Chatterjee, Bankim Chandra
(1838–1894), Indian writer. Born to a high-caste Brahman family in Kantalpara, Bengal, British India, Chatterjee, or Bankim, as he is known to Bengalis was a noted scholar of Bengali, English, and Sanskrit as a student. He was in the first group of students to pass the Entrance (1857) and the Bachelor of Arts examinations of the Calcutta University. In 1869, he obtained a Bachelor of Law degree.
Bankim joined the Provincial Executive Service in 1858 and served at various places as deputy collector and deputy magistrate (the highest ranks achievable by Indians at that time). He was greatly respected for his judicial wisdom and for his impartial and effective management of areas under his jurisdiction. However, his independent spirit often caused trouble with his British superiors, most of whom did not have his erudition.
Bankim was a prolific author in Bengali, writing poems, prose, and drama. He was the first major Bengali author and set the style followed and modified by subsequent authors, especially in prose. He also was an acclaimed journalist, the founder of and frequent contributor to Bangadarshan (Review of Bengal), a successful periodical. His prose works included romances, historical fiction, and essays, which in the guise of humor examined and criticized the many absurdities, wrongdoings, and injustices of the British and the Indians of the times. While his poems were not of as high a standard as his prose, one, Vandemataram (Hymn to Mother), became a rallying cry for the seekers of Indian independence.
Bankim vehemently protested demeaning articles on Hinduism by a British missionary. He went to write extensively on Hinduism, going back to the original texts, and played an important part in the movement that some have called neo-Hinduism. Apart from many articles, his opus consists of thirty-three books (and collections) in Bengali and one in English. Many of his Bengali books were translated into English in his lifetime. Since then they have also been translated into Swedish and German.
Further Reading
Banerjee, Brojendranath, and Sajani Kanta Das. (1940–1942) The Complete Works of Bankimchandra Chatterjee (9 volumes) Calcutta, India: Bangiya Sahitya Parishat.
Das, Sisir Kumar. (1984) The Artist in Chains: The Life of Bankimchandra Chatterji. New Delhi: New Statesman.
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