Prasanna Kumar Roy (1849 – 1932; better known as Dr. P. K. Roy) was an educationist and the first Indian principal of

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 ...

Early life

The son of Shyam Sundar Ray, he belonged to a family originated from Subhaddya in Keraniganj,

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest ...

(now in Bangladesh). He was a student of

Pogose School Pogose Laboratory School and College, IER, Jagannath University ( bn, পোগোজ ল্যাবরেটরি স্কুল এন্ড কলেজ ,আ.ই.আর,জগন্নাথ বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়) was es ...

in Dhaka. He was attracted towards the

Brahmo Samaj Brahmo Samaj ( bn, ব্রহ্ম সমাজ, Brahmô Sômaj, ) is the societal component of Brahmoism, which began as a monotheistic reformist movement of the Hindu religion that appeared during the Bengal Renaissance. It was one of t ...

early in life. His family were observant Hindus of high caste, whereas the Brahmo Samaj was a radical reformist sect closely aligned with Christian missionaries; many of the leaders of the Brahmo sect were converts to Christianity. Roy's attraction for the Brahmo Samaj (and Christianity) alienated his from his family and he was turned out of his home. The well-funded Christian missionaries gave him support and patronage; guided by his new friends, he won the Gilchrist Scholarship to go to England. He graduated from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...

in 1873. He was awarded the D.Sc. degree in

Psychology Psychology is the science, scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immens ...

from the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 1 ...

and the

in 1876. He and

Ananda Mohan Bose Ananda Mohan Bose ( bn, আনন্দমোহন বসু) (23 September 1847 – 20 August 1906) was an Indian politician, academician, social reformer, and lawyer during the British Raj. He co-founded the Indian National Association, on ...

got together to establish a Brahmo Samaj,

Indian Association Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

and a library in the United Kingdom.

Teaching career

Interiors of Presidency University, Kolkata 08

On returning to India, Roy taught at

Patna College Patna College is a constituent state aided College of Patna University which is established in 1863 during the British Raj, is one of the oldest colleges in the state of Bihar, India. It offers undergraduate and postgraduate courses in science, ...

Dhaka College Dhaka College ( bn, ঢাকা কলেজ also known as DC) is the oldest secular educational institution of Bangladesh located in Dhaka. It offers higher secondary education ( HSC). It has Honours and Masters programs as well which are aff ...

and

. He was the first Indian to serve as principal of Presidency College from 1902 to 1905. Thereafter, he became Registrar of the

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a public collegiate state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered one of best state research university all over India every yea ...

and on retirement served as Inspector of Colleges under the University. He was posted to England for two years as education assistant to the Secretary for India. Roy was active in the affairs of the

Sadharan Brahmo Samaj , native_name_lang = bn , abbreviation = , image = Sadharan Brahmo Samaj building in Kolkata 01.jpg , image_size = 200px , caption = Sadharan Brahmo Samaj building, Bidhan Sarani, Kolkata , motto = , predecessor = Brahmo Samaj , esta ...

. He was secretary of the

chapter of the Brahmo Samaj, and secretary and president of Sadharan Brahmo Samaj, Kolkata, for some time. He and his wife used to stay or visit regularly

Hazaribagh Hazaribagh is a city and a municipal corporation in Hazaribagh district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. It is the divisional headquarters of North Chotanagpur division. It is considered as a health resort and is also popular for Hazaribag ...

, which had a small Brahmo community.

Family

Roy's education in London and links with the British establishment made him a prize catch for marriage, and his estrangement from his family was an advantage in this context. He married Sarala, a daughter of

Durga Mohan Das Durga Mohan Das ( bn, দুর্গামোহন দাশ ''Durga Mohon Das''; 1841–1897) was a Brahmo Samaj leader and a social reformer. Early life Durga Mohan was born in a well-known Baidya family at Telirbagh, Bikrampur, Dhaka in ...

, who was a convert to Christianity and a leading stalwart of the Brahmo Samaj. The marriage connected Roy to many leading lights of Bengali society who prospered under the colonial regime after accepting English education and a huge dose of European culture, not least in matters of religion. His wife Sarala was a sister of

Abala Bose Abala, Lady Bose (8 August 1865 – 25 April 1951) was an Indian social worker and feminist. She was known for her efforts in women's education and her contribution towards helping widows.Sengupta, Subodh Chandra and Bose, Anjali (editors), 197 ...

, wife of scientist

Jagadish Chandra Bose Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose (;, ; 30 November 1858 – 23 November 1937) was a biologist, physicist, botanist and an early writer of science fiction. He was a pioneer in the investigation of radio microwave optics, made significant contribution ...

; among her cousins were Deshbandhu

Chittaranjan Das Chittaranjan Das (5 November 1870 – 16 June 1925), popularly called ''Deshbandhu'' (Friend of the Nation), was an Indian freedom fighter, political activist and lawyer during the Indian independence movement and founder-leader of the Swara ...

and

Sudhi Ranjan Das Sudhi Ranjan Das (1 October 1894 – 18 September 1977) was the 5th Chief Justice of India, serving from 1 February 1956 to 30 September 1959. Das also served as chairman of '' The Statesman''. Background and education S.R. Das was born in ...

(later

Chief Justice of India The chief justice of India ( IAST: ) is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of India as well as the highest-ranking officer of the Indian Judiciary. The Constitution of India grants power to the president of India to appoint, in consultation ...

). Roy and Sarala became the parents of two daughters,

Charulata Mukherjee Charulata Mukherjee was a noted women's rights activist and social worker from Calcutta, who was associated with Brahmo Samaj and All India Women's Conference. She was noted for her social and women rights activism. She was an active member of AI ...

and Swarnalata Bose. Roy gave his daughter

Charulata ''Charulata'' (Spelt as ''Cārulatā''; ) is a 1964 Indian drama film written and directed by Satyajit Ray. Based upon the novel ''Nastanirh'' by Rabindranath Tagore, it stars Soumitra Chatterjee, Madhabi Mukherjee and Sailen Mukherjee. The f ...

in marriage to

Satish Chandra Mukherjee Satish Chandra Mukherjee (5 June 1865 – 18 April 1948) was a pioneer in establishing a system of national education in India, along with Sri Aurobindo. The positivist background Satish Chandra was born at Banipur in Hooghly district of prese ...

, the educationist; they became the parents of Air Marshal Subroto Mukerjee, first Indian Chief of Air Staff, the feminist and politician

Renuka Ray Renuka Ray (1904–1997) was a noted freedom-fighter, social activist and politician of India. She was a descendant of Brahmo reformer, Nibaran Chandra Mukherjee, and daughter of Satish Chandra Mukherjee, an ICS officer, and Charulata Mukher ...

and Prasanta Mukherjee, a General Manager employed by the Bengal Nagpur Railways. Roy's other daughter Swarnalata Bose was the mother of five children, two sons, namely Akshay Kumar Bose and Jagat Kishore Bose, and three daughters, being Kamala Dutt (married to B.C. Dutt, Accountant General of

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

), Manorama Bose (a single woman; principal of Rani Birla College for Girls, Kolkata, and briefly Chief Inspector of Women's Education in

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 fou ...

) and Anila Khastgir (married to Satish Ranjan Khastgir, Khaira Professor of Physics at

Calcutta University The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate State university (India), state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered ...

References

* ''Sansad Bangali Charitabhidhan'' (Biographical dictionary) in Bengali edited by Subodh Chandra Sengupta and Anjali Bose. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ray, Pasanna Kumar 1849 births 1932 deaths 20th-century Bengalis 19th-century Bengalis Bengali educators Brahmos Das family of Telirbagh Alumni of the University of London Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Dhaka College faculty Presidency University, Kolkata faculty Principals of Presidency University, Kolkata University of Calcutta faculty Scholars from Kolkata Indian scholars 20th-century Indian scholars 19th-century Indian scholars Indian educational theorists 19th-century Indian educational theorists 20th-century Indian educational theorists Indian educators 20th-century Indian educators 19th-century Indian educators Educationists from India Indian academic administrators Indian academics Indian lecturers West Bengal academics