Bengal Renaissance

The Bengal Renaissance (), also known as the Bengali Renaissance, was a cultural, social, intellectual, and artistic movement that took place in the Bengal region of the British Raj, from the late 18th century to the early 20th century. Nitish Sengupta stated that the movement "can be said to have … ended with Rabindranath Tagore," Asia's first Nobel laureate.

For almost two centuries, the Bengal Renaissance saw the radical transformation of Indian society, and its ideas have been attributed to the rise of Indian anticolonialist and nationalist thought and activity during this period. The philosophical basis of the movement was its unique version of liberalism and modernity. According to Sumit Sarkar, the pioneers and works of this period were revered and regarded with nostalgia throughout the 19th and 20th centuries; however, due to a new focus on its colonialist origins, a more critical view emerged in the 1970s.

The Bengali Renaissance was predominantly led by Bengali Hindus, who at the time were socially and economically more affluent in colonial Bengal, and therefore better placed for higher education as a community. Well-known figures include the social reformer Raja Rammohan Roy, philanthropist Rani Rashmoni, poet Rabindranath Tagore, and the physicist Satyendra Nath Bose.

Background

The Bengal Renaissance was a movement marked by a sociopolitical awakening across the arts, literature, music, philosophy, religion, science, and other spheres of intellectual pursuit. The movement questioned the existing customs and rituals in Indian society – most notably, the caste system, and the practice of sati, idolatry – as well as the role of religion and colonial governance. In turn, the Bengal Renaissance advocated for societal reform – the kind that adhered to secularist, humanist and modernist ideals. From Rabindranath Tagore to Satyendra Nath Bose, the movement saw the emergence of important figures, whose contributions still influence cultural and intellectual works today.

Although the Bengal Renaissance was led and dominated by upper caste Hindus, Bengali Muslims played a transformative role in the movement, as well as the shaping of colonial and postcolonial Indian society. Examples of Bengali Muslim renaissance men and women include Kazi Nazrul Islam, Ubaidullah Al Ubaidi Suhrawardy, and Rokeya Sakhawat Hussain.

From the mid-eighteenth century, the Bengal Province, and more specifically, its capital city of Calcutta, was the centre of British power in India. The region was the base for British imperial rule until the capital was moved to Delhi in 1911. Prior to Crown control, British power was in the hands of the East India Company, which in course of time, became increasingly profitable and influential, politically, establishing diplomatic relations with local rulers as well as building armies to protect its own interests. This colonial metropolis was the first non-Western city to use British methods of teaching in their school system. The city was also home to a public library, the Imperial Library, now the National Library of India, and newspapers and books were being published regularly in both Bengali and English. "Print language and literature played a vital role in shaping ideas and identities in colonial Bengal from the 18th century onwards," writes Anindita Ghosh, continuing that "… commercial print cultures that emanated from numerous cheap presses in Calcutta and its suburbs disseminated wide-ranging literary preferences that afforded a space to different sections of the Bengali middle classes to voice their own distinctive concerns." Many postcolonial historians source the origins of the Bengal Renaissance to these events, arguing that the movement was both a reaction to the violence and exploitation by the British Raj, as well as a product of the Empire's promotion of English education in the region as part of its "civilising missions". Moreover, Arabinda Poddar contends that the English education of Bengalis was intended to create "mere political slaves," arguing that, "the civilising role of English education, stressed the need of creating a class of Anglophiles who would have a somewhat in-between existence between the rulers and the ruled."

Other historians cite the works of Raja Rammohun Roy as the start of the Bengal Renaissance. It was an influential socioreligious reform movement that made significant contributions to the renaissance, as well as the makings of modern Indian society.

Education

Among the many changes brought about by the Bengal Renaissance in India was the development of education, both in the Bengali language and in English. Colonial provisions at the time consisted mainly of village schools teaching literacy and numeracy, Arabic and Islamic studies being taught to Muslims in madrasas, and tols, where pandits instructed Sanskrit texts to Brahmins, which were supported by endowments. These institutions were exclusively male, and in the rare cases where girls could get an education, it was in the home. The work of Christian missions also had more of an influence on Indian students than the initiatives of the government.

According to Dermot Killingley, the surplus mentioned in this Charter Act was "an aspiration, not a budget item," and even if the money had been provided for, there was uncertainty about how it should be spent. Missionaries began teaching young women in 1816, but a systematic education policy was not established until 1854. Other missionary societies followed soon after, working along similar lines. These missionaries, which were largely dependent on local, indigenous teachers and families, and the colonial government, which sometimes supported them with grants, were also cautious about introducing Christian teachings or the Bible. Lectures, Bengali-language textbooks, and the establishment of high schools such as the Hindu School, contributed to making science more accessible to urban and upper middle-class families.

Major advancements were made during this time by scientists such as Satyendra Nath Bose, Ashutosh Mukherjee, Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis, Anil Kumar Gain, Prafulla Chandra Ray, Debendra Mohan Bose, Jagadish Chandra Bose, Jnan Chandra Ghosh, Gopal Chandra Bhattacharya, Kishori Mohan Bandyopadhyay, Jnanendra Nath Mukherjee, Sisir Kumar Mitra, Upendranath Brahmachari, and Meghnad Saha, among others.

Jagadish Chandra Bose (1858–1937) was a polymath: a physicist, biologist, botanist, archaeologist, and a science fiction writer. He pioneered the investigation of radio and microwave optics, made very significant contributions to botany, and laid the foundations of experimental science in the Indian subcontinent. He is considered one of the fathers of radio science, and is also considered the father of Bengali science fiction. He also invented the crescograph.

Arts

thumb|140px|[[Satyajit Ray was an Indian motion-picture director, writer, and illustrator who brought the Indian cinema to world recognition with Pather Panchali. He was one of the pioneers of Parallel Cinema.]]

The Bengal School of Art was an art movement and a style of Indian painting that originated in Bengal and flourished throughout British India in the early 20th century. Also known as 'Indian style of painting' in its early days, it was associated with Indian nationalism (swadeshi) and led by Abanindranath Tagore.

Following the influence of Indian spiritual ideas in the West, the British art teacher Ernest Binfield Havell attempted to reform the teaching methods at the Calcutta School of Art by encouraging students to imitate Mughal miniatures. This caused controversy, leading to a strike by students and complaints from the local press, including from nationalists who considered it to be a retrogressive move. Havell was supported by the artist Abanindranath Tagore.

Literature

According to historian Romesh Chunder Dutt:

Sports

Religion and spirituality

The Bengali Renaissance also led to religious reform movements. Some notable religious and spiritual leaders associated with these reform movements are Rani Rashmoni, Ram Mohan Roy, Debendranath Tagore, Keshab Chandra Sen, Bijoy Krishna Goswami, Ramakrishna, Sarada Devi, Swami Vivekananda, Aurobindo, Bamakhepa, Lokenath Brahmachari, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, Bhaktivinoda Thakur, Paramahansa Yogananda, Lahiri Mahasaya, Nigamananda Paramahansa, Ram Thakur, Sitaramdas Omkarnath, and Anandamayi Ma.

The religious reform movements and organizations associated with the Bengali Renaissance are:

Brahmoism (Brahmo Samaj)
Adi Brahmo Samaj
Sadharan Brahmo Samaj
Gaudiya Math
Mahanam Sampraday
Ramakrishna Mission
Ramakrishna Math
Sri Aurobindo Ashram
Yogoda Satsanga Society of India
Self-Realization Fellowship