Isvar Chandra Vidyasagar, a story of his life and work/Chapter 25
CHAPTER XXV.
Disasters and troubles.
About the time, of which we are speaking, Vidyasagar had to encounter disasters and troubles of different kinds. He had to mourn over the loss of many of his sincere friends and coadjutors.
The Hon'ble Sambhu Nath Pandit, the first native Judge of the Calcutta High Court, breathed his last on 6th January 1867. He was a friend fellow-worker of Vidyasagar in many of his acts. He was an advocate of widow-marriage and female education. At the prize distribution of the Bethune School in 1865, when Vidyasagar presented a gold neck-lace, Sambhu Nath also gave a valuable prize of a pair of gold bracelets. Vidyasagar was deeply afflicted at the death of such a worthy friend.
In its train, followed the demise of Raja Radha Kanta Dev Bahadur, which sad catastrophe befell on the 13th April of the same year. The reader is aware that the Raja was an advocate of female education. Though he was against the remarriage of Hindu widows and had petitioned the Government opposing the legislation, yet he cherished a fond regard for Vidyasagar on account of his attainments and spiritedness. Vidyasagar also had a great esteem for the Raja, and was sincerely grieved at his death.
About this time, notices appeared in the Hindoo Patriot and some other papers for starting a Widow Marriage Fund for the clearance of Vidyasagar's heavy debts on that account, appealing to the general public to come forward to help Vidyasagar with liberal contributions. Vidyasagar knew nothing of this appeal, being absent from Calcutta at his native village, Birsingha. When he returned to the city and heard of what was being tried to do for him, he was extremely picqued, and at once contradicted the appeal in the columns of the Hindoo Patriot. Among other things he said, that though the sixty widow marriages consummated up to that day had actually cost 82,000 rupees, yet his debts on this account would not come up to half of the 45,000 rupees accounted for by the appellants, who had no knowledge of the real state of things. He also said that he was quite ignorant of this appeal, having never even entertained the remotest thought of ever calling upon the public to help him in this matter, that he would not have cared to protest against the measure, if the proposers of the movement had not made mention of his debts in this affair, and that he therefore requested the movers to keep back from their uncalled-for intrusion.
In July, 1867, Vidyasagar married his eldest daughter, Hemlata Devi, to Gopal Chandra SamajSamajpati of village Aismali in the Nuddea district. As Hemlata was a girl of accomplishments, so her husband was also a young man of very good attainments, and to Vidyasagar's mind.
Sometime after this, a great misfortune befell our noble hero. His greatest friend and co-adjutor, Ram Gopal Ghosh, expired at about 11.30 A. M. on the 21st January, 1868. The deceased was a great orator and staunch advocate of widow marriage. The loss of such a sincere friend gave our hero a great shock, and moved him to a flood of tears. Speaking of Ram Gopal Ghosh, the Hindoo Patriot of the 27th January of that year said:—"He was a warm advocate of widow marriage and assisted the noble cause with money as well as personal labour."
The Hon'ble C. E. Buckland, in his 'Bengal under the Lieutenant-Governors' says:—"In politics, Babu Ram Gopal Ghose was a zealous and indefatigable reformer. He was a leading member of the British Indian Association, which was established in 1851, and took the most prominent part in every political movement of the day: such subjects as the admission of Natives into the Legislative Council of India and the Civil Service, the extension of reproductive public works, were agitated, largely at his instigation. It was he who first matured a plan and established a Society for political agitation in England, with the assistance of Mr. Adams, for the purpose of drawing the attention of the British pubilc to Indian questions.
"But, above all, Babu Ram Gopal was distinguished for his great oratorial powers. When the Government of Bengal, on 26th February 1864, desired to remove the burning ghat from Nimtolla, though he felt personally no religious scruples against the proposal, he identified himself with his orthodox countrymen and made an eloquent speech setting forth their grievances. His speeches on the renewal of the Charter Act of 1853, on the memorial of Sir Henry Hardinge, and on the administration of Lord Canning are also famous, the former being praised by the Times as "a masterpiece of oratory."
A little farther on, Buckland says:— "As a promoter of education, a patriot, a politician, a speaker, a social reformer, as a successful merchant, and in force of character, Babu Ram Gopal Ghose was one of the foremost men of his time: and did much for the advancement and enlightenment of Hindu Society."
In fact, when in the beginning of 1864, the announcement of the desire of Government to remove the burning ghat from Nimtala and to set up an engine crematorium outside the town was made public, a great excitement prevailed among the Hindu community, and Vidyasagar was determined to oppose the measure, which was so repulsive to the religious feelings of his countrymen. It was at his goading instigation that Ram Gopal Ghosh delivered his eloquent speech at a meeting held in the Calcutta Town Hall for the purpose, which made the Government throw up the project. In this connection, the following story is current in the country.
When Vidyasagar heard of the measure projected by Government, he was very firmly resolved to thwart it. Many leading native gentlemen had also sided with Government. Vidyasagar saw that there was only one man who was competent to oppose it vigorously and effectively. That man was Ram Gopal Ghosh. Vidyasagar called on him and gave out his mind, but he, having no scruples of his own on that account, declined to interfere. Vidyasagar now set himself to think of some means whereby his friend could be persuaded to stand against the proposal. It suddenly struck him, that Ram Gopal was highly filial to his mother, and never disobeyed her. He decided upon persuading her to induce her son to take up the cause. Accordingly, early in the next morning, he again called and seated himself in the outer apartments of his friend's house. As Ram Gopal's mother returned from her bath in the Bhagirathi, she saw Vidyasagar seated alone with a very melancholy face, and asked him the cause. He replied:—'Madam, perhaps you are not aware, that Government have resolved upon removing the burning ghat from Nimtala and setting up an engine crematorium for the cremation of the dead bodies of the Hindus. The law on this subject is going to be passed very shortly.' The old lady was taken by surprise. She asked him if there was no means to prevent it. Vidyasagar said,—'There is only one means. To-morrow the matter will be decided at the Town Hall meeting. If your son should attend the meeting and speak against the measure, the legislation may be averted.' The matron replied,—'I will at once ask Ram Gopal to do so.' She went into the inner apartments and told her son to oppose the proposed legislation. Ram Gopal promised to obey. He then came out and said to Vidyasagar,—'O! You have told mother. There is no help now; I must obey my mother. Very good, come to-morrow at 3 P. M.; I will attend the meeting.' On the next day, Ram Gopal, accompanied by his friend, went to the meeting and made a highly eloquent speech strongly opposing the proposed measure, which made the Government abandon the project.
Shortly after this, Vidyasagar had to encounter the loss of another great friend. Sarada Prasad Ray, a Zemindar of Chakdighi in the Burdwan district, died on the 18th March, 1868. The deceased had a great familiarity with Vidyasagar. He consulted the latter on all points. He had no issue of his own, and he, therefore, had a great mind to take an adopted son. But Vidyasagar prevented him from that step and advised him to establish charitable institutions and to do other useful works. Sarada Prasad acted up to this advice. In 1853, he opened a charitable dispensary, and on the 1st August, 1861, established a free school, both at Chakdighi. It was on a poor family of this village that Vidyasagar had settled a monthly allowance of fifteen rupees. A few years subsequent to the death of this Zemindar, there was a suit instituted with respect to his will. In this case, Vidyasagar had to appear in Court as a witness, of which hereafter.
Although Vidyasagar was heavily embarrassed with debts on account of his widow marriage movement, he never stinted his charities. We have already said, that he never refused a beggar or supplicant. He always contributed very liberally to the aid of such works, as in his opinion were useful to the country.
About the middle of 1868, some respectable residents of Ghatal in the Midnapore district appealed to him for aid towards the establishment of a High English School at Ghatal. Vidyasagar was a warm supporter of English education, and he very generously responded to the appeal. He contributed as donation the whole amount of 500 rupees which they wanted.
The reader may recollect the name of Rani Katyayani of Paikpara Raj, and how much indebted she was to Vidyasagar. The Rani was now grown too old. She breathed her last on the 17th day of August, 1868.In the course of this year, appeared his Ahhyanmanjari, Parts II and III. The language of the two books is equally excellent and very well adapted to the purpose intended. Both of them are very nice school books.
Hara Chandra Ghosh, with whose name the reader is already aquainted, was one of the native, judges of the Calcutta Small Cause Court. He died on the 3rd of December, 1869, He too was a staunch supporter of female education. A condolence meeting was held on the 4th January next when a Memorial Committee was formed to perpetuate his memory. Vidyasagar was on this committee.
In 1868, he had to enter into a very disagreeable family dispute. His second brother, Dinabandhu quite unexpectedly laid claim to a share of the Sanskrit Press and the attached Depository. He was so eager about it, as to be ready to bring the matter into Law-Court. When Vidyasagar saw, that his dear brother was zealously intent on going to court, he advised him to have the question settled out of court by arbitration. Dinabandhu assented. Accordingly, the Hon'ble Justice Dwarka Nath Mitter, the second native Judge of the Calcutta High-Court, and Babu Durga Mohan Das, one of the ablest pleaders of the bar of the said court, were chosen by them to be their arbiters. The two brothers then entered into an agreement executed on a one-rupee stamped paper binding themselves to abide by the decision of the umpires. Their third brother, Sambhuchandra, cousin Pitambar Bandyopadhyay, who was the Printer of the Sanskrit Press, and Vidyasagar's friends, Raj Krishna and Shyama Chafan, and Giris Chandra Vidyaratna were cited as witnesses. Vidyasagar had at this time two more brothers living, besides Dinabandhu, namely, the third Sambhuchandra, and the sixth Isan Chandra, the fourth, fifth, and seventh brothers having already died; but they laid no claim to the property in dispute. It is said that for fear of appearing and deposing in the witness-box, Sambhuchandra requested his second brother to surrender his title. However that might be, Dinabandhu at last renounced his claim. On the 17th day of October, 1868, he submitted to the arbitrators a deed of relinquishment to the following effect:—
"On the 11th October current, I filed an agreement and a plaint with a list of witnesses; but I see that it is quite unjust to enter into dispute with a brother on account of a small property. I therefore hereby declare that I relinquish the claim that I laid to a share of the Sanskrit Press and the Book Depository attached to it. In future if I myself or my heirs should lay any claim to it, that shall be null and void. 17th October 1868.
The umpires passed the following judgment:—
"The plaintiff, Dinabandhu Bandyopadhyay, having filed an agreement relinquishing his title and claim to a share of the Sanskrit Press and the Book Depository connected with it, and having declared that any such claim in future either on his own part or on the part of his heirs should be considered null and void, further investigations and proceedings are unnecessary. In the presence of both parties, it is therefore,
'Decreed
'That the plaintiffs claim be dismissed and a copy of this judgment and decree be supplied to each party. 18th October 1868.
Sd. 'Dwarka Nath Mitter
When Dinabandhu first gave out his mind to lay his claim to the property, Vidyasagar expressed his willingness to divide it into six equal shares among the four living brothers and their parents; but Dinabandhu would not be content with such a small share. It is said, that having failed in his attempts to substantiate his claim to the property, Dinabandhu was greatly displeased with his elder brother, and refused to receive monthly allowances from him. Vidyasagar saw the pecuniary difficulties of his brother, and used to pay the money to his sister-in-law (brother's wife), cautioning her, at the same time, not to let her husband know it. Vidyasagar was a lover of mankind; he loved his brothers and relations very dearly, and always tried to make them happy. He had to spend a deal of money on their account, but unfortunately they did not reciprocate the same feelings. He was often heard to say with tearful eyes, that like the old man of the fables, in trying to please everybody, he had been able to please nobody.
Long before this dispute, Dinabandhu one day requested his elder brother to recommend him to the Lieutenant-Governor for a Deputy Magistracy. Vidyasagar was in great difficulty as to how he should request the Governor for his own brother. He called on the latter several days, but could not give out his mind. At last, he said one day,—'I have been trying for several days to request you for something, but bashfulness always stands in the way, and I cannot express my mind.' The Governor was very curious to hear it. The more he pressed Vidyasagar for the request, the more he grew shy and could not give utterance to it, and on different pretexts left his friend's august presence. When he called again the next week-day, the Governor said to him,—’I will confine you to-day, unless you tell me your mind.' Vidyasagar was now obliged to give out his brother's prayer. The Lieutenant-Governor said,—' Why have you been so much shy about it? Had you told me before, I could have given him one; there was a vacancy at Hugli. Very good, I will see if there is still a vacancy, and let you know ere long.' In the next week's Gazette appeared Dinabandhu's appointment as a Deputy Magistrate; he was posted to Barisal.About this time Vidyasagar was favourably disposed to Homœopathic mode of treatment. He had had a great aversion for it before. In 1866, the illustrious homos opathist, Dr. Berigni, had arrived at Calcutta. Doctor Rajendra Nath Datta of Bowbazar had already begun to learn the principles of Homœopathy. The two medical men, one a European and the other a native, being of the same turn of mind, formed an intimate friendship. The latter obtained great help from the former in the acquisition of his knowledge in the new mode of curing diseases, and soon rose to eminence. By this new method of treatment, doctor Rajendra Nath relieved Vidyasagar of his painful head-disease. The latter saw the wonderful curative properties of the homoeopathic drugs in the case of his friend, Raj Krishna, who had had a great costiveness of the bowels. Enema had had to be injected at short intervals, and even then the bowels would move very slowly, and eject bolus-formed stony discharges; the rectum bled profusely. Allopathic and other modes of treatment had been tried for a long time, but without any effect. Such a painful, incurable disease doctor Rajendra Nath cured marvellously by his new method. These two reliefs convinced Vidyasagar of the superiority of the efficacy of Homœopathy over that of Allopathy. Besides, he saw that Homœopathic medicines were cheaper, and their application far easier. He therefore devoted himself to the study of the new science, and soon acquired a tolerable knowledge in it. He then began to treat simple cases himself according to this mode and experienced good results. He induced his second brother, Dinabandhu, to learn the new science and to relieve the sufferings of the diseased poor. It was he, who persuaded the famous Dr. Mahendra Lal Sarkar, the greatest Indian homœopathist of the day, to try the efficacy of the new medicines. Dr. Sarkar was an eminent allopathist and had had a great aversion for the new science. One day, when he and Vidyasagar called together to see the Hon'ble Justice Dwarka Nath Mitter, who was confined to bed through illness, their conversation turned to Homœopathy, and a great debate ensued between the two friends as to which of the sister sciences was superior. At last, Dr. Sarkar was obliged to say that he would no more condemn Homœopathy, but would try and see if there was anything in it. He was a great scientist and had good inquisitive faculties. He soon found out the superior curable properties of the new medicines, and became a staunch follower of Homœopathy. In a short time, he rose to great eminence, and surpassed in practice even Dr. Berigni, the founder of the homœopathic treatment in India, who had consequently to return home with an empty pocket.
About 6 or 7 years after this, Vidyasagar's youngest daughter was cured of a serious illness by homœopathic treatment. Allopathy had been tried for a long time, but without success. Vidyasagar thus grew more zealous to learn the new science perfectly. He knew that medical science could not be acquired thoroughly without a knowledge of Anatomy. He therefore purchased a set of human skeleton, which he subsequently presented to his friend, Raj Krishna's son. He procured many homœopathic, works, which are still to be found in his Library. Besides these, his Library contains a collection of a good many valuable books all beautifully bound and nicely arranged. He never allowed anybody to take away any book from his Library. Babu Nilambar Mukharji once asked him for some historical works to compile a history of India; Vidyasagar would not lend him the books from his Library. He purchased a new set and presented it to Nilambar Babu.
Some say that formerly the friends and acquaintances of Vidyasagar had free access to his Library, and they were at liberty to take away books to their homes occasionally. But subsequently, his mistrust arose from the conduct of one of his so-called friends, which compelled him to withdraw his permission to remove books from his Library. The so-called friend, alluded to above, once borrowed a valuable Sanskrit work from Vidyasagar and took it to his own home. After a time, when Vidyasagar asked him to return the book, the unscrupulous fellow at once replied, that he had returned it long since. The book was missing, and the owner was at a loss to account for its loss. It was a rare and valuable Sanskrit work procurable only in Germany. It was at that time out of print, and consequently there was no possibility of procuring a new one, until it was reprinted. Fortunately, in a few days, a hawker of books, whom Vidyasagar had known for some time, came to him with the very missing book to sell. Vidyasagar was quite surprised to find it in the possession of the hawker, and asked him where he had got it from. The innocent pedler replied, that he had purchased it from … … … Babu (the name of the man who had borrowed the book from Vidyasagar's Library). Vidyasagar was startled to hear the name, but he said nothing, and purchased the book from the hawker, giving him the price he demanded. From this time forward he was determined not to lend his books to any body.
It is said, that on one occasion a wealthy man of the city called on him when he was in his Library. The visitor was quite amazed at the sight of the beautiful binding of the books, and remarked;—'Sir, you must be crazed to spend so much money in getting these books bound from Europe?' Vidyasagar smiled, and after an interval of a few minutes said to the visitor;—'Your shawl is very nice, indeed; how much did it cost you?' The man, quite forgetful of his own remarks and unconscious of Vidyasagar's tactics, replied most innocently, that the shawl was of real Benares make, and cost him 500 rupees, and at the same time began admiring the qualities of the texture. Vidyasagar smiled and said:—'Why have you spent so large an amount on this shawl, when an ordinary blanket might keep you equally warm? What is the good of the valuable gold chain to fasten your watch with, when the purpose might be sufficiently served by a piece of strong thread? You are no less crazed than myself.' The visitor was dumb-founded, and could make no reply.
On his recovery from the injuries of his fall at Uttarpara, Vidyasagar first went to Chandernagore for a change, but the place being found to be uncongenial to his improvement, he left it for Burdwan. Burdwan was at that time one of the best sanitariums in Bengal. The dangerous Malaria, which subsequently ravaged it, had not then set in, and people from different quarters resorted to it for renovation of their damaged health. At Burdwan, he put up with Babu Pyari Chand Mitra, who was then the Serishtadar of the local Judge's Court-office. Pyari Chand had married a sister of Vidyasagar's intimate friend, Syama Charan. Although he took a second wife after the death of the first, his love for his former brother-in-law did not lessen. He often visited the latter's house, as formerly during the life-time of his first wife. On one of these occasions, Syama Charan had introduced him to Vidyasagar, and the two had since formed a great friendship.The people of Burdwan had already heard his name before, and some of them had known him on his previous visits. The poor and the needy gathered round him, and he gave away his alms to the supplicants without distinction of caste and creed. A good many Mussulmans are known to have been rescued by him from peril. During the period of his stay at Burdwan, he used at intervals to pay visits to Birsingha, and on those occasions, numerous poor and hungry children of the lower classes crowded about his palanquin. He gave alms to all of them; to some of them he presented sweatmeats; to some, pice and other coins; and to others he gave clothes. Whenever Vidyasagar's intended visit to a place was reported, people of different classes, male, female and children, crowded in the streets he was to pass through, to catch a glimpse of the face of the renowned, kind and benevolent Vidyasagar. In this connection, we will take the liberty to relate here an incident of his former life.
As Inspector of Schools he had once an occasion to go to a village in the interior of the Hugli district to visit the school of that place. The local people had already heard his name, and were eager to get a sight of the great man. From ten o'clock in the morning, the houses near the school building began to be filled in with women. Every door, every window was crowded to suffocation. Those females who were rather advanced in age took their stands on the roofs of the houses; some of them even stood by the way side. Vidyasagar was a little late that day. It was past noon; the sun shone very hot on the heads of the spectators, but they did not mind it; they were too eagerly anxious to catch a glimpse of the illustrious hero. At last, they were relieved of their suspense by a cheerful cry of 'There comes Vidyasagar.' The school-boys sat in their places quietly; the teachers looked to their dresses, and heaved a deep breath. Vidyasagar passed by the way, but the female spectators could not see him, that is, could not distinguish him from his companions. We have already said, that our hero had acquired very simple habits of life. He was clothed in plain Dhuti and Chadar, his usual dress. At length, one of the aged women ventured to advance forward, and ask the foremost of the company;—'Where is Vidyasagar? Is he not come?' The man replied,—'Here is he of whom you speak,' pointing to Vidyasagar. The woman looked for a while at our hero's face with eyes dilated with wonder, and then said;—'Ah! Indeed! Pooh! To see this Uriya bearer with a coarse Chadar we have scorched ourselves to death! He has neither a coach nor a watch, neither Choga nor Chapkan!' In fact, it was very difficult to distinguish him from ordinary poor people.
To resume the thread of our narrative. The reader has already been told that Vidyasagar was at this time heavily embarrassed with debts. His letter published in the Hindoo Patriot, referred to above, showed that his debts amounted to something between 20 and 22 thousand rupees. To clear some of these debts, he asked for a loan from the estate of the munificent Maharani Swarnamay of Cossimbazar. We have said before, that Vidyasagar was intimately connected with the Cossimbazar Raj family, and used to borrow monies from the estate now and then, which he repaid at convenience. On the 4th November, 1869, he addressed to Rajib Lochan Ray, the Maharani's Dewan, a long letter to the following effect:—
'You are aware that I have been encumbered with debts on account of the widow marriage movement, and I am clearing them by degrees. I owe somewhat heavy debts to two persons, who are unwilling to be paid off by instalments. They demand repayment of their entire amounts at a single instalment. I have no means, at present, to pay them off. I therefore ask the Maharani for a loan of 7,500 rupees. If she should be pleased to lend me the amount, I will execute a hand-note, agreeing to repay it in three years. I have not an iota of doubt that I shall be able to liquidate the debt. Otherwise I would not have asked for the loan. Without your help, there is no chance of my success in this affair. You may assist me freely. Do not think that if you should aid me in this matter, you will have to meet with any inconvenience. I am not so much devoid of respect and worth that I should not care to liquidate the debt. So long as Raja Pratap Chandra Sinha was living, I borrowed from him now and then, and paid him off by instalments. For the present, I happen not to have so much familiarity with any of the rich men here, that I may ask him for a loan. If you had not been where you are, I would not have ventured to request the Maharani for the loan. You must, please, be kind enough to do your best for the success of my prayer. Otherwise I shall be put to great shame and humiliation. Please, consider this and do as you think proper. Unless I had been put to great inconvenience, I would not have vexed you and the Maharani. I want the money in the course of one month. If I am favoured with this debt, there will exist no necessity of awarding the regular annual grant-in-aid. I have received many benefits from the Maharani, which are always fresh in my memory. I shall show shortly that I appreciate her merits and that I bless her always.
’I am somewhat better now. I shall be glad to hear your own welfare and that of the Rajdhani.'
The Maharani gave the loan as prayed for, and the debtor repaid it at the end of his promised three years. When he sent the money, Rajib Lochan had already been dead, and Vidyasagar remitted the money to the creditor herself with a covering letter to the following effect:—
'To Maharani Swarnamayi, C. I. E.
’Madam,
'It is long since that on account of a pressing necessity for money, the late most generous Dewan Rajib Lochan Ray very kindly favoured me under the permission of the Maharani, with a loan of 7,500 rupees, on condition of being repaid at convenience without any interest on it.
'Words cannot express how much I was benefited by this loan. This benefit will remain ever fresh in my memory. The Maharani is born to do good to humanity. Undoubtedly there are plenty of wealthy persons in the country, but none of them has been able to win the sincere gratitude and heart-felt blessings of the general public.
'I was much ashamed that I could not repay the debt for a long time. I have now got an opportunity of clearing it. I beg to enclose herewith Currency Notes for 7,500 rupees. Please, accept the money and release me from the debt. ****
'Yours &c.
These debts were incurred by him mostly on account of persons connected with widow marriage in the interior of the country. Vidyasagar himself admitted this in his letter to the Hindoo Patriot. Not only was he heavily embarrassed for them, but he had also to encounter difficulties of different sorts. In village Kumarganj under Thana Chandrakona in the Jehanabad Sub-Division of the Hugli District, there was once a very disagreeable friction between two parties, the one for, and the other against, widow marriage. Vidyasagar noted down in his own handwriting statements of the case. Some of these papers, which speak for themselves, are quoted below for the edification of the reader:—
(A)
"The leaders of the opposite party observing the course taken by the widow marriage party became exasperated against them and waited upon the bonafide Zemindar of the village Baboo Shib Narain Roy who sent his men to apprehend and bring before him the men of the latter party. Those who were apprehended were at first severely beaten before the village community in all the public places of the village. They were next taken to the Zemindar, beaten again and fined and then dismissed on their promising to renounce all connection with the marriage of widows. Some of these men have returned to their homes, some have left them with their families, while others, afraid of the harsh treatment dealt out to their brethren in the cause, have followed the example of the latter and left their homes also.
"Two of the oppressed bolder than the rest repaired to Jehanabad and laid their complaint before the Deputy Magistrate, who for 4 days successively refused to take their petition.
It is notorious that Baboo Shib Narain Roy often calls on the Deputy Magistrate at an advanced hour of the night."
(B)
"You may have by this time received the note I sent through Jamadar. After he left, I was writing to the Mooktear of Jehanabad, while Damoo, Sriharee, Nilcomal and Gopal were with me. Sreenibass Doss and his brother of our party rushed in and reported that the Goallas of the opposite party had severely beaten them. I told them to prepare to go to Jehanabad in order to lodge a complaint. They accordingly went home and the 4 others followed them. When about to enter their house, the Goallas beat Sreeneebass on the head with a lattee. The wound was deep and bleeding profuse and he fell senseless on the ground. His brother was also very severely beaten. Nikomal's head has been fractured with a lattee and his side where there was a pain before was struck with 3 or 4 lattees. He lies insensible, frequently vomits, and does not open his eyes. His stomach is distended and his pulse fluttering and there is very little hope of his life. Another has also been very severely beaten on the head. Nemaee, Prem Chund and Satrooghun have each received 10 or 12 strokes of the lattee. On receiving the news of the affray I went to the spot and saw a stream of blood. I have reported the matter to the Daroga through the Farreedar and the Barkundaj especially appointed for the preservation of peace and I expect one of the officers of the Thannah by evening. Three of the Goallas have been apprehended and the rest have absconded."
(C)
"I have not yet succeeded in getting any more widows married. Nor do I expect to succeed at all, if things do not mend. Baboo Shib Narain Roy of Jurul has been oppressing with impunity those of the Royots of his Talook Comergonge who belong to the widow marriage party. This news having reached the inhabitants of Pergonnas Burda and Chandrakona, those among them who are willing to marry their sons and daughters have fallen back, through fear of consequences. Shibnarain send, 10 or 12 Durwans to his Talook Comergunge with the order to bring before him forcibly, men of the widow-marriage party and while they are ushered into his presence, they are dismissed with 10 strokes of shoes and a fine of 10 Rs. each. He also exacts a promise from them that they would in future renounce all connection with widow marriage. Several of them have left the village with their respective families. If a complaint is laid before the Darogah and Moonshee they do not perform their duty but on the contrary ridicule and abuse the complainants. When a complaint is made before the Deputy Magistrate, he issues orders against the repetition of the oppression but no subordinate officer moves in the matter. I am intimate with a Police Amlah, who, on being hard pressed by me to explain this state of things, stated that he would do so on being assured that his name would not be made known. On my consenting to this condition he said you must not make any complaint before the Khan Bahadoor who has privately directed us not to render any assistance to the widow marriage party but to endeavour to give them trouble if possible. The party at Comergunge consisted of about 66 families, who with the exception of 4 or 5 families have been obliged to leave the party. If those, who joined the cause at my solicitation and are suffering from their act, are not relieved and if the oppressors are not punished, I must leave the world, for what is the good of my remaining in it when there is no chance of success of the cause. I have resolved to devote my existence to it and if it fails, life would have no charm to me and existence would be useless."
- ↑ "It has since been learnt from the Daroga that the order came to the Thannah after the 30th when the evil had already been done."