By-Kakchingtabam Ruhinikumar Sharma
Acknowledging the challenges, hardships, and the special role played by the teachers in the society, Teachers’ Day is observed on the 5th of September of every year in India to commemorate the birth anniversary of Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, who was a believer in education. Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was a well-known diplomat, scholar, President of India, and above all, a teacher. Teachers’ Day is celebrated to respect and honour the teachers in India and across the world. Emphasizing the changing role of teachers in the backdrop of NEP 2020, the Hon’ble Prime Minister very rightly said “When a Teacher learns, a Nation leads”.
As part of Teachers’ Day celebration, on 5th September, 2020, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has made plan to run the following hashtag(#) campaign on twitter/Facebook/Instagram and other social media: #ourteachersourheroes and #teachersfromindia. (UGC) has also urged universities and colleges across the country to organize programmes by following government protocols on social distancing or through videoconferencing to honour retired teachers who have made significant contributions in the growth and development of students and the institution.
What the Hon’ble Prime Minister referred to above may be construed as acknowledgement of the role teachers played in nation-building. It is not only the facts and facts that ought to be delivered to the students, but also rationality, humanism, scientific spirit and critical thinking which are much more important in shaping all round development of a student as a responsible individual and responsive citizen in future. Besides it is the moral responsibility of the teachers to see that students are imbued with the nationalistic spirits rooted in rich cultural heritage of the nation. Since India is a large country of varying regions, religions, language and culture the role of the teachers in shaping the future of students become more crucial and important.
In this context, the present writer being a student of history for more than three decades would like to share to our young readers the role played by an organisation called Young Bengal under the leadership of Henry Louis Vivian Derozio in heralding the renaissance in Bengal in particular and India in general. Though short-lived, the Young Bengal movement was influential in widening the weltanschauung of a section Bengali youths who were to play a greater role in national life in the later years.
The leader of this new movement was none other than Henry Louis Vivian Derozio (18 April 1809 – 26 December 1831), a Calcutta born Eurasian of Portuguese-Indian ancestry, whose father was an officer in an English mercantile firm. Apart from his interest in literature and philosophy, he had deep faith in the French revolution and English radicalism. He completed his school education at the early age of 14. In 1823, he became a clerk in an English firm at Bhagalpore. In 1827, he came to Calcutta and took up journalism and literature. Derozio was closely associated with a number of journals viz., the India Gazette, the Calcutta Literary Gazette, the Bengal Annual and the Kaleidoscope. In 1827, he was appointed an Assistant Headmaster in the Hindu College. In 1828, he was promoted to the post of a lecturer in English literature and history. As a teacher, he earned the admiration, loyalty and devotion of his pupils. His lectures were so attractive that not only the students of his own class but the students of the senior classes also attended them. In addition to lectures, he had discussions with students where ideas were exchanged. Occasionally, he also gave lectures on morals and literature at the David Hare’s School too.
However sooner than later, Derozio was accused of having corrupted the minds of the students of the college. The orthodox Hindu parents of the time combined to demand his removal from the college. The governing body of the Hindu College eventually bowed to the wishes of the orthodox parents on the ground of pure expediency. The explanation given by the governing body on the decision to dismiss Derozio was “founded upon the expediency of yielding to popular clamours, the justice of which it is not incumbent on them to investigate.”The basic charge against Derozio was that he did not believe in God and his teachings tended to create a spirit of revolt and an irreligious frame of mind among the boys. Derozio defended himself in these words: “I have never denied the existence of a God in the hearing of any human being. If it be wrong to speak at all upon such a subject, I am guilty, but I am neither afraid nor ashamed to confess having stated the doubts of philosophers upon this head, because I have also stated the solution of these doubts. Is it forbidden anywhere to argue upon such a question? If so, it must be equally wrong to adduce an argument upon either side. What a spirited reply Derozio had given.
Derozio had a passionate love for his country, which is India. He revolted against the fallen state of affairs in India. He delved into history to discover the ancient glories of India. He wrote patriotic verse, unusual in one from his community and one of them runs as follows:
TO INDIA—MY NATIVE LAND
My country! in thy day of glory past
A beauteous halo circled round thy brow,
And worshipped as a deity thou wast.
Where is that glory, where that reverence now?
Derozio has been compared to Socrates. Like Socrates, he pursued what was right with single-minded devotion. Like Socrates, he had the gift to inspire youngmen with enthusiasm in search of truth. Like Socrates, he was accused of misguiding the youth and like Socrates, he suffered. He was dismissed from service. By their integrity, dignified conduct and conscientiousness coupled with intellectual ability, the pupils of Derozio enhanced self-respect and elevated the moral stature of society. They were men of honour in whom the nationalist sentiment, the love of the country, first manifested itself. Generations of Indians continued to be influenced by the ideas of a maverick teacher called Henry Louis Vivian Derozio, which clearly shows the important role played by the teachers in the making and unmaking of a society or nation.
******* The writer can be contacted at [email protected].
