Bhudev Mukhopadhyay (1827–1894) was a writer and intellectual in 19th century Bengal. His works were considered ardent displays of nationalism and philosophy in the period of the

Bengal renaissance 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 ...

. His novel ''Anguriya Binimoy'' (1857) was the first historical novel written in Bengal.

Early life

He was born at 37, Haritaki Bagan Lane in

North Kolkata North Kolkata encompasses the northern part of Kolkata, including the city's oldest neighbourhood. Shyambazar, Bagbazar, Kumartuli, Shobhabazar, Posta, Jorasanko, Rajabazar, Phoolbagan, Maniktala, Kankurgachi, Ultadanga, Chitpur, Belgachia, ...

on 22 February 1827 to Pandit Biswanath Tarkabhusan, a renowned Sanskrit scholar. His ancestral village was Natibpur (

Khanakul Khanakul is a town in Hooghly District in the state of West Bengal, India . Khanakul is the birth place of Raja Ramohon Roy. Khanakul is famous for Ratnavali Temple, Gopinath Temple, Radhavallabh Temple, Ghontashor Temple. Khanakul can be reach ...

) in

Hooghly District Hooghly district () is one of the districts of the Indian state of West Bengal. It can alternatively be spelt ''Hoogli'' or ''Hugli''. The district is named after the Hooghly River. The headquarters of the district are at Hooghly-Chinsura (''C ...

.''Bhudev Jibani'' (Ed. 1), Bhattacharya, Kashinath, Calcutta, 1911, p. 1 He was a student of

Sanskrit College The Sanskrit College and University (erstwhile Sanskrit College) is a state university located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It focuses on liberal arts, offering both UG and PG degrees in Ancient Indian and world history, Bengali, English, Sa ...

and

Hindu College Hindu College may refers to several colleges around the world, including: India *Dharmamurthi Rao Bhahadur Calavala Cunnan Chetty's Hindu College, Chennai, Tamil Nadu * Gobardanga Hindu College, West Bengal * Gokul Das Hindu Girls College, Moradab ...

, studying at the same time as other

figures such as

Michael Madhusudan Dutt Michael Madhusudan Dutt ((Bengali: মাইকেল মধুসূদন দত্ত); (25 January 1824 – 29 June 1873) was a Bengali poet and playwright. He is considered one of the pioneers of Bengali literature. Early life Dutt ...

. After completing his education at Hindu College, Bhudev became the headmaster of the Hindu Hitarthi School in 1846. He later founded Chandannagar Seminary and taught there. In 1848, he joined

Calcutta Madrasa Aliah University (AU; ur, جامعہ عالیہ) is a West Bengal, state government controlled autonomous university in New Town, West Bengal, India. Previously known as Mohammedan College of Calcutta, it was elevated to university in 2008. ...

(Madrasa 'Aliya) as English teacher. In 1856, he was selected for the post of Principal of Hooghly Normal School through a competitive examination for which his former class-mate

was also a candidate.Sengupta, Subodh Chandra and Bose, Anjali (editors), 1976/1998, ''Sansad Bangali Charitabhidhan'' (Biographical dictionary) Vol I, , p. 380,

Later career

In 1862 he was appointed Assistant Inspector of Schools. He was appointed as the first Indian headmaster of

Howrah Zilla School Howrah Zilla School, abbreviated as ''HZS'', is a Governmental, Bengali medium, higher secondary school located in Howrah in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the only government high school of Howrah. It is affiliated with West Bengal Boar ...

. He was later appointed Inspector of Schools and served in the states of

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 ...

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...

and

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

. Recognizing his services, Mukhopadhyay was awarded the CIE (Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire) in 1877 by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

. In 1882 he was appointed as Director of Public Instruction and was also nominated to the Lt.-Governor's Council and the Education Commission later that year. Mukhopadhyay retired from public service in 1883. He was also involved with several educational journals including Shiksadarpan O Sangbadsar and the Education Gazette, which he edited. This involvement lasted from 1868 until his retirement. His sense of nationalism was so strong that the English principal of Presidency College once noted, "Bhudev with his CIE and 1500 a month is still anti-British."

Writings

Mukhopadhyay was a renowned writer and thinker and combined

nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...

with

rationalism In philosophy, rationalism is the epistemological view that "regards reason as the chief source and test of knowledge" or "any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification".Lacey, A.R. (1996), ''A Dictionary of Philosophy' ...

in his works. He strived to reform Hindu customs and family laws to synergize with modern times. He had an immense knowledge of Sanskrit, as evidenced by his numerous essays, and critiques of

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

literature. He wrote several books for young people, historical novels and fused many different philosophies into characters he portrayed.

Works

* ''Paribarik Prabandha'' (1882) - essay * ''Samajik Prabandha'' (1892) - essay * ''Achar Prabandha'' (1895) - essay * ''Prakrtik Bijnan'' (in two parts, 1858 & 1859) - Book * ''Purabrttasar'' (1858) - Book * ''Englander Itihas'' (1862) - Book * ''Romer Itihas'' (1862) - Book * ''Banglar Itihas'' (3rd Part, 1904) - Book * ''Ksetratattva'' (1862) - Book * ''Puspanjali'' (1st part, 1876) - Book * Anguriya Binimoy (1857) - Novel * ''Aitihasik Upanyas'' (1857) - Historical Novel * ''Svapnalabdha Bharatbarser Itihas'' (1895) - Novel

References

* * *

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mukhopadhyay, Bhudev 1827 births 1894 deaths Presidency University, Kolkata alumni The Sanskrit College and University alumni University of Calcutta alumni Bengali writers Bengali Hindus 19th-century Bengalis Bengali novelists Bengali philosophers Indian civil servants Indian writers Indian male writers Indian novelists Indian male novelists Indian historical novelists Indian educators Indian editors Indian magazine editors Indian non-fiction writers Indian male non-fiction writers Indian theologians 19th-century Indian writers 19th-century Indian male writers 19th-century Indian novelists 19th-century Indian educators 19th-century Indian philosophers 19th-century Indian non-fiction writers Hindu philosophers and theologians 19th-century Hindu philosophers and theologians People from West Bengal Educators from West Bengal Novelists from West Bengal Writers from Kolkata Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire Indian historical fiction writers