Anandamohan
Bose (23 September 1847 – 20 August 1906) was one of the most important Indian
social thinkers and political leaders during the British Raj. He co-founded the
Indian National Association, one of the earliest Indian political
organizations, and later became a senior leader of the Indian National
Congress. In 1847, he became the first Indian Wrangler (a student who has
completed the third year of the Mathematical Tripos with first-class honours) of the Cambridge University
Anandamohan
was born at Jaysiddhi village in Mymensingh district of the undivided Bengal
province in British India (in Itna Upazila of Kishoreganj district of present
day Bangladesh ).
His father was Padmalochan Bose and his mother was Umakishori Devi. He
completed his school education from the Mymensingh Zilla school and stood ninth
in the Entrance Examination. He passed the F.A. and B.A. examinations from the Presidency College ,
Calcutta and
secured first position in both the examinations. In 1870, he received the
Premchand Roychand studentship, and went to England for higher education.
Anandamohan
was an ardent supporter of the Brahmo movement from his student days. He was
officially converted to Brahmo religion along with his wife Swarnaprabha Devi
(sister of Jagadish Chandra Bose) by Keshab Chandra Sen in 1869. Later in 1878,
when there was a rift in the Brahmo Samaj on several issues, the young members
of Bharatborshiyo Brahmo Samaj differed with Keshab Chandra Sen regarding
matters of child marriage, administration of the organization and various other
matters. Anandamohan led the dissident group. As a result – on 15 May 1878 –
he, along with Sivanath Sastri, Umesh Chandra Datta and others founded Sadharan
Brahmo Samaj. The adjective ‘Sadharan’
was important, since it signified that it was an organization where all the
members will enjoy the equal democratic rights. Anandamohan was elected the
first president of the Sadharan Brahmo Samaj. He is credited to have built a
democratic structure advancing its movement.
Anandamohan
made several significant contributions as a social reformer and educator. He
called upon all to chalk out social programme to eradicate illiteracy from the
society. In 1876 he established the Banga Mahila Vidyalaya in Calcutta the aim of which was the promotion
of female education. Later he amalgamated this Vidyalaya with the Bethune School City College
in Calcutta in
keeping with his movement for spread of higher education among the Indians. His
bright academic career and deep interest in education convinced the British
government to appoint him as a member of the Indian Education Commission
(HUNTER COMISSION) of 1882.
Anandamohan
founded the Students’ Association with an objective of promoting the spirit of
nationalism among the students and along with Surendranath Banerjee and
Sivanath Sastri organized regular lectures. It was he who for the first time
felt that – under the colonial setting –students constituted the most conscious
section of the community and so they must play a constructive role in social
and political developments of the country. Therefore he established the
Calcutta Students Association in 1875 and himself became the first president.
On
the political plane, Bose made another pioneering contribution by setting up a
political association called the Indian Association in 1876. Its objective was
to organize constitutional agitations against the colonial regime. The Indian
Association convened a national conference in 1883. It may be described as the
precursor of the Indian National Congress of which Anandamohan was one of the
founding leaders. He was also elected as the president of the Congress at its Madras (now Chennai)
Session of 1898.
Anandamohan
Bose was successively nominated as a member of the Bengal Legislative Council,
a member of the Calcutta University Senate and a Fellow of the University. It
was due to his persistent and sincere efforts that the Calcutta University Act
of Incorporation was amended in order to convert it from merely an examining
body to and examining and teaching institution. Under the India Act 1892 the Calcutta University
As a patriot, as a scholar, as a political organizer
and as an educationist, Anandamohan Bose has a few peers in the history of
- By Dr. Sandipan Sen (Associate Professor of English, Ananda Mohan
College
- Published in The Indian Messenger , June 2012 Issue
