Nation Pays Homage To Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar On His 207th Birth Anniversary

The nation today is paying homage to Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, a towering figure of India’s social reform movement, on his 207th birth anniversary. Born on 26 September 1820 at Birsingha in Paschim Medinipur district in West Bengal, Vidyasagar dedicated his life to education and social reform. He was a strong advocate of women’s education and played a historic role in the campaign for Hindu widow remarriage, which led to the enactment of the Hindu Widows’ Remarriage Act in 1856.

He also worked against child marriage and polygamy and promoted education among girls by helping establish schools for them. As an educationist, he played a major role in modernising education and simplifying Bengali prose. His Barnaparichay became a landmark primer for Bengali children.

It may be said that social reformer Raja Rammohan Roy helped open the door to social and intellectual reform; Vidyasagar pushed that reform deeper into society, especially in the lives of women and children.