Baikuntha Nath Sen (1843 – 1922) was a

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

scholar, lawyer and philanthropist. His grandson Amarendra Nath Sen was a judge of Supreme Court of India.

Early life

Sen was born in a

Zamindar A zamindar ( Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughals and later the British had begun using it as ...

family of Alampur village in

Bardhaman district Bardhaman district (, ; also spelled Burdwan or Barddhaman or Vardhaman) was a district in West Bengal. On 7 April 2017, the district was bifurcated into two districts: Purba Bardhaman and Paschim Bardhaman district. The headquarters of the dis ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. His father Harimohan Sen came to

Murshidabad Murshidabad fa, مرشد آباد (, or ) is a historical city in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located on the eastern bank of the Bhagirathi River, a distributary of the Ganges. It forms part of the Murshidabad district. Durin ...

in his early years and settled in Bahrampur. Sen completed his study from Krishnath College School in 1858 and entered into

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 affili ...

. He passed B.A. in 1863 and B.L in 1864 thereafter started practicing in the Calcutta High Court and Baharampur Judges Court. Sen was the legal advisor of

Cossimbazar Cossimbazar is a sub-urban area of Berhampore City in the Berhampore CD block in the Berhampore subdivision in Murshidabad district in the Indian state of West Bengal."Cossimbazar" in ''Imperial Gazetteer of India'', Oxford, Clarendon Press, ...

Royal Estate.

Career

Sen achieved great popularity as a lawyer and orator. He was the first editor of ''Murshidabad Hitaishi'', a reputed weekly. He was a great patron of modern education and was associated with various social as well as political works. He was one of the top leaders 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 E ...

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

. In 1916–17, he was elected Chairman of the Reception Committee of the session of the Indian national Congress held in

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

. Sen became the first unofficial Indian chairman of Berhampore Municipality, the then Murshidabad District Board which was established by

Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms The Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms or more briefly known as the Mont–Ford Reforms, were introduced by the colonial government to introduce self-governing institutions gradually in British India. The reforms take their name from Edwin Montagu, th ...

. Baikunthanath invested money to established Bengal Pottery Works along with Raja

Manindra Chandra Nandy Maharaja Sir Manindra Chandra Nandy (29 May 1860 – 12 November 1929) was the Maharaja of Cossimbazar Raj from 1898 to 1929, a philanthropist and reformist during the period of Bengal Renaissance. Family Manindra Chandra Nandy was born on ...

Honour

In 1920, Sen 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 appoi ...

(CIE) and became ''Roy Bahadur.''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sen, Baikuntha Nath 1843 births 1922 deaths Bengali Hindus 20th-century Bengalis 19th-century Bengalis Bengali lawyers Companions of the Order of the Star of India Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire Indian philanthropists Indian lawyers 19th-century Indian lawyers 20th-century Indian lawyers Indian social workers Social workers from West Bengal Indian social reformers Presidency University, Kolkata alumni Indian scholars 19th-century Indian scholars 20th-century Indian scholars