Who was ishwar chandra vidyasagar biography pdf

Indian educator and social reformer

Ishwar Chandra Bandyopadhyay (26 September 1820 – 29 July 1891), popularly known as Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (lit. 'Vidyasagar, the Sea of Knowledge'),^[1] was an Indian educator and social reformer of the nineteenth century.^[2] His efforts to simplify and modernise Bengali prose were significant.

He also rationalised and simplified the Bengali alphabet and type, which had remained unchanged since Charles Wilkins and Panchanan Karmakar had cut the first (wooden) Bengali type in 1780.

He was the most prominent campaigner for Hindu widow remarriage, petitioning the Legislative Council despite severe opposition, including a counter petition (by Radhakanta Deb and the Dharma Sabha) which had nearly four times as many signatures.^[3][4] Even though widow remarriage was considered a flagrant breach of Hindu customs and was staunchly opposed, Lord Dalhousie personally finali