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{{Short description|Indian Bengali writer, poet and journalist (1838–1894)}}
<noinclude>{{Use Indian English|date=March 2015}} </noinclude>
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2018}}
{{Infobox writer
| name = Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay
| native_name = বঙ্কিমচন্দ্র চট্টোপাধ্যায়
| native_name_lang = bn
| image = Bankim Chattapadhyay.jpg
| image_size =
| birth_date = 26 June 1838<ref name="Library">{{cite book | last1=Library | first1=S.T.N.Y.P. | last2=Skillion | first2=A. | title=The New York Public Library Literature Companion | publisher=Free Press | year=2001 | isbn=978-1-4391-3721-5 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BD2P-Yb-m3wC&pg=PT160| page=160}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last1=Encyclopaedia Britannica | first1=I. | last2=Encyclopaedia Britannica | first2=I. | title=Britannica Concise Encyclopedia | publisher=Encyclopaedia Britannica | year=2008 | isbn=978-1-59339-492-9 | page=380}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current-affairs/story/bankim-chandra-chattopadhyay-16443-2016-06-27|title = Remembering Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, writer of the national song Vande Mataram| date=27 June 2016 }}</ref>
| birth_place = [[Naihati]], [[Bengal Presidency|Bengal]], [[Company rule in India|British India]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|1894|4|8|1838|6|27|df=y}}
| pseudonym = Kamalakanta
| occupation = Writer, poet, novelist, essayist, journalist, government official
| death_place = [[Calcutta]], Bengal, [[British Raj|British India]]
| genre =
| movement = [[Bengal Renaissance]]
| language = Bengali, English
| subject =
| alma_mater = [[University of Calcutta]]
| notableworks = ''[[Durgeshnandini]]'' ''[[Kapalkundala]]'' ''[[Devi Chaudhurani]]'' ''[[Anandamath]]'' ''[[Bishabriksha]]''
| signature = Sign of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay.svg
| website = [http://bankim.eduliture.com/ Bankim-Rachanabali administrated by eduliture]
| honorific_prefix =
}}
'''Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|CIE}} (anglicised as '''Bankim Chandra Chatterjee'''; 26 June 1838<ref>{{cite web |title=History & Heritage |url=http://north24parganas.gov.in/n24p/page.php?nm=History_Heritage |website=north24parganas.gov.in |access-date=27 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171101110803/http://north24parganas.gov.in/n24p/page.php?nm=History_Heritage |archive-date=1 November 2017}}</ref> – 8 April 1894<ref name="Merriam-WebsterInc1995">{{cite book|title=Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature|url=https://archive.org/details/merriamwebsters00merr|url-access=registration|year=1995|publisher=Merriam-Webster|isbn=978-0-87779-042-6|page=[https://archive.org/details/merriamwebsters00merr/page/231 231]}}</ref>) was an Indian Bengali novelist, poet, essayist<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bhabatosh Chatterjee |url=http://archive.org/details/bankimchandracha00bhab |title=Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay: Essays In Perspective |date=1994 |others=Public Resource}}</ref> and journalist.<ref name="star">[[Staff writer]]. [http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=192109 "Bankim Chandra: The First Prominent Bengali Novelist"], ''The Daily Star'', 30 June 2011</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Khan|first=Fatima|title=Bankim Chandra — the man who wrote Vande Mataram, capturing colonial India's imagination|url=https://theprint.in/theprint-profile/bankim-chandra-the-man-who-wrote-vande-mataram-capturing-colonial-indias-imagination/217506/|access-date=2021-09-01|website=ThePrint|date=8 April 2019|language=en-US}}</ref>

Noted for his pro-British stance, he accepted the legitimacy of the [[British Raj|British rule]] and supported English education.<ref name="r557">{{cite book | last1=Saikia | first1=Yasmin | last2=Rahman | first2=M. Raisur | title=The Cambridge Companion to Sayyid Ahmad Khan | publisher=Cambridge University Press | date=2019-03-21 | isbn=978-1-108-48387-2 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WLWQDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA191 | page=191}}</ref><ref name="m795">{{cite book | last=Urban | first=Hugh B. | title=Tantra: Sex, Secrecy, Politics, and Power in the Study of Religion | publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publishing House | date=2012-01-01 | isbn=978-81-208-2932-9 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wvtLClojU_4C&pg=PA124 | page=124}}</ref><ref name="n342">{{cite book | last=Ghosh | first=Oroon K. | title=The Changing Indian Civilization: A Perspective on India | publisher=Minerva Associates (Publications) | date=1976 | isbn=978-0-88386-836-2 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s_UtAAAAMAAJ | page=201}}</ref>

He was the author of the 1882 [[Bengali language]] novel ''[[Anandamath]]'', which is one of the landmarks of modern Bengali and Indian literature. He was the composer of ''[[Vande Mataram]]'', written in highly [[Sanskritisation (language)|Sanskritised]] [[Bengali language|Bengali]], [[National personification|personifying]] [[India]] as a [[mother goddess]]. Chattopadhayay wrote fourteen novels and many serious, serio-comic, satirical, scientific and critical treatises in [[Bengali language|Bengali]]. He is known as '''''Sahitya Samrat''''' (Emperor of Literature) in [[Bengali language|Bengali]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Chakraborty|first=Dr. Dulal|title=History of Bengali Literature (in Bengali)|publisher=Bani Bitan|year=2007}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Remembering Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, the face of Bengal renaissance, on his birth anniversary|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/art-and-culture/bankim-chandra-chattopadhyay-the-face-of-bengal-renaissance-on-his-178th-birth-anniversary-2879527/|access-date=2021-09-01|website=The Indian Express|date=27 June 2017|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title='Harbinger of Indian renaissance': Indians remember 'Sahitya Samrat' Bankim Chandra Chatterjee on his 183rd birth anniversary|url=https://www.freepressjournal.in/viral/harbinger-of-indian-renaissance-indians-remember-sahitya-samrat-bankim-chandra-chatterjee-on-his-183rd-birth-anniversary|access-date=2021-09-01|website=Free Press Journal|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Chattopadhyay |first=Sachis Chandra |title=Bankim's Biography |date=1952|location=Calcutta |page=9|language=Bengali}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Bhattacharya |first1=Amitrasudana |title=Bankima-chandra-jibani |date=1991 |publisher=Anand Publishers |location=Calcutta |page=25|language=Bengali}}</ref>

== Biography ==
Chattopadhayay is widely regarded as a key figure in literary renaissance of Bengal as well as the broader [[Indian subcontinent]].<ref name=star/> Some of his writings, including novels, essays and commentaries, broke away from traditional verse-oriented Indian writings,
and provided an inspiration for authors across India.<ref name=star/>
[[File:BankimChandra Chatttapadhyay in his early age.jpg|thumb|Bankim Chandra Chatttapadhyay in his early age]]
Chattopadhayay was born in the village of Kanthalpara in the town of [[Naihati|North 24 Parganas, Naihati]], in an orthodox [[Bengali Brahmins|Bengali Brahmin]] family, the youngest of three brothers, to Yadav Chandra Chattopadhayay and Durgadebi. His Grandfather Shiv Narayan Chatterjee. His ancestors hailed from Deshmukho village in [[Hooghly District]].<ref name = "Chattopadhyay9">Chattopadhyay, Sachishchandra, ''Bankim-Jibani'', 1952, Pustak Bipani, p 9</ref> His father, a government official, went on to become the Deputy Collector of [[Midnapur]]. One of his brothers, [[Sanjib Chandra Chattopadhyay]] was also a novelist and is known for his book "Palamau". Bankim Chandra and his elder brother both went to [[Hooghly Collegiate School]] (then Governmental Zilla School), where he wrote his first poem. He was educated at the [[Hooghly Mohsin College]] and later at [[Presidency College, Kolkata]], graduating with a degree in arts in 1859. He later attended the [[University of Calcutta]] and was one of two candidates who passed the final exam to become the school's first graduates.<ref name="banglapedia">{{cite book |last= |first= |title=West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education |publisher=[[West Bengal Council for Higher Secondary Education]] |year= |editor1-last= |editor1-first= |editor1-link= |edition= |chapter=Shri Bankim Chandra Chattopadhayay |editor2-last= |editor2-first= |chapter-url=https://wbchse.nic.in/html/bankim_chandra.html}}</ref> He later obtained a degree in law in 1869. Following his father's footsteps, Bankimchandra joined the Subordinate Executive Service. In 1858, he was appointed a Deputy Magistrate (the same type of position held by his father) of [[Jessore (city)|Jessore]]. After merging of the services in 1863, he went on to become Deputy Magistrate & Deputy Collector, retiring from government service in 1891. Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay was the first in-charge ([[Sub-divisional magistrate]]) of the [[Arambag subdivision]] in its earlier days. The ruins of a fort at [[Gar Mandaran]] provided the setting for Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay's novel [[Durgeshnandini]], published in 1865. His years at work were replete with incidents that brought him into conflict with the colonial government. He was, however, made a Companion of the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire (CMEOIE) in 1894.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.penguinbooksindia.com/Authors/Bankimchandra_Chattopadhyay.aspx |title=Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay – Penguin Books India |access-date=26 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111128084214/http://penguinbooksindia.com/Authors/Bankimchandra_Chattopadhyay.aspx |archive-date=28 November 2011}}</ref> He also received the title of Rai Bahadur in 1891.{{cn|date=January 2026}}

He held pro-British and anti-Muslim stance. Having accepted the legitimacy of the [[British Raj|British rule]], he supported English education.<ref name="r557"/><ref name="n342"/><ref name="m795"/> In his writings, he used fictional characters to represent Muslims as oppressive and Hindus as victims. He concluded that Muslims will rule over Hindus if the British left South Asia.<ref name="l736">{{cite book | last=Khan | first=Abdul Jamil | title=Urdu/Hindi: An Artificial Divide: African Heritage, Mesopotamian Roots, Indian Culture & Britiah Colonialism | publisher=Algora Publishing | date=2006 | isbn=978-0-87586-439-6 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zINY5Dpa_-kC&pg=PA244&dq= | access-date=2025-12-10 | page=244}}</ref>

==Literary career==
{{more citations needed section|date=April 2017}}
Chattopadhyay's earliest publications were in [[Ishwar Chandra Gupta]]'s weekly newspaper ''[[Sangbad Prabhakar]]''.<ref name="bankim">[http://bengalonline.sitemarvel.com/bankimchandra.asp Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay (Chattopadhyay)], from BengalOnline.</ref> He began his literary career as a writer of verse before turning to fiction. His first attempt was a novel in Bengali submitted for a declared prize. He did not win and the [[Novella|novelette]] was never published. His first fiction to appear in print was the English novel ''Rajmohan's Wife''.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Mukherjee|first1=Meenakshi|title=Early Novels in India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VPJ7jqVSl34C&q=rajmohan%3Bs+wife&pg=PA143|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|language=en|date=1 January 2002|isbn=9788126013425}}</ref> ''[[Durgeshnandini]]'', his first Bengali romance and the first ever novel in Bengali, was published in 1865.<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=2019-07-08|title=Literary lion - Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay: The Statesman Notebook|url=https://www.thestatesman.com/supplements/notebook/literary-lion-1502775019.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190722114309/https://www.thestatesman.com/supplements/notebook/literary-lion-1502775019.html |archive-date=22 July 2019 |access-date=2021-01-29|website=[[The Statesman (India)|The Statesman]]|language=en-US}}</ref> His essay 'Shakuntala, Miranda ebong Desdemona' (1873) is considered as the first attempt of comparative analysis of different literatures in Bengali and is studied closely in school of comparative literature of Jadavpur University.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jadavpur University B.A Syllabus - Comparative Literature |url=http://www.jaduniv.edu.in/upload_files/dept_file/1462953396-1.pdf |website=Jadavpur University}}</ref>

[[File:আনন্দমঠ (দ্বিতীয় সংস্করণ, ১৮৮৩).djvu|thumb|right|Second edition of [[Anandamath]] (1883)]]

One of the many novels of Chattopadhyay that are entitled to be termed as historical fiction is ''Rajsimha'' (1881, rewritten and enlarged 1893). ''[[Anandamath]]'' (The Abbey of Bliss, 1882) is a [[political fiction|political novel]] which depicts a Sannyasi (Hindu ascetic) army fighting a British force. The book calls for the rise of Indian nationalism. The novel was also the source of the song ''[[Vande Mataram]]'' (I worship my Motherland for she truly is my mother) which, set to music by [[Rabindranath Tagore]], was taken up by many Indian nationalists, and is now the National Song ; ultimately, however, he accepted that the British Empire could not be defeated.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://navbharattimes.indiatimes.com/what-is-vandana-vande-mataram/articleshow/11652292.cms|title=किसकी वंदना है वंदे मातरम – Navbharat Times|date=28 January 2012|work=Navbharat Times|access-date=11 February 2018}}</ref> The novel first appeared in serial form in ''[[Bangadarshan]]'', the literary magazine that Chattopadhyay founded in 1872. ''Vande Mataram'' became prominent during the Swadeshi movement, which was sparked by Lord Curzon's attempt to partition Bengal into a Hindu majority West and Muslim majority East. Drawing from the Shakti tradition of Bengali Hindus, Chattopadhyay personified India as a Mother Goddess known as [[Bharat Mata]], which gave the song a Hindu undertone.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Mazumdar|first1=Aurobindo|title=Vande Mataram and Islam|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4YBhMfAgxIkC&pg=PA9|publisher=Mittal Publications|date=2007|isbn=9788183241595}}</ref>

[[File:Bankim Chandra Chatterjee 1969 stamp of India.jpg|thumb|Bankim Chandra Chatterjee on a 1969 stamp of India]]

Bankim was particularly impressed by the historical [[Gaudiya Vaishnava]] cultural efflorescence of the 14th and 15th centuries in Bengal. Chattopadhyay's commentary on the [[Bhagavad Gita]] was published eight years after his death and contained his comments up to the 19th Verse of Chapter 4.<ref>Minor, Robert (1986) ''Modern Indian Interpreters of the Bhagavad Gita''. State University of NY press. {{ISBN|0-88706-298-9}}</ref>
In a long essay on [[Samkhya|Sankhya]] philosophy, he argues that the central philosophical foundation of the overwhelming part of religious beliefs in India, including even Buddhism, lies in the philosophy of Sankhya. He was a critique of the philosophy in the sense of its emphasis on personal ''vairagya'' (renunciation) rather than political and social power.<ref>Partha Chatterjee, "Chapter 3 The Moment of Departure: Culture and Power in the Thought of Bankimchandra" in National Thought and the Colonial World: A Derivative Discourse? (Delhi:Oxford University Press, 1986), 54-84.</ref>

==Meeting with Ramakrishna==
Bankim was highly educated and influenced by Oriental thoughts and ideas. Ramakrishna in contrast, did not have knowledge of English. Yet, they had a nice relationship.{{cn|date=January 2026}}

==Legacy==
[[Tagore]] penned in the memory of his mentor:
"Bankim Chandra had equal strength in both his hands, he was a true ''sabyasachi'' (ambidextrous). With one hand, he created literary works of excellence; and with the other, he guided young and aspiring authors. With one hand, he ignited the light of literary enlightenment; and with the other, he blew away the smoke and ash of ignorance and ill conceived notions"

[[Sri Aurobindo]] wrote in his memory:
"The earlier Bankim was only a poet and stylist, the later Bankim was a seer and nation-builder"

After the ''Vishabriksha'' (''The Poison Tree'') was published in 1873, the magazine, [[Punch (magazine)|Punch]] wrote:

::"You ought to read the Poison Tree
::of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay."<ref>{{cite web|last1=Lemon|first1=Mark|last2=Mayhew|first2=Henry|last3=Taylor|first3=Tom|last4=Brooks|first4=Shirley|last5=Burnand|first5=Sir Francis Cowley|last6=Seaman|first6=Sir Owen|title=London Charivari|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SnhIAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA2|publisher=Punch Publications Limited|date=1885}}</ref>
::
::
::
::
::
::

His novel ''Anushilan-Tattva'' inspired Pramathanath Mitra to start [[Anushilan Samiti]].
Bankim Puraskar (Bankim Memorial Award) is the highest award given by the Government of West Bengal for contribution to Bengali fiction.{{cn|date=January 2026}}

==Works==
{{div col}}
;Fiction
* ''[[Durgeshnandini]]'' (March 1865)
* ''[[Kapalkundala]]'' (1866)
* ''Mrinalini'' (1869)
* ''[[Bishabriksha]]'' (The Poison Tree, 1873)
* ''Indira'' (1873, revised 1893)
* ''Jugalanguriya'' (1874)
* ''Radharani'' (1876, enlarged 1893)
* ''Chandrasekhar'' (1875)
* ''Kamalakanter Daptar'' (From the Desk of Kamlakanta, 1875)
* ''Rajani''(1877)
* ''Krishnakanter Uil'' (Krishnakanta's Will, 1878)
* ''Rajsimha'' (1882)
* ''[[Anandamath]]'' (1882), [[Orient Paperbacks]], {{ISBN|978-81-222013-0-7}}
* ''[[Devi Chaudhurani]]'' (1884)
* ''Kamalakanta'' (1885)
* ''Sitaram'' (March 1887)
* ''Muchiram Gurer Jivancharita'' (The Life of Muchiram Gur)

;Religious Commentaries
* ''Krishna Charitra'' (Life of Krishna, 1886)
* ''Dharmatattva'' (Principles of Religion, 1888)
* ''Devatattva'' (Principles of Divinity, Published Posthumously)
* ''Srimadvagavat Gita'', a Commentary on the [[Bhagavad Gita]] (1902 – Published Posthumously)

;Poetry Collections
* ''Lalita O Manas'' (1858)

;Essays
* ''Lok Rahasya'' (Essays on Society, 1874, enlarged 1888)
* ''Bijnan Rahasya'' (Essays on Science, 1875)
* ''Bichitra Prabandha'' (Assorted Essays), Vol 1 (1876) and Vol 2 (1892)
* ''Samya'' (Equality, 1879)
{{div col end}}
Chattopadhyay's [[debut novel]] was an English one, ''[[Rajmohan's Wife]]'' (1864) and he also started writing his religious and philosophical essays in English.

==See also==
* [[List of Indian writers]]
* {{anl|Sadhu Bhasha}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* Ujjal Kumar Majumdar: ''Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay: His Contribution to Indian Life and Culture''. Calcutta: The Asiatic Society, 2000. {{ISBN|81-7236-098-3}}.
* Walter Ruben: Indische Romane. Eine ideologische Untersuchung. Vol. 1: Einige Romane Bankim Chattopadhyays iund Ranbindranath Tagore. Berlin: Akademie Verlag, 1964. (German)
* Bhabatosh Chatterjee, Editor: Bankimchandra Chatterjee: Essays in Perspective (Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi) 1994.

==External links==
{{Wikisource|Author:Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay|Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay}}
* {{commons category-inline|Bankim Chandra Chatterjee}}
* {{wikiquote-inline}}
{{EB1911 poster|Chatterji, Bankim Chandra}}
* {{Gutenberg author |id=7399| name=Bankim Chandra Chatterji}}
* {{Internet Archive author |search=("Bankim Chandra Chatterji" OR "Chatterji, Bankim Chandra" OR "Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay" OR "Chattopadhyay, Bankim Chandra")}}
* {{Librivox author |id=16794}}
* https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php/Chattopadhyay,_Bankimchandra

{{Novels by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay}}
{{Hindu reform movements}}
{{Bengal Renaissance}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Chattopadhyay, Bankim Chandra}}
[[Category:1838 births]]
[[Category:1894 deaths]]
[[Category:Bengali-language novelists]]
[[Category:Bengali Hindus]]
[[Category:19th-century Bengali people]]
[[Category:Bengali-language lyricists]]
[[Category:Presidency University, Kolkata alumni]]
[[Category:University of Calcutta alumni]]
[[Category:Hooghly Mohsin College alumni]]
[[Category:Indian civil servants]]
[[Category:Indian lyricists]]
[[Category:Indian historical novelists]]
[[Category:Indian literary critics]]
[[Category:Indian magazine editors]]
[[Category:Indian newspaper editors]]
[[Category:People from North 24 Parganas district]]
[[Category:Writers from Kolkata]]
[[Category:Journalists from Kolkata]]
[[Category:Writers of historical romances]]

[[Category:19th-century Indian novelists]]
[[Category:19th-century Indian male writers]]
[[Category:19th-century Indian poets]]
[[Category:19th-century Indian essayists]]
[[Category:19th-century Indian composers]]
[[Category:19th-century Indian journalists]]

[[Category:Neo-Vedanta]]
[[Category:People from the Bengal Presidency]]
[[Category:Poets from British India]]
[[Category:Journalists from British India]]

[[Category:Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire]]
[[Category:Novelists from British India]]

Bankim Chandra Chatterjee - Revision history

CleanupBot at 18:27, 21 March 2026