Tripura remembers Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyaya on his Birth Anniversary
A programme was organized to celebrate the 185th birth anniversary of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyaya at Rabindra satabarshiki bhavan on Monday. Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyaya was an Indian novelist, poet and journalist. He is known as Sahitya Samrat (Emperor of Literature) in Bengali. Mayor of Agartala Municipal Corporation Dipak Majumder and other dignitaries were present in the programme.
Vande Mataram has been India’s national song since 1937. Sung by generations of Indians to evoke the motherland, the song was written by Bengali writer Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay.
But Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay was more than just the father of the Indian national song. He was a celebrated writer, poet and journalist. He’s considered to be the father of the Bengali novel.
Born in Naihati, Bengal on June 27, 1838, he went on to become a significant figure in India’s struggle for independence. Bankim has left an indelible mark on modern nationalism and modern Hinduism. His belief was that there was “no serious hope of progress in India except in Hinduism-reformed, regenerated and purified”.
He was one of the first two graduates from the University of Calcutta and became a deputy magistrate and deputy collector in the government of British India at the age of 20, a post he held till he retired in 1891.
He published his first fiction work, Rajmohan’s Wife in English and it is regarded as the first Indian novel to be written in English.
