Peary Charan Sircar (also spelled Pyari Churn Sircar or Pyari Charan Sircar in contemporary documents; 1823–1875), was an educationist and textbook writer in nineteenth century
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 ...
. His series of Reading Books introduced a whole generation of Bengalis to the English language, sold in the millions and were translated into every major Indian language. He was also a pioneer of women's education in Bengal and was called '
Arnold of the East'.
[Sengupta, Subodh Chandra and Bose, Anjali (editors), (1976/1998), ''Sansad Bangali Charitabhidhan'' (Biographical dictionary) in Bengali, pp 291–292, ]
Early life and family
Sircar was born at Chorbagan in North
Calcutta
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
. His family hailed from Taragram 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 ...
of
West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...
, and the family name was originally Das. For services rendered, the
Nawab of Bengal
The Nawab of Bengal ( bn, বাংলার নবাব) was the hereditary ruler of Bengal Subah in Mughal India. In the early 18th-century, the Nawab of Bengal was the ''de facto'' independent ruler of the three regions of Bengal, Bihar, ...
had awarded the title 'Sarkar' to
Bireshwar Das, an ancestor. Bhairav Chandra Sarkar, Pyari Charan's father, had become quite wealthy as a ship chandler serving the East India Company, and the family was a fairly good example of the new
bhadralok
Bhadralok (, literally 'gentleman', or 'well-mannered person') is Bengali for the new class of 'gentlefolk' who arose during British rule in India in the Bengal region in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent.
Caste and class makeup
Accordi ...
class. Sarkar was and educated at
David Hare's Pataldanga School,
and admitted to
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 ...
, but shortly afterwards his father and then one of his brothers died. His eldest brother was working in Hooghly and could only send money to their mother; as a Hindu widow she had little standing in the family and was ejected from the family home, along with Sircar and his younger brothers and sisters.
Sircar was forced to leave college and take up a job in 1843 as a teacher at the
Hooghly School; his teachers gave him glowing certificates and praised his acumen in mathematics and English. In the same year (1843) his essay 'On the Effect upon India of the New Communication with Europe by Means of Steam' appeared in the Department of Public Instruction's Report on Education. Sarkar became headmaster of
Barasat School
Barasat () is a city and a municipality of North 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of Barasat Sadar subdivision. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA). ...
(later named
Barasat Peary Charan Sarkar Government High School in his honour), in 1846, and occupied the post till 1854.
His son, J.N. Sircar,
Esq.
Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title.
In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman a ...
, Barrister-at-Law, was a lawyer who practised in the Central Provinces and Berar. He was one of the earliest Indian students of
Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...
. A great-nephew of his was
Brajendranath De
Brajendranath Dey (23 December 1852 – 20 September 1932) was an early Indian member of the Indian Civil Service.
Early life and education
De studied at Hare School, Calcutta, and then Canning Collegiate School and Canning College, Lucknow. ...
,
Esq.
Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title.
In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman a ...
,
ICS, who was the District Magistrate and Collector of Hooghly, and Commissioner (Offgt.) of Burdwan.
The Barasat Girls' School
At Barasat, two brothers,
Nabin Krishna Mitra and
Kalikrishna Mitra
Kalikrishna Mitra (1822 – 2 August 1891) was a Bengali philanthropist, educator and writer. He established the first non-government girls’ school in India.
Early life
Mitra was born to Shibnarayan Mitra in Kolkata, British India. He passed f ...
, offered in 1847 to fund Bengal's first private school for girls if Sarkar would agree to help set it up.
The school (later renamed
Kalikrishna Girls' High School
Barasat Kalikrishna Girls' High School is a heritage high school for girls in Barasat, West Bengal, India.
History
It was established in 1847 by Kalikrishna Mitra, with the support of Nabinkrishna Mitra and Peary Charan Sarkar.
The school ...
) began operations, but Barasat was an extremely conservative Brahmin-majority area and the residents were outraged. Swapan Basu, in his biography of Sircar, alleges that rumours circulated that several landlords were offering money to have Sircar assassinated (p. 24). At this juncture
John Elliot Drinkwater Bethune stepped in to help. He exhorted the financiers not to give up, and with time the opposition weakened. Bethune visited the Barasat school in 1848, and was so impressed that in 1849 he set up the
Bethune School
Bethune College is a women's college located on Bidhan Sarani in Kolkata, India, and affiliated to the University of Calcutta. It is the oldest women's college in India. It was established as a girls' school in 1849, and as a college in 1879.
...
for Girls in Calcutta. Sircar continued to be active in campaigning for women's education, helping to set up several more such schools, including a technical and an agricultural school.
In 1854, with a stipend of two hundred rupees, he was appointed headmaster of the
Colootollah School and was responsible for changing its name to
Hare School
Hare School is one of the oldest schools in Kolkata, India, teaching grades one to twelve under the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education and the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education. It is a state government-administered boys sc ...
.
Presidency College
In 1863 he was appointed as a temporary lecturer at
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 ...
, and in 1867 he was made permanent. There was some opposition to this as he had never completed his education, but in those days this was not so unusual as it later was to become, and Sircar's abilities were plainly evident to the authorities.
Sircar continued his campaigning for women's rights, donating two and a half thousand rupees (then a huge sum of money) to the
Widow remarriage
Hindu texts present diverse views on the position of women, ranging from feminine leadership as the highest goddess, to limiting gender roles. The Devi Sukta hymn of Rigveda, a scripture of Hinduism, declares the feminine energy as the esse ...
Fund in 1869. In 1873, he became a member of the working committee of
Keshub Chunder Sen
Keshub Chandra Sen ( bn, কেশবচন্দ্র সেন; also spelled Keshab Chunder Sen; 19 November 1838 – 8 January 1884) was a Hindu philosopher and social reformer who attempted to incorporate Christian theology within ...
's
Society for the Suppression of Vice in Indian Society
A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Societi ...
. He was also associated with the
Bengal Temperance Society. Keshab Chandra Sen later took up his work on temperance in
Indian Reform Association
The Indian Reform Association was formed on 29 October 1870 with Keshub Chandra Sen as president. It represented the secular side of the Brahmo Samaj and included many who did not belong to the Brahmo Samaj. The objective was to put into practice ...
.
Even after he was appointed as Assistant Professor at Presidency College, he used to visit Colootollah school and take a few classes whenever he could. He was a very meticulous teacher and always corrected his students' work minutely. He also insisted that they learn practical skills as well, and used to teach them gardening. In 1875, while working in his garden, he cut his finger. The wound turned gangrenous and an operation failed to save his life. He died on 1 October.
The Reading Books
The ''First Book of Reading for Native Children'' was published in 1850, probably by the School Book Press, and the rest of the Reading Books (numbers two to six) came out between 1851 and 1870, not necessarily in sequence.
In 1875 Sarkar's friend and colleague at Presidency College, E. R. Lethbridge, proposed a revision of the books and began negotiations with
Thacker and Spink of Calcutta to republish them. However, at around this time Lethbridge was contacted by
Macmillan
MacMillan, Macmillan, McMillen or McMillan may refer to:
People
* McMillan (surname)
* Clan MacMillan, a Highland Scottish clan
* Harold Macmillan, British statesman and politician
* James MacMillan, Scottish composer
* William Duncan MacMillan ...
and Company and (rather unethically) he gave the books to them. Thacker had already printed a few copies and when this was discovered Macmillan had to buy them up and soothe Thacker's ruffled feelings.
Macmillan
MacMillan, Macmillan, McMillen or McMillan may refer to:
People
* McMillan (surname)
* Clan MacMillan, a Highland Scottish clan
* Harold Macmillan, British statesman and politician
* James MacMillan, Scottish composer
* William Duncan MacMillan ...
were looking for a ready made series with which to launch their Indian publishing business.
Other achievements
He played a significant role in 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 ...
. Apart from his role in initiating women's education and impressing upon people to send their daughters to school when Bethune school was opened, he played a pioneering role in the teaching of agriculture in a scientific manner. He set up a vocational training centre for the children of women workers and was instrumental in opening many new schools.
He was one of the patrons of
Hindu Mela Hindu ''Mela'' was a political and cultural festival started in 1867 in Calcutta. Its primary objective was to instill a sense of national pride among the city-dwellers to indigenous handmade products rather than imported British-made products. It i ...
.
[Sastri, Sivanath, ''Ramtanu Lahiri O Tatkalin Banga Samaj'', page 151.]
He took charge of editing the government newspaper ''Education Gazette'' in 1866, but resigned from that position when he was not allowed to publish certain news. He took a leading part to promote prohibition and was one of the founders of
Eden Hindu Hostel
Eden Hindu Hostel ( bn, ইডেন হিন্দু হোস্টেল), established in 1886, was primarily built for Hindu students of Presidency University, Kolkata, India. The hostel is now open for students of all religions. It is now m ...
.
He published two newspapers named ''Well Wisher'' and ''Hitasadhak''.
Sources
*''Sangsad Bangla Charitrabhidhan'' (The Sangsad Dictionary of Biography) (Calcutta: Sahitya Sangsad, 1998) (Bengali language source).
*Swapan Basu, ''Pyari Charan Sarkar'', (Calcutta: Bangla Sahitya Akademi, 2001) (Bengali language source).
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sarkar, Peary Charan
1823 births
1875 deaths
Bengali Hindus
Bengali educators
19th-century Bengalis
Hare School alumni
Academic staff of Presidency University, Kolkata
Academic staff of the University of Calcutta
Bengali writers
19th-century Indian educational theorists
Writers from Kolkata
People from Hooghly district
Founders of Indian schools and colleges
19th-century Indian non-fiction writers
19th-century Indian writers
19th-century Indian educators
19th-century Indian male writers
Educators from West Bengal
Indian writers
Indian male writers
Indian educators
Indian non-fiction writers
Indian male non-fiction writers
Indian educational theorists
Educationists from India
Indian editors
Indian newspaper editors