How English became compulsory at Sanskrit College 200 years ago, thanks to father of Bengali alphabet
With Sanskrit College and University turning two centuries old on Sunday, it will embark on a yearlong celebration. One of the activities undertaken to mark the occasion is the translation into English of a Bengali book containing the history of the institution established in 1824.
That Raja Ram Mohan Roy had objected to the setting up of Sanskrit College because he believed that education should be Western; that it was Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, the father of the modern Bengali alphabet, who insisted that English be taught at the institute — these are some of lesserknown facts that emerged during the translation of Kolikata Sanskrit College-er Itihas (‘History of Kolkata’s Sanskrit
College’) in two volumes. The first part is authored by Brajendranath Bandyopadhyay and the second by Gopikamohun Bhattacharya.
“We associate Sanskrit College with traditional knowledge systems, but forget that for many years, English was considered an essential subject to be learnt by the scholars in this institution,” said Samata Biswas, an English professor involved in the translation.
“I became interested in the history of English at Sanskrit College through these volumes, and I found these interesting facts — Ram Mohan Roy’s objection to the setting up of the Sanskrit College and Vidyasagar’s restructuring of the English syllabus as far back as in 1853 when, as the principal, he made it a compulsory subject,” Dr.
Biswas said.
“Vidyasagar’s reform of the English curriculum was instituted to give the students of Sanskrit College an exposure in European systems of thought and, thereby, discover the unity in different philosophical traditions. Today, students from different Humanities disciplines are also expected to study across cultures, hence Vidyasagar’s reforms were truly centuries ahead of their time,” she added.
As for Ram Mohan Roy’s objection to the setting up of the institution, his letter to Lord Amherst features not only in the translated book but is also now in public domain. Written shortly after the foundation stone was laid in December 1823, it stated, “We now find that the Government are establishing a Sangscrit [sic] School under Hindoo Pundits to impart such knowledge as is already current in India. This seminary (similar in character to those which existed in Europe before the time of Lord Bacon) can only be expected to load the minds of youth with grammatical niceties and metaphysical distinctions of little or no practicable use to the possessors or to society.”
Share some of her findings during the translation, Dr. Biswas said, “There were instances I came across that I found inspirational. Vidyasagar and Prasanna Kumar Sarbadhikary [initially professor of English and later principal] resigned from their jobs, citing interference with their administrative and academic insight and integrity. Sarbadhikary was later persuaded to rejoin the institution.”