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We tend to associate the Bengal renaissance of the 19th century with liberal thinkers largely
E.g. Ram mohun Roy, Michael Madhusudan Dutt, Rajnarayan Basu, Keshub Chandra Sen
But there were many conservative, strongly Hindu nationalist thinkers who came out of same renaissance
E.g. Ram mohun Roy, Michael Madhusudan Dutt, Rajnarayan Basu, Keshub Chandra Sen
But there were many conservative, strongly Hindu nationalist thinkers who came out of same renaissance
Most notably -
Radhakanta Deb
Ishwar Chandra Gupta
Bhudev Mukhopadhyay
Bankim Chandra Chatterjee
and ofcourse -
Swami Vivekanand slightly later..
Radhakanta Deb
Ishwar Chandra Gupta
Bhudev Mukhopadhyay
Bankim Chandra Chatterjee
and ofcourse -
Swami Vivekanand slightly later..
Among these perhaps one of the less well known figures is Bhudev Mukhopadhyay
I learnt about him in a talk by Swapan Dasgupta recently
He was a classmate of Michael Madhusudan Dutt, and the son of a famous Sanskrit Pandit
But also appears to have taught briefly in a Madrasa!
I learnt about him in a talk by Swapan Dasgupta recently
He was a classmate of Michael Madhusudan Dutt, and the son of a famous Sanskrit Pandit
But also appears to have taught briefly in a Madrasa!
The one novel of Bhudev that Swapan brought to attention is -
Swapnalabdha Bharatbarsher Itihas
written sometime in the 1890s at the end of his life
Swapnalabdha Bharatbarsher Itihas
written sometime in the 1890s at the end of his life
The novel title literally means - "A history of India as revealed in one's dreams"
Bhudev, a staunch nationalist, engages in counter-factual history in this book
Wherein he imagines a Maratha victory in the Third battle of Panipat!
Bhudev, a staunch nationalist, engages in counter-factual history in this book
Wherein he imagines a Maratha victory in the Third battle of Panipat!
The novel describes the emergence of a united India under the head of an enlightened Hindu monarch following the victory of the Marathas over Abdali in Panipat!
A Hindu monarch who combines the rule of Dharma with western science and technology
A Hindu monarch who combines the rule of Dharma with western science and technology
I found that very curious.
Never heard of this book or even this author before!
The conservative thinkers who were part of the Bengali renaissance need to be discussed more.
We discuss Bankim and Vivekananda a lot. But not some of the less well known names
Never heard of this book or even this author before!
The conservative thinkers who were part of the Bengali renaissance need to be discussed more.
We discuss Bankim and Vivekananda a lot. But not some of the less well known names
For those who can read Bengali, Bhudev's Swapnalabdha Bharatbarser Itihas is available on http://archive.org !
https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.340243/page/n5/mode/2up
https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.340243/page/n5/mode/2up
Post-script : We shouldn't paint all those "conservative" thinkers I mentioned with the same brush though
There is considerable variety between them
E.g. Radhakanta Deb was an avowed traditionalist and member of Dharma Sabha
OTOH Bhudev was more reformist, albeit a nationalist
There is considerable variety between them
E.g. Radhakanta Deb was an avowed traditionalist and member of Dharma Sabha
OTOH Bhudev was more reformist, albeit a nationalist
