of Education (NCE) at Jadavpur. It later became

Jadavpur University Jadavpur University is a public state university located in Jadavpur, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It was established in 1905 as ''Bengal Technical Institute'' and was converted into Jadavpur University in 1955. In 2022, it was ranked four ...

. Ghosh was the first president of NCE.

Sir Rashbehari Ghosh Mahavidyalaya Sir Rashbehari Ghosh Mahavidyalaya, also known as Ukhrid College, established in 2010, is an undergraduate general and honours degree college at Ukhrid in Khandaghosh CD Block of Purba Bardhaman district. It offers undergraduate courses in arts ...

was established at Ukhrid in Khandaghosh CD Block in 2010. He also established schools and hospital in his village. He also donated a princely sum (almost 33% of financial expenditure) to Acharya Praffulla Roy for establishing Bengal Chemical and Pharmaceutical Works.

Street named after Ghosh in Kolkata

Considering the contributions made by Ghosh for the people of India, a street was named after him in

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

. Rashbehari Avenue, named after him, starts from Chetla-Sahanagar Bridge (Shaheed Jatin Das Setu) and runs eastwards to

Ballygunge Ballygunge is a locality of South Kolkata, in Kolkata district, West Bengal, India. History The East India Company obtained from the Mughal emperor Farrukhsiyar, in 1717, the right to rent from 38 villages surrounding their settlement. Of th ...

and Gariahat.Google maps

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ghose, Rashbehari Presidents of the Indian National Congress Indian Knights Bachelor Knights Bachelor Companions of the Order of the Star of India Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire 1845 births 1921 deaths Indian social workers Indian social reformers Social workers from West Bengal Indian educators 19th-century Indian educators 20th-century Indian educators Educators from West Bengal Bengali Hindus Bengali lawyers Indian lawyers 19th-century Indian lawyers 20th-century Indian lawyers Indian philanthropists West Bengal politicians