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 adopted son and heir of Maharaja Nabakrishna Deb of shovabazar Raj. An accomplished scholar, Radhakanta was proficient in

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 ...

, Persian and

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

. He published ''Shabda Kalpadruma'', a Sanskrit language dictionary.

Hara Kumar Tagore Hara Kumar Tagore (also Hara Coomar Tagore) (1798–1858) was a leading land owner, philanthropist, Sanskrit scholar, writer and musician from Calcutta. He belonged to the Pathuriaghata branch of the Tagore family. Life He was the eldest son of ...

another contemporary Sanskrit scholar and scion of

Tagore family The Tagore family (also spelled as ''Thakur''), with over three hundred years of history,Deb, Chitra, pp 64–65. has been one of the leading families of Calcutta, India, and is regarded as one of the key influencers during the Bengali Renaissa ...

had assisted him in compiling ''Shabda Kalpadruma''. He also wrote articles that were published in

Ishwar Chandra Gupta Ishwar Chandra Gupta ( bn, ঈশ্বরচন্দ্র গুপ্ত; 6 March 1812 – 23 January 1859) was a famous Indian Bengali poet and writer. Gupta was born in Kanchrapara, in Bengal. Early life Ishwar Chandra Gupta was born in ...

's newspaper

Sambad Prabhakar ''Sambad Prabhakar'' (also ''Sangbad Prabhakar''; bn, সংবাদ প্রভাকর) was a Bengali daily newspaper founded by Ishwar Chandra Gupta. It began as a weekly newspaper in 1831 and became a daily eight years later in 1839. It ...

. Radhakanta Deb always showed a marked interest in promoting

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

, particularly English education among the Hindus; he also advocated

female education Female education is a catch-all term of a complex set of issues and debates surrounding education (primary education, secondary education, tertiary education, and health education in particular) for girls and women. It is frequently called girl ...

. Radhakanta Deb was actively involved in the establishment and activities of the Calcutta School Book Society in 1817 and the Calcutta School Society in 1818. Radhakanta was an active member of the Agricultural and Horticultural Society of India since its establishment in 1818. He was founder-president

British Indian Association British Indian Association was a political organization in the 19th century in India. Its rival was the Indian National Association. History British Indian Association was established on 29 October 1851 in Kolkata, India with Radhakanta Deb as ...

in 1851, a position he held till his death. He helped David Hare and funded founding of the

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 ...

in Calcutta. He was knighted as a Knight Commander of the

Order of the Star of India The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes: # Knight Grand Commander (GCSI) # Knight Commander ( KCSI) # Companion ( CSI) No appointments ...

(KCSI) on 24 May 1866, and died barely 11 months later. Despite his contribution to the cause of

, he was a strong upholder of

social conservatism Social conservatism is a political philosophy and variety of conservatism which places emphasis on traditional power structures over social pluralism. Social conservatives organize in favor of duty, traditional values and social institutio ...

. Although ''

sati Sati or SATI may refer to: Entertainment * ''Sati'' (film), a 1989 Bengali film by Aparna Sen and starring Shabana Azmi * ''Sati'' (novel), a 1990 novel by Christopher Pike *Sati (singer) (born 1976), Lithuanian singer *Sati, a character in ''Th ...

'' was not practised in his own family, he came forward to defend the custom when the Government contemplated its abolition. When

Lord William Bentinck Lieutenant General Lord William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck (14 September 177417 June 1839), known as Lord William Bentinck, was a British soldier and statesman who served as the Governor of Fort William (Bengal) from 1828 to 1834 and the First G ...

's government had finally abolished ''sati'' by regulation in December 1829, Radhakanta Deb, along with his conservative Hindu friends, was the leader a society called

Dharma Sabha Dharma Sabha was formed in 1830 in Calcutta by Radhakanta Deb. The organization was established mainly to counter the ongoing social reform movements led by protagonists such as Raja Ram Mohun Roy and Henry Derozio. More specifically, the impetus ...

(founded by his father Gopi Mohun Deb), protested against this measure by presenting a petition to the Governor-General on behalf of the orthodox section of the Hindu community.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Deb, Radhakanta 1784 births 1867 deaths Indian Sanskrit scholars Indian scholars 19th-century Indian scholars Bengali Hindus Founders of Indian schools and colleges Bengali zamindars Bengali-language writers Linguists from India 19th-century Indian linguists Knights Commander of the Order of the Star of India Indian knights 19th-century Indian philanthropists Linguists from Bengal Educators from West Bengal