Volume II,Issue IV, March 2026
Volume-II, Issue-IV, March, 2026 |
Received: 18.03.2026 | Accepted: 19.03.2026 | ||
Published Online: 31.03.2026 | Page No: | ||
DOI: 10.69655/atmadeep.vol.2.issue.04W. | |||
বিস্মৃতপ্রায় জনপদ দেবীগঞ্জের ব্রাহ্ম সমাজ ও শিক্ষা সংস্কৃতির ধারা: একটি পর্যালোচনা ড. রাহুল কুমার দেব, সহকারী শিক্ষক (ইতিহাস), বুড়াগঞ্জ কালকুট সিং উচ্চ বিদ্যালয়, শিলিগুড়ি, পশ্চিমবঙ্গ, ভারত |
Dr. Rahul Kumar Deb, Assistant Teacher (History), Buraganj Kalkut Singh High School, Siliguri, West Bengal, India | ||
ABSTRACT | ||
If
'renaissance' signifies rebirth, the emergence of new values, and a fresh
expression of creative power, then the awakening of Bengal in the 19th century
can undoubtedly be termed a Renaissance. Raja Rammohan Roy can be considered
the pioneer of this movement. The Brahmo Samaj, established under his
leadership, arose from the new consciousness and reasoning characteristic of
the renaissance. At the begining of the 19th century, traditional Hinduism had
largely become ritualistic, leading to various distortions within it. Rammohan
was troubled by the prevalent degradation of society, as well as the dogma and
hypocrisy associated with Hinduism. In an effort to establish a universal
religion rooted in the finest traditions of Hindu monotheism, he founded the
'Brahmo Samaj' or 'Brahmo Sabha' on August 20, 1828, in the home of Firingi
Ramkamal Bose. In January 1830, a regular house of worship was founded, and its
charter outlined the foundational ideas of the well-known Brahmo movement. When
Maharishi Debendranath Tagore joined the Brahmo Samaj in 1838, the disorganized
group was turned into a spiritual brotherhood. He established the
‘Tattvabodhini Sabha,’ a gathering place for the intellectual elite of
modern-day Bengal. Debendranath organized formal initiation into Brahmoism in
order to identify those who were truly interested in Brahmo Samaj and Brahmo
ideal. A pledge was also drafted for initiation. This is how Brahmo Samaj
became Brahmo religion. In 1857, Keshab
Chandra Sen, who was well-versed in western education, joined Brahmo Samaj, and
his inspiring oratory gave the Brahmo movement unprecedented strength. Under
his leadership, the Brahmo Samaj grew into a real force in the country, and the
way young people joined this religion in droves was never happened before.
Keshab visited South Indian cities such as Madras, Poona, Bombay, and Calicut
in 1864-65 to spread Brahmoism. He expanded the organization into new places.
Keshab gathered a group of enthusiastic enargetic young people who, within a
few days, began to outperform him in progressive thinking. Included among them
were Shibnath Shastri, Durga Mohan Das, Dwarkanath Gangopadhyay, and Ananda
Mohan Bose. The new Brahmos increasingly voiced their objections to Keshab's
leadership, his mystical tendencies, and his alleged arbitrariness in running
houses of worship. Furthermore, their disputes over the methods of female
education and social reform also reached a peak. When Keshab Chandra, rejecting
the Native Marriage Act of 1872 (Act III of 1872) that had been introduced
among the Brahmos on his own initiative, married his minor daughter to the King
of Cooch Behar according to the old custom, a rupture became inevitable. A new
organization, the Sadharan Brahmo Samaj, was established at a meeting convened
at the Town Hall on 15 May 1878. A democratic constitution was formulated for
this organization. On the other hand, Keshab revitalized the Bharatbarsiyo
Brahmo Samaj by renaming it as 'Nababidhan' on 26 January 1880. With the
inception of the Nababidhan, Keshab boldly stepped forward to overcome the
limitations of narrow religious awareness, beautifully merging pagan
traditions, Shakta-Vaishnavism, and mystical practices with the noble ideals
and principles of Christianity and Islam. Although somewhat late, this movement
spread to various areas of North Bengal, a peripheral region of Bengal, like
the rest of India. The Brahmo movement began to flourish in North Bengal during
the latter phase of its evolution. Remarkably, the final decade of the
nineteenth century marked a vibrant transformation in the social fabric of the
people of North Bengal. A variety of factors fueled this remarkable change. The
interactions with western individuals and their vibrant culture, the dissemination
of western education, the advancement of communication systems, and the
introduction of a local autonomy framework were notable among the driving
forces. Together, these elements significantly expedited the journey toward
modernization in the remote regions of North Bengal. And with this, the Brahmo
Samaj reform movement made its significant entrance during this period. In my
research article, I have chosen to focus on the Brahmo Samaj movement of
Debiganj. The principal objective of this article is to investigate and
contemplate the endeavors of both the Sadharan and the Nababidhan Brahmo Samaj
in Debiganj, an almost overlooked area in undivided North Bengal, from the
latter part of the nineteenth century until the third decade of the twentieth
century. Furthermore, this article will also examine the prevailing trends in
education and culture within this region. | ||
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