Young Bengal Movement

In 1826 Henry Louis Vivian Derozio joined the Hindu College as a teacher at Calcutta. Within no time, he influenced many people in the college and encouraged them to think freely, and promoted radical ideas in his teachings. This is how the young Bengal movement started. Let us now discuss the young Bengal movement in detail. 

Young Bengal Movement 

Henry Louis Vivian Derozio was a radical thinker who urged his students to challenge everything they were told. His students, known as Derozians, challenged tradition and custom, demanded women’s education and pushed for freedom of thought and speech. Henry was the founder of the young Bengal movement.In the late 1820s and early 1830s, Henry Vivian Derozio had a major influence on this movement. From 1826 until 1831, he was a teacher at Hindu College in Calcutta, where the ideas of the French Revolution influenced him.

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Objectives

They wished to push radical concepts through teachings and organize debates and discussions on Literature, History, Philosophy, and Science.The primary motto of Derozio was to unfold intellectual revolution among young students. He was an excellent propounder of liberal thinking.His motto was to bring an end to social evils such as child marriages, child labour, Sati practice, etc. and to promote women’s education.Spreading concepts of the French Revolution like liberty, fraternity, and equality.Through scientific-based information, they wished to push value-based and rational thinking instead of rote learning.

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About the Founder of the Young Bengal Movement

Henry Louis Vivian Derozio launched the Young Bengal Movement. He was the founder and leader of the young Bengal movement. Derozio insisted on his students thinking freely and questioning all authority. He arranged debates and discussions on literature, history, philosophy, and science; Derozio supported radical ideals. Derozio essentially lured the young students of Calcutta with these activities, bringing about an intellectual revolution among them.He was an outspoken supporter of rational thought, liberty, equality, and freedom, and he encouraged his pupils to do the same. He was dismissed from the college for his controversial opinions and died of Cholera in 1831. 

The Ideas and Teaching of the leader of the young Bengal movement:

Henry Louis Vivian Derozio Promoted radical ideas through his teachings by organizing an association for debates and discussions on subjects like history, science, literature, and philosophy. 

A few of the important teachings of Henry Louis Vivian Derozio are as follows-

1. Derozio wished to instil intellectual revolution in the minds of young people.

2. He was a staunch supporter of liberalism.

3. The leader of the young Bengal movement believed in ‘women’s education, freedom of speech and thought.’

4. Disobeyed societal and religious norms.

5. Supported the Education of women. 

6. He mocked traditional social practices and challenged the existence of God.

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Conclusion

Despite the failures, the movement wasn’t a failure in totality. Derozian’s concepts profoundly influenced the social movement that came to be referred to as the Bengal Renaissance in the early nineteenth-century Bengal. Amidst its rational and vocal approach, this movement could not gain much traction. Nonetheless, it was a huge step forward since it inspired and spawned a generation of reformers & activists.