Contribution of Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee as the pioneer of new education system in the University of Calcutta ------ Rahul Singh

 

“Ashutosh had the courage to dream because he had the power to fight and the confidence to win - His will itself was that path to the goal.”

-        Rabindranath Tagore

 

Popularly called in the Bengali circle as Banglar Bagh or the Tiger of Bengal, Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee was born on June 29, 1864 at Bowbazar, Calcutta, Bengal Presidency family to Jagattarini Devi and Ganga Prasad Mukhopadhyaya, a well-known doctor who founded the South Sub Urban School in Calcutta. Among his ancestors were several distinguished Sanskrit scholars, including Pandit Ramchandra Tarkalankar, a professor of ‘Nyaya’ who had been appointed by Warren Hastings to that chair at the Sanskrit College in Calcutta.

In His educational career at the age of fifteen he stood second and received a scholarship in Calcutta University’s entrance exam. He took admission at Presidency College where he met Prafulla Chandra Roy and Narendranath Dutta who later, came to be popularly known as Swami Vivekananda. Later that year, though only a first-year undergraduate, he published his first mathematical paper, on a new proof of the 25^th proposition of Euclid’s first book. He was the first student to be awarded a dual Master’s degree in Mathematics and Physics by the University of Calcutta. Sir Ashutosh has been recognised as the first modern Indian mathematician to enter the field of mathematical research. He founded the Calcutta Mathematical Society in 1908 and continued to be its President from the beginning until his death on 25 May 1924. At the age of 24, he became a Fellow of Calcutta University. Mukherjee was honoured by the British Crown with the title of ‘Sir’; and he also became a member of the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal.

Ashutosh Mukherjee was the second Indian to become the Vice Chancellor of Calcutta University, Bengal Presidency, from 1906 to 1914, and again from 1921 to 1923. According to his grandson, Sivatosh Mukhopadhyay, Ashutosh Mukherjee’s career that oscillated between academia and law could be encapsulated into three ‘phases’. “The first phase of his career was as a votary of mathematics, the second phase as a devotee of law, and the third phase as a creator and builder of the University.” Sir Ashutosh found gems like physicist C.V. Raman, philosopher Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan, and also luminaries such as Sir P.C. Roy, widely known as the father of chemistry in modern India, and historian and epigraphist D.R. Bhandarkar, all of whom were accentuate. As vice-chancellor, Mukherjee introduced several innovative graduate programs on Islamic culture, anthropology, comparative literature, applied psychology, industrial chemistry, ancient Indian history and culture. One of his significant achievements was to bring the Senate and Syndicate to terms for recognition of Indian vernaculars—Bengali, Hindi, Urdu, Sanskrit and Pāli being introduced as preferable subjects at the University. Because of him soon, Calcutta University became the hub of academic and intellectual pursuits.

Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee had once said “freedom first, freedom second, and freedom always” when it came to the university space and he stood by what he said by  delivering the results. Perhaps the greatest display of his faith in the spirit of freedom in colleges was when Subhas Chandra Bose assaulted a history professor at Presidency College in 1916 for his racist comments against natives. Bose was suspended from the college and there was mounting pressure to rusticate the young revolutionary. However, vice-chancellor Mukherjee could not let the academic life of a brilliant student to be ruined.  Therefore, he arranged for Subhas to continue his studies at the Scottish Church Missionary College. One could imagine that it was this attitude of resilience and innovation that Mukherjee became not only a judge but also the Chief Justice of India at a time when Britishers wouldn’t nominate Indian at higher positions.

To conclude we can say that the contribution of Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee had a greater impact on the educational field for not only being appointed as the vice chancellor but also in bringing in new research oriented departments which would pave way for the introduction of new subjects into the curriculum within a nationalistic frame work like that of the University College of Science in Rajabazar where stalwaarts like Meghnad Saha, D M Bose and C V Raman worked to built new laboratories meant for Indians. Therefore we can say that the contribution and the legacy that Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee  left made an lasting impression in our education and research fields in Modern day India.