David Hare (1775–1842) was a
Scottish watchmaker
A watchmaker is an artisan who makes and repairs watches. Since a majority of watches are now factory-made, most modern watchmakers only repair watches. However, originally they were master craftsmen who built watches, including all their part ...
and
philanthropist in
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 ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
(see
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...
and their rule in India). He founded many educational institutions in Calcutta (now
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 ...
), such as the
Hindu School
Hindu School is a state government-administered school in Kolkata (Calcutta), India. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest modern educational institution in Asia (then known as ''Hindu College''). The institution played a key role during Bengal R ...
, and
Hare School and helped in founding
Presidency College.
Early life
David Hare was born in Scotland in 1775. He came to India in 1800 to make a fortune as a watch maker. However, while he prospered in his business his mind was distracted by the deplorable conditions of the native population and unlike most of the other people who returned to their native land after gathering a fortune to live a life in peace and prosperity, he decided to stay back in the country and devote himself entirely to the cause of its uplift. However, he was no missionary, seeking to convert others to his religion. He lived his own life and allowed others to live their own, only helping to improve their condition. He also founded the School Book Society.
Contribution
Hare felt that the need of the country was English education. He used to discuss the topic with many of his customers, who came to buy watches in his shop.
Raja Ram Mohan Roy
Raja Ram Mohan Roy ( bn, রামমোহন রায়; 22 May 1772 – 27 September 1833) was an Indian reformer who was one of the founders of the Brahmo Sabha in 1828, the precursor of the Brahmo Samaj, a social-religious reform m ...
went to Kolkata in 1814 and within a short time, they became friends. In 1816, he went on his own and attended a session of the Raja’s
Atmiya Sabha. Both of them discussed at length the proposal to establish an English school at Kolkata. Babu Buddi Nath Mukherjee - another member of Atmiya Sabha - later discussed the matter with
Sir Hyde East, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. That led to the foundation of Hindu College, later renamed Presidency College, Kolkata, on 20 January 1817.
Thereafter, David Hare was instrumental in establishing the School Book Society on 6 May 1817. It took the initiative to print and publish text books in both English and Bengali. This society contributed substantially to the flowering 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 ...
.
On 1 September 1818, he established the Calcutta School Society'. He and
Radhakanta Deb
Raja Sir Radhakanta Deb Bahadur ( bn, রাজা রাধাকান্ত দেব; 10 March 1784 – 19 April 1867) was a scholar and a leader of the Calcutta conservative Hindu society, son of Gopimohan Deb of Shovabazar Raj who was the a ...
were secretaries of the society. He worked tirelessly to establish some schools to teach in English and Bengali, according to new methods of teaching, at such places as Thanthania, Kalitala and Arpuly. Every day, he visited the schools and Hindu College and met almost every student. So great was his attachment and commitment to these students that it acted as a great inspiration of many of them. Some of the greatest names in subsequent years were all his students. It was much later that
Alexander Duff or
Henry Louis Vivian Derozio
Henry Louis Vivian Derozio (18 April 1809 – 26 December 1831) was an Indian poet and assistant headmaster of Hindu College, Kolkata. He was a radical thinker of his time and one of the first Indian educators to disseminate Western learning a ...
came on the scene and influenced the course of events.
Additionally, David Hare was a subscriber to the Ladies' Society for Native Female Education (formed in 1824), and would be present in the periodical examinations held by the society.
Later life
In later life, he did not find time to devote to his watch business and so he sold it to a friend named Grey and spent some of the money to buy a small house for himself and the rest for the development of the schools. After a long life of activity he fell ill. He was attacked by cholera. One of his students, Dr. Prasanna Kumar Mitra, tried his best but all efforts failed and David Hare died on 1 June 1842. As news spread around the city, a pall of gloom spread over the city. The Christian missionaries refused to allot him land in their cemeteries, as they thought that he was a non-believer. He was buried in what was then the compound of Hare School-Presidency College that he had donated. The tomb, marked with a bust statue, currently falls within the College Square (renamed Vidyasagar Udyan) swimming pool, opposite to
Hare School.
According to
Sivanath Sastri
Sivanath Shastri or Sibanath Sastri (31 January 1848 – 30 September 1919) was a Bengali social reformer, writer, translator, scholar, editor philoshoper and historian.সুবোধচন্দ্র সেনগুপ্ত ও অঞ্জ ...
, “As his body was brought out of Mr. Gray’s house, thousands of people, some in vehicles, others on foot, followed it. The scene that was witnessed by Kolkata on that day will not be witnessed again. Right from
Bowbazar crossing to Madhab Dutta’s bazaar, the entire road was flooded with people.”
The road where he lived, is called Hare Street, just off Binoy-Badal-Dinesh Bagh (earlier Dalhousie Square). A life-size statue (pictured) was built with public donations and placed in the compound of Hare School.
Further reading
* ''Reverend Krishnamohan Bandyopadhyaya'' (in Bengali) by Mayukh Das, Kolkata:Paschimbanga Anchalik Itihas O Loksanskriti Charcha Kendra (2014)
*
"A biographical sketch of David Hare"by Peary Chand Mittra.
* ''Ramtanu Lahiri O Tatkalin Banga Samaj'' in Bengali by Sivanath Sastr
(English Translation)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hare, David
1775 births
1842 deaths
Educators from West Bengal
Bengali educators
Founders of Indian schools and colleges
Sheriffs of Kolkata
18th-century Indian educators
19th-century Indian educators
Presidency University, Kolkata