Lal Behari Dey
Encyclopedia
The Revd Lal Behari Dey (18 December 1824 – 28 October 1892) was a respected Bengali
India
n journalist, who converted
to Christianity, and became a missionary himself.
He was born to a poor banker caste family at Sonapalasi near Bardhaman
on December 18, 1824, and died at Calcutta on October 28, 1892. After his primary education in the village school, he came to Calcutta
with his father and was admitted to Reverend Alexander Duff’s General Assembly' Institution (now [The Scottish Church Collegiate School], as one of the first five boys admitted by Duff/Scottish Church College) where he studied from 1834 to 1844. Under the tutelage of Rev. Duff, he formally embraced Christianity
on July 2, 1843. A year before his baptism
in 1843, he published a tract The falsity of the Hindu Religion in 1842, which won a prize for the best essay from a local Christian society.
From 1855 to 1867, Dey was a Missionary and Minister of the Free Church of Scotland
. He worked as professor of English
in Government administered colleges at Berhampore
and Hooghly from 1867 to 1889. After having served in several churches in the prime of his career, he joined the Berhampore Collegiate School as Principal in 1867. Later he became Professor of English and Mental and Moral Philosophy in Hooghly Mohsin College of the University of Calcutta and stayed with it from 1872 to 1888. Though a devout Christian and pro-Raj
in his attitude, he vehemently protested against any discrimination practised by the ruling class against the natives.
Known for his profound knowledge of the English language and literature, he wrote two books in English, Govinda Samanta (1874, later renamed Bengal Peasant Life) and Folk Tales of Bengal (1883) both of which were widely acclaimed. Like Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay
, Peary Chand Mitra
and Dinabandhu Mitra, Lal Behari also felt very passionately for the poor and oppressed peasantry of Bengal. In 1874 his Govinda Samanta won the prize of Rs 500 offered by Baboo Joy Kissen Mookerjea of Uttarpara
, one of the most enlightened zamindar
s in Bengal, for the best novel, written either in Bengali or in English, illustrating the “Social and Domestic Life of the Rural Population and Working Classes of Bengal”. Charles Darwin
wrote a letter on April 18, 1881 to the publishers saying,
Though Lal Behari’s writings were mostly in English, he edited a Bengali monthly magazine, Arunaday (1857) and penned a Bengali narrative, Chandramukhee. He was also the editor of three English magazines, Indian Reformer (1861), Friday Review (1866) and Bengal Magazine (1872). Apart from writing in these magazines, Lal Behari also contributed articles to Calcutta Review
and Hindu Patriot. He was a member of many associations like the Bethune Society and the Bengal Social Science Association.
He was made a Fellow of the University of Calcutta
from 1877.
Bengali people
The Bengali people are an ethnic community native to the historic region of Bengal in South Asia. They speak Bengali , which is an Indo-Aryan language of the eastern Indian subcontinent, evolved from the Magadhi Prakrit and Sanskrit languages. In their native language, they are referred to as বাঙালী...
India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n journalist, who converted
Religious conversion
Religious conversion is the adoption of a new religion that differs from the convert's previous religion. Changing from one denomination to another within the same religion is usually described as reaffiliation rather than conversion.People convert to a different religion for various reasons,...
to Christianity, and became a missionary himself.
He was born to a poor banker caste family at Sonapalasi near Bardhaman
Bardhaman
'Bardhaman or Burdwan , is a city of West Bengal state in eastern India. It is the headquarters of Bardhaman District....
on December 18, 1824, and died at Calcutta on October 28, 1892. After his primary education in the village school, he came to Calcutta
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
with his father and was admitted to Reverend Alexander Duff’s General Assembly' Institution (now [The Scottish Church Collegiate School], as one of the first five boys admitted by Duff/Scottish Church College) where he studied from 1834 to 1844. Under the tutelage of Rev. Duff, he formally embraced Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
on July 2, 1843. A year before his baptism
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
in 1843, he published a tract The falsity of the Hindu Religion in 1842, which won a prize for the best essay from a local Christian society.
From 1855 to 1867, Dey was a Missionary and Minister of the Free Church of Scotland
Free Church of Scotland (1843-1900)
The Free Church of Scotland is a Scottish denomination which was formed in 1843 by a large withdrawal from the established Church of Scotland in a schism known as the "Disruption of 1843"...
. He worked as professor of English
English literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
in Government administered colleges at Berhampore
Berhampore
Berhampore may refer to one of several places:*Baharampur, in West Bengal, India, formerly known as Berhampore *Berhampore, New Zealand, a suburb of WellingtonSee also:*Brahmapur, a City in Orissa, India...
and Hooghly from 1867 to 1889. After having served in several churches in the prime of his career, he joined the Berhampore Collegiate School as Principal in 1867. Later he became Professor of English and Mental and Moral Philosophy in Hooghly Mohsin College of the University of Calcutta and stayed with it from 1872 to 1888. Though a devout Christian and pro-Raj
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
in his attitude, he vehemently protested against any discrimination practised by the ruling class against the natives.
Known for his profound knowledge of the English language and literature, he wrote two books in English, Govinda Samanta (1874, later renamed Bengal Peasant Life) and Folk Tales of Bengal (1883) both of which were widely acclaimed. Like Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay
Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay
Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay was a famous Bengali writer, poet and journalist. He was the composer of India’s national song Vande Mataram, originally a Bengali and Sanskrit stotra personifying India as a mother goddess and inspiring the activists during the Indian Freedom Movement...
, Peary Chand Mitra
Peary Chand Mitra
Peary Chand Mitra , was an Indian writer, journalist and a member of Derozio’s Young Bengal group, who played a leading role in the Bengal renaissance with the introduction of simple Bengali prose...
and Dinabandhu Mitra, Lal Behari also felt very passionately for the poor and oppressed peasantry of Bengal. In 1874 his Govinda Samanta won the prize of Rs 500 offered by Baboo Joy Kissen Mookerjea of Uttarpara
Uttarpara
Uttarpara is a small town of Hooghly District, West Bengal, India. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority.It is a town of historical importance. Uttarpara is home to some of the biggest industrial setups in the state...
, one of the most enlightened zamindar
Zamindar
A Zamindar or zemindar , was an aristocrat, typically hereditary, who held enormous tracts of land and ruled over and taxed the bhikaaris who lived on batavaslam. Over time, they took princely and royal titles such as Maharaja , Raja , Nawab , and Mirza , Chowdhury , among others...
s in Bengal, for the best novel, written either in Bengali or in English, illustrating the “Social and Domestic Life of the Rural Population and Working Classes of Bengal”. Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
wrote a letter on April 18, 1881 to the publishers saying,
- I see that the Reverend Lal Behari Day is Editor of the Bengal Magazine and I shall be glad if you would tell him with my compliments how much pleasure and instruction I derived from reading a few years ago, this novel, Govinda Samanta.
Though Lal Behari’s writings were mostly in English, he edited a Bengali monthly magazine, Arunaday (1857) and penned a Bengali narrative, Chandramukhee. He was also the editor of three English magazines, Indian Reformer (1861), Friday Review (1866) and Bengal Magazine (1872). Apart from writing in these magazines, Lal Behari also contributed articles to Calcutta Review
Calcutta Review
The Calcutta Review is a bi-annual periodical, now published by the Calcutta University press, featuring scholarly articles from a variety of disciplines.-History:...
and Hindu Patriot. He was a member of many associations like the Bethune Society and the Bengal Social Science Association.
He was made a Fellow of the University of Calcutta
University of Calcutta
The University of Calcutta is a public university located in the city of Kolkata , India, founded on 24 January 1857...
from 1877.