Girish Chandra Sen
Girish Chandra Sen (c. 1835 – 15 August 1910) was a Bengali religious scholar and translator. He was a Brahmo Samaj missionary and known for being the first publisher of the Qur’an into Bengali language in 1886.[1]He is mostly famous for translating Qur'an
Girish Chandra Sen | |
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গিরীশ চন্দ্র সেন | |
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| Born | 1835 Panchdona, Narsingdi District, Bengal Presidency, British India |
| Died | August 15, 1910 |
| Occupation | scholar, missionary |
| Parent(s) |
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Early life
Sen was born in a Baidya family in the village of Panchdona in Narayanganj District in Bengal (now part of Narsingdi District in Bangladesh).[2] He studied in Pogose School in Dhaka.[3]
In 1869, Keshub Chunder Sen chose from amongst his missionaries, four persons and ordained them as professors of four old religions of the world. He was selected to study Islam. Others selected to study different religions were Gour Govinda Ray for Hinduism, Protap Chandra Mozoomdar for Christianity, and Aghore Nath Gupta for Buddhism. A firm believer in the basic unity of all religions, he immersed himself in his studies and later went to Lucknow in 1876 to study Arabic, Islamic literature and the Islamic religious texts.[2] After five years (1881–86) of studies, he produced the first Bengali translation of the Quran.[2]
One Girish Chandra Sen served as the headmaster of the City Collegiate School (later renamed to Ananda Mohan College) in Mymensingh.[4] [5]
Works
On completion of his studies, he returned to Kolkata and engaged in the translation of Islamic scriptures. After about five years (1881–1886) of studies, he produced an annotated Bengali version of the Qur’an via Persian.[6]
Sen is also the first known translator of the works of Shakespeare in Bengali.[7] His autobiography, Atmajivani, was published in 1906. Initially, Sen worked at the Dhaka Prakash and later as an assistant editor at the Sulava Samachar and Bangabandhu and as editor and publisher of the monthly Mahila. While still at school he wrote a book, Banitabinodan, on the importance of women's education and Ramakrishna Paramhangser Ukti O Jivani.
References
- U. A. B. Razia Akter Banu (1992). Islam in Bangladesh. BRILL. p. 52. ISBN 90-04-09497-0.
- Mohanta, Sambaru Chandra (2012). "Sen, Girish Chandra". In Islam, Sirajul (ed.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
- M H Haider (21 August 2015). "And Shadows Flee Away". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
- Aminul Islam (14 April 2007). "125 Years: City Collegiate School". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
- This appears to refer to a different person. The source quoted states that Girish Chandra was Headmaster from 1883 to 1923; however the subject of this article is elsewhere stated to have been working in Lucknow from 1881 to 1886 and to have died in 1910.
- Mustafa Zaman (18 February 2005). "Reading in Translation : A Journey Through History". The Daily Star. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
- Md. Shafiqul Islam (28 May 2011). "Hamlet and Ophelia in Dhaka". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
Further reading
- Sansad Bangali Charitabhidhan (Biographical dictionary) in Bengali edited by Subodh Chandra Sengupta and Anjali Bose
- History of Brahmo Samaj by Pandit Sivanath Sastri