family connections and early life.
encircled by the rivers padma and meghna lies the famous land of bikrampur, once the pride of eastern bengal and the cynasure of the whole of hindusthan. in its days of prosperity it not only supplied many fashionable articles of fine taste to the people of the east but also attracted scholars from all parts of india as it was then one of the greatest centres of culture of the hindus. round the land of bikrampur sailed down the river padma many a vessel loaded with merchandise when in its palmy days it carried on trade with ceylon, sumatra and arabia.
in this land of learning and culture was born the great brahmin prince silavadra who was the teacher of the chinese traveller hiant-chuang. it is this bikrampur which can claim to be the birth-place of dipankar srignan, the great teacher of atheism. here was also born biravadra, the highest prelate of the famous buddhist temple at nalanda. lastly towards the beginning and end of the nineteenth century many a noble son of bikrampur played a great part in the religious reform of the brahmo samaj and in the national awakening of the swadeshi days.
in this land of bikrampur there is a small village called telirbag which is the ancestral home of srijut chitta ranjan[2] das. he comes of a respectable vaidya-family of eastern bengal. his great-grand-father babu ratan krishna das was highly respected for his charity and benevolence. chitta ranjan's grand-father, babu jagadbandhu das was the eldest son of ratan krishna. jagadbandhu was the senior government pleader of rajshahi and had an extensive practice. he earned a good deal but spent even the last farthing in allaying the distress of his poor relations and neighbours. his charity was proverbial in bikrampur. he maintained a guest-house in his village and was very keen about its proper management. there runs a very interesting story of his unique zeal about this guest-house. one day it occurred to him that he should see if his servants of the guest-house performed their duties regularly. he at once set out in a boat and reached his native village just at midnight. he then sent a man to the manager of the guest-house to enquire if there would be board and lodging for a fatigued stranger. the servants in charge of the house were much annoyed as they were just then going to sleep after their usual hard work and did not care to entertain a guest at such a late hour. at this jagadbandhu's anger knew no bounds, he came there immediately and severely scolded his servants warning them for the future. jagadbandhu was also very kind-hearted. there are many instances of his goodness of which we shall here relate only one. in his old age one day jagadbandhu was going to a distant village in a palanquin; on the way he noticed an old worn-out brahmin trudging along the road barefooted. jagadbandhu was much moved, he got down and asked the brahmin to take his seat in the palanquin. thereupon he himself walked the whole distance covering over three miles. besides, jagadbandhu was a poet and a patron of learning. his verses on some of the sacramental rites are still read with admiration in every hindu house [3]of eastern bengal; their pathos and sentiment are no less admired by all lovers of poetry. these noble qualities of the grand-father—his hospitality, benevolence and poetic endowment came down to chitta ranjan as a natural heritage.
chitta ranjan's father babu bhuban mohan das, was a well-known attorney of the calcutta high court. for a great part of his life he was connected with bengali journalism. as editor, first, of the brahmo public opinion and subsequently of the bengal public opinion, he made a very high position for himself among bengalee journalists. his style was simple and lucid, and his manner of exposition was so forcible that it was rare even in more successful periodicals of those days. his courage and truthfulness were exemplary. once in his capacity as editor of the bengal public opinion he severely criticised in his paper a judgment delivered by one of the judges of the calcutta high court. as luck would have it, shortly after this, bhuban mohan had to file an appeal before the same judge on behalf of an accused on whom the sentence of death was passed by the sessions court. the honourable judge showed signs of indifference for the appeal. bhuban mohan with his high sense of duty had the courage to remind the judge that even if his lordship had any personal feeling against him, he still hoped to get adequate justice for a poor accused whose life was trembling in the balance. these spirited words had the desired effect. the judge was highly pleased and acquitted the accused after an impartial review of the case.
bhuban mohan was a sincere patriot and had always the welfare of his country at heart. like many english-educated bengalees of his generation, he threw himself heart and soul into the brahmo samaj movement.
bhuban mohan's brahmo faith was but the development of the monotheistic element in hinduism. his brahmoism[4] was but a spiritual form of the religion taught by the hindu sastras. he did not believe in idolatry it is true, but he was no less a hindu than the followers of the sastras. he showed in word and act, that his theism was not an exotic, planted and watered by the licentiousness of european influences, but a plant of native growth rescued out by the men of his school from the thorns and thistles of popular hinduism that choked it.
his personal life and more particularly in his dealings with his hindu relatives, he belonged to the old hindu type. his sincerity, generosity and modesty were things very rare in this selfish world. as an attorney he earned a good deal, but spent whatever he earned for the support of his poorer relatives. indeed he spent upon them more than his finance allowed and consequently got involved in heavy liabilities. he was not a slave to fashion nor did he spend his earnings recklessly. yet he was forced, during the closing years of his professional life, to take refuge in the insolvency court. this was mostly due to the treacherous way of the world. there are some people amongst us who find delight in deceiving others in any way possible. bhuban mohan was not in want of such lip-deep friends who were good enough to relieve him of much of his earnings as a return for the many benefits they derived from bhuban mohan. his elder brother babu durga mohan das who was one of the leading vakils of the calcutta high court, spent his all to free him from heavy debts. but as fate would have it, he had to get himself declared as an insolvent. this turn of fortune weighed heavily on bhuban mohan's mind and caused the break down of his health.
bhuban mohan's eldest brother, babu kali mohan das, was noted for his courage and uprightness. in his most brilliant career at the bar which was unfortunately cut[5] short by death, we get an unique account of his spirited championship for truth and justice. we shall here give only one instance from among many. once in a civil suit before justice louis jackson who was known to be a man of an irritable temper kali mohan was arguing some law-points which the learned judge failed to be convinced of. kali mohan was annoyed and remarked that he was surprised to see that his lordship could not understand in two hours what any of his first year law-students would in half an hour. his lordship was highly offended and said in a fury that he would refer kali mohan's conduct to the chief justice and if his argument was considered to be wrong, his lordship would disbar kali mohan. his many friends at the bar advised him to make an apology but kali mohan was firm and if it was his fate to be disbarred he would rather earn his livelihood by serving as a school-master than submit to the ignominy of an apology. sir charles barnes peacock, the then chief justice of the calcutta high court, gave his verdict in favour of kali mohan when the case was referred to him and kali mohan came out honourably acquitted. the noble example of bhuban mohan's liberality, durga mohan's self-less philanthropy and kali mohan's uprightness went a great way towards shaping the future character of chitta ranjan.
chitta ranjan was born at calcutta on the 5th of november 1870. shortly afterwards bhuban mohan came to stay at bhowanipur and chitta ranjan was admitted into the london missionary society school whence he passed the entrance examination in 1886. he was subsequently educated in the presidency college and took his degree in 1890. he was much disappointed with the result as he narrowly missed honours in the b. a. examination. however he sailed for england to qualify himself for the indian civil service. from his boyhood he was rather[6] deficient in mathematics and therefore with all his proficiency in literature he could not secure high position in the university examinations. but chitta ranjan gave considerable promise of exceptional literary and oratorical gifts even when he was a student in the presidency college. the habit of making speeches grew upon him even in his boyhood when he would gather his friends and playmates in his house and begin to deliver a speech imitating the voice and posture of an orator to the great amusement of his people. professors and fellow-students at college all hoped that he would one day turn out as one of the most powerful speakers of india. this hope has amply been justified.
chitta ranjan went to england and began to prepare for the indian civil service. at that time the late dr. dadabhai naoroji was trying to get himself elected a member of parliament from finsbury so that he might personally state indian grievances before the british parliament. chitta ranjan had then just appeared in the civil service examination, but the result was not yet out. he came to dadabhai's assistance and made some political speeches in connection with the electioneering campaign. some of the speeches were very favourably noticed by the english and the indian press.
while in england, deeply versed in the literature of western countries, chitta ranjan grew a thorough-bred englishman in dress and manners. but not-with-standing all this he was a true indian at heart. a single instance from chitta ranjan's life in england would justify this remark. in 1892 when chitta ranjan was still in england one mr. james maclean, a member of parliament, while delivering a lecture, passingly remarked that indian mahammadans were slaves and the hindus were indentured slaves. this offensive remark wounded the feelings of[7] young chitta ranjan. he at once set about in convening a meeting of all the indians in england. the indians assembled in exeter hall where chitta ranjan made a powerful speech protesting against the conduct of mr. maclean. the city of london was in a state of excitement over this matter and the leading journals of london in commenting on the speech of chitta ranjan gave a prominent place to the subject of the meeting. the liberals in london convened a huge meeting at oldham under the presidentship of gladstone where chitta ranjan was invited to make a speech on indian affairs. in a speech on "indian agitation" he gave a powerful display of his oratorical gifts and love of mother-land. in that huge assembly he stood erect and boldly said:—
"gentlemen, i was sorry to find it given expression to in parliamentary speeches on more than one occasion that england conquered india by the sword and by the sword must she keep it! (shame) england, gentlemen! did no such thing, it was not her swords and bayonet that won for her this vast and glorious empire; it was not her military valour that achieved this triumph; it was in the main a moral victory or a moral triumph. (cheers) england might well be proud of it. but to attribute all this to the sword and then to argue that the policy of sword is the only policy that ought to be pursued in india is to my mind absolutely base and quite unworthy of an englishman." (hear, hear)
in the same speech he also remarked:—
"we now find the base anglo-indian policy of tyranny; the policy of irritation and more irritation, of repression and more repression; the policy which has been beautifully described by one of its advocates as the policy of pure and unmitigated force."
the result of this agitation was that mr. james maclean had to submit an apology and was forced to resign his seat in parliament.[8]
but all this opened the eyes of the bureaucratic government by whom chitta ranjan was not considered fit for the civil service and though he came out successful in the open competitive examination, his name was chucked off from the list of probationers. even now in many a table talk he speaks of this event and says with a smile—"i came out first in the unsuccessful list." chitta ranjan's near relations were mortified at his failure, for at that time his father was involved in heavy liabilities and was passing his days in mental agony. during chitta ranjan's stay in england the whole family were put in such pecuniary embarrassments that for want of proper allowance from home he had to live upon hot water and a piece of bread for a couple of days together. for this reason his well-wishers thought that it would have been a great help to his family if he could secure a lucrative post under government, on the other hand it required patient waiting even for a brilliant scholar to make a name at the bar. however chitta ranjan joined the inner temple and was called to the bar in the early nineties.
it was no doubt a great gain for the country that chitta ranjan could not get into the "heaven-born service". for once a civilian, he would have exerted all his powers to reach the highest rung of the ladder and could have found no opportunity of ever mixing with his countrymen and of working for their welfare. happily, providence wished it, and mother india was not deprived of the services of a patriotic son who would in future lay his all at her feet.
