Ramtanu Lahiri, Brahman and Reformer: A History of the Renaissance in Bengal/Chapter 9
CHAPTER IX
educational work and reform
In the period at which we have arrived a man stepped forth into the field of action whose noble courage, strong will, independent spirit, moral rectitude, and universal philanthropy have made his name famous in India. This was Pandit Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagara, who, born in circumstances most adverse, attained the pinnacle of fame and power by dint of high talents, and by his unwearied exertions in every good and laudable cause. On leaving college he devoted himself chiefly to the improvement of Bengali literature, which up to this time had been a medley of several tongues. We intend giving a summary of this great man’s life in the Appendix. At this time there happened an event which convulsed the whole of India. This was the Mutiny of 1857, the cause of which was the groundless rumour that the Company Sahib (the East India Company), to make the Sepoys Christian, had prepared for them greased cartridges, so that neither Hindus nor Muhammadans serving in the Army could keep their caste. The rumour had its rise at Dumdum, whence it spread like wild-fire.
It is not our purpose to give a detailed account of the Mutiny. It is enough for us to say that it did not remain confined within the North-Western Provinces, but spread into certain parts of Behar.
Calcutta had had no real danger to fear, but the people at times were panic-stricken.
The Mutiny was soon suppressed, and Delhi and Luck-now were again taken possession of; and at last the whole country was again at peace. The British Sovereign, Queen Victoria, took the government in her own hands. Meanwhile, a new power had manifested itself among the educated in Bengal — the power of the Native (or Indian) Press. A weekly journal in English, named The Hindu Patriot, had been started in 1853, by one Madhusudan Roy, in Calcutta. He, unable to manage it properly, after a year or two sold the paper and his own proprietary right to Babu Haris Chandra Mukerji, then one of the leading men in the city. He was a man of great talents, keen sagacity, and a dauntless heart; and, thus equipped, he entered upon the discussion of the politics of the day. He boldly protested against Lord Dalhousie’s policy of annexation, and with equal boldness he supported Lord Canning in his Liberal views. He tried to convince Englishmen here and at home that the Mutiny had had its origin in some shallow-headed bigoted zealots; and that the people of India, as a whole, were loyal to the backbone. Canning, by following a lenient policy, had incurred the displeasure of some of his countrymen, who even went so far as to recommend his being called upon to resign; and to combat his antagonists he often fell back upon the columns of The Hindu Patriot, the chief exponent of public opinion then in the country.
In The Hindu Patriot Haris Chandra Mukerji stoutly vindicated the cause of the ryots against the planters, at the time of the Nil Darpan troubles, and it was one of the results of his championship, that the Government appointed the “Indigo Commission,” in 1860, to go round and collect evidence on the indigo question. Babu Haris Chandra gave his evidence in such terms as greatly to annoy some of the planters, and one of them brought a case of libel against him in the Supreme Court. The prosecution fell through, because the accused, living at Bhowanipur, was not under the jurisdiction of the Court. But the worry and anxiety attending it told so much on the already overworked constitution of Haris that he died, in June, 1861, at the age of fifty-seven years.
A chain of important events in Bengal made the time from 1856 to 1861 ever memorable. These were the widow-marriage agitation, the Mutiny, the indigo disturbances, the striking career of Haris Chandra Mukerji as a patriot and journalist, the rising of the vernacular paper Som Prakas into eminence, the starting of Bengali theatres, the fame and decline of the Bengali poet, Ishwar Chandra Gupta, the rise of Michael Madhu Sudham Dutt as the leading poet of Bengal, and, last but not least, Kesava Chandra Sen’s joining the Brahmo Samaj and, in doing so, communicating to it a new force. Each of these events created a sensation throughout Bengal, and the circumstances in connection with each are worthy of our notice here. In the meantime let us say something about the growth of dramatic literature in Bengal. In the days when there was no drama in Bengali the educated Indian gentlemen of Calcutta used to attend the only English theatre in the city. But they soon felt the desirability of having actors from among themselves. Babu Prasanna Kumar Tagore once had the English translation of the Uttararam Charita played in his country house at Soorho, near Calcutta, by young Bengalis. In 1854 the Oriental Theatre was established, in which Indian actors played Shakespeare’s Macbeth and other classical dramas. But the rich soon felt that such entertainments could not please the people in general, so one of them offered a prize for the best-written drama in Bengali, and the Kulin Kuls Sharbassha Natak was composed by Ram Narain Tarkaratna. Then followed Sakuntala, in 1857, and then Beni Shankar and Bikram Urbashi, all these being translations from Sanskrit. They were played in several places, the house of Kali Prasanna Singha, the author of the last-named, being one of them.
It was at this time that through the joint exertions of Raja Protap Chandra, and Ishwar Chandra of Paikpara, and Maharaja Jotindra Mohan Tagore, that a Bengali theatre was inaugurated in the garden at Belgachia. It was here that Calcutta first came to know Mr Michael Madhu Sudhan Dutt, who, having returned from Madras in 1857, was working in the Calcutta Police Court. He was introduced to the patrons of the theatre, and he translated for them, in 1858, the Ratna Vali Natak, or the drama named Ratna Vali, after its heroine. Other works followed, which secured for him fame and popularity. Some there were, however, who, though quite fascinated by the flight of his genius, questioned the appropriateness of his versification. He was the first to use blank verse in Bengali poetry, and this offended their tastes, though there were others that lauded him for this innovation.
The rise of Mr Dutt at this particular time must be acknowledged to be a happy coincidence, following the decline of that witty poet of nature, Ishwar Chandra Gupta. The genius of Ishwar amused men much in the midst of the common surroundings of life, but that of Michael soared high and dealt with great and noble themes.
We now return to our hero Ramtanu. He was transferred from the Uttarpara School to that in Baraset in 1857, where he worked for about a year and a half; and where, being near to Calcutta, he could conveniently visit his friends and co-operate with them in their patriotic movements. The noble qualities of this good and great man were as conspicuous now as they had ever been before. He threw his heart and soul into his work. His great aim was to awaken in the minds of his pupils an earnest desire for knowledge, to help to the formation of good principles in them, and to excite in them a love of virtue. As for himself, he never spent a moment unprofitably. When free from school work he devoted himself to pursuits calculated to develop more fully his intellectual and moral faculties, among which were the study of botany in the flower garden and the laying-out of a piece of ground for horticultural purposes.
From Baraset Mr Lahiri was again sent to Krishnagar College in 1858. But he had another change of place soon. In 1859 he was appointed second master of the English School at Rassapagla, near Calcutta, established by the Government for the education of Tipu Sultan’s descendants. While here he could very frequently call on his friend Ram Gopal, and others, and take part in their pursuits and enjoyments. He joined them in their literary labours, political agitations, and festive meetings.
Drinking wine, as we have said before, was the fashion of the day, and he relished this pleasure, though he was never known to go beyond the limits of moderation. Many a convivial gathering would have turned into a drinking-bout but for his presence. We have heard from his own lips that a circumstance happened at the time of which we are speaking which induced him to live as a teetotaller for years, till his health gave way, and he was, at the advice of doctors and friends, obliged to return to his former habit of drinking a glass or two of wine in the evening. One day a young relative of Ram Gopal, having drunk too much, lost all control over his own conduct and speech. This caused Ramtanu Babu to reflect on the bad and dangerous examples his friends and he were giving to the rising generation; and, addressing Babu Ram Gopal Ghosh, he said, “See, Ram Gopal, the boys are being spoilt by us. After what we have seen of your relative this evening let us resolve entirely to give up wine, so that we may not be stumbling-blocks to any.” We do not know whether Ram Gopal Babu took this advice or not, but of this we are sure, that Ramtanu stuck to this resolution for a long time.
From Rassapagla Mr Lahiri was transferred to Barisal, as headmaster of the Zila School. Here he worked only for three months; but the impression he made on the minds of his pupils during this short time was as deep and lasting as if he had lived and worked among them for many years. He won their love and respect, and they used every evening to crowd around him, in spite of the opposition of their guardians, to discuss with him the questions of the day. Some of them are known now as men of distinction, and if anybody congratulates them on their success in life they invariably attribute everything they have to their great and venerable Guru, Ramtanu Lahiri.
Mr Lahiri came to the Krishnagar College for the third time in April 1861. He worked there till November 1865, when, his health failing, he applied for pension. Mr Alfred Smith, principal of the college, sent the application to the Director with the following remarks:—
“In parting with Babu Ramtanu Lahiri, I may be allowed to say that Government will lose the services of an educational officer than whom no one has discharged his public duties with greater fidelity, zeal, and devotion, or has laboured more assiduously and successfully for the moral elevation of his pupils.”
The main secret of Ramtanu’s remarkable success as a teacher was that his mind, instead of being stationary, was 
Sir Charles Cecil Stevens, K.C.S.I.
Formerly Officiating Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal.
Even when an octogenarian he would jump up with joy on hearing something new and interesting, stop the speaker, bring out his own memorandum-book, and then and there write down what he had heard. Knowledge from any source whatever was always prized by him. If a boy in his class ever pointed out any mistake of his, or suggested a better explanation of a passage than that which he had given, he, instead of being angry, as teachers generally are in such a case, gave calm attention to what the boy said, and was greatly delighted to have his own mistake corrected, or his faulty explanation superseded by a better one.
Here are some stories illustrating this admirable trait of his character. Without vouching for their truth, we give them just as we have heard them. Once Mr Lahiri, during his last connection with the Krishnagar College, was explaining a certain passage in the English text-book, when a boy, interrupting him, said, “Oh, sir, that isn’t the correct meaning.” To this Mr Lahiri replied, saying, “Well, what is your meaning?” At this the boy gave his explanation in such a satisfactory way that the master was quite delighted to hear him.
The second story more plainly shows Ramtanu Babu’s modesty and desire to learn the truth. Once a boy doubted the correctness of his explanation of a certain passage. As he was sure on the point he explained it again, with illustrations to make it more lucid. But the boy’s doubts were not removed. Then the modest teacher, having a fellow-teacher supposed to possess a very sound knowledge of English, Babu Umes Chandra Dutt, called him into the class-room, and said, “Will you please explain this passage to my boys?” and on Mr Dutt’s explaining it he turned towards the boys, saying, “You see the meaning I gave to the passage was just the same as that given by Umes Babu [who subsequently became the Principal of the College, and still lives at Krishnagar]; but, as my knowledge of English is much inferior to his, I could not make myself as clear as he has done. There are very few Indians so learned in English as he.”
Ramtanu was above the weakness of pretending to be omniscient. He had no false pride. If he did not understand a passage in the text-book he simply said so, and promised to be better informed the next day.
We must here notice the death of Mr Lahiri’s father in 1857, and the birth of his second and third sons, Sharat Kumar and Basanta Kumar, in Bhadra, 1859, and in Magh, 1862, respectively. Babu Ram Krishna Lahiri had received a great shock from his son’s renunciation of popular Hinduism, from which he never recovered, and to which he at last succumbed.
During Mr Lahiri’s official career at Rassapagla, at Barisal, and for the third time at Krishnagar, four new forces came into existence in Bengal. These were, as mentioned before, the rise of Kesava Chandra Sen as a reformer, the appearance of Bankim Chandra in the field of Bengali fiction, of Dinabandhu Mitra as a dramatist, and of Dwarkanath Vidyabhusan as a journalist. These four men had a great hold on the people’s hearts in Bengal. But the chief of them was Kesava Chandra. We will give a short account of the lives and doings of these great men in the Appendix; and so we will say no more about them at present.
Kesava Chandra Sen (Keshub Chundar Sen)