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{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2018}}
{{infobox person
|name=Dinabandhu Mitra
|native_name=দীনবন্ধু মিত্র
|native_name_lang=bn
|image=Dinabandhu Mitra (1830-1873).jpg
|caption=Mitra
|birth_date=1830
|birth_name=Gandharva Narayan
|birth_place=[[Gopalnagar, North 24 Parganas]], [[Bengal Presidency]], [[British India]]
|father=Kalachand Mitra
|relatives=[[Nilmani Mitra]] (uncle)
|death_date={{death date and age|1873|11|01|1830|df=y}}
}}
'''Dinabandhu Mitra''' (1830 – 1 November 1873) was a [[Bengali people|Bengali]] writer and dramatist.<ref name=akademi>{{Cite book|title=Dinabandhu Mitra|last=Ghosha, Ajitakumāra, 1919-2005.|date=1998|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|isbn=81-260-0546-7|location=New Delhi|oclc=51488064}}</ref> He is notable for his play ''[[Nil Darpan]]'' (1860).<ref name=bpedia/>

==Early life==
Mitra was born at Chowberia village in Gopalnagar P.S., [[North 24 Parganas district|North 24 Parganas]] and was the son of Kalachand Mitra. His given name was Gandharva Narayan, but he changed it to Dinabandhu Mitra. His education started at a village pathshala. His father arranged a job for him on a zamindar's estate in 1840. But the small boy fled to Kolkata, where he started working in the house of his uncle, [[Nilmani Mitra]]. Around 1846, he was admitted to the free school run by [[James Long (Anglican priest)|James Long]]. Dinabandhu was a bright student and won a number of scholarships. In 1850, he enrolled in [[Presidency College, Kolkata|Hindu College]] and was awarded scholarships for academic excellence. However, he did not appear in his last examination, and, instead, started working as a postmaster in [[Patna]] in 1855. He served in various posts in the Postal Department in [[Krishnanagar, Nadia]], [[Dhaka]] and [[Orissa]]. In 1870, he was made supernumerary postmaster in [[Serampore]]. In 1872, he joined the [[Indian Railways]] as an inspector.<ref name=bpedia/>

==Literary career==
Mitra started writing literary pieces while still at college. His poetic style was inspired by poet [[Ishwar Chandra Gupta]]. His poems were able to attract the attention of intellectuals at [[Kolkata]], but his favourite genre was the drama. His work in the postal department had taken him to various parts of the country giving him opportunities to study human life closely and thereby adding to his ability to unfold the drama of life with a degree of realism unknown at that time. Among his books of poems are ''Suradhuni Kavya'' (first part appeared in 1871, second part appeared in 1876) and ''Dvadash Kavita'' (1872). His plays include ''[[Nil Darpan]]'' (1860), ''Nabin Tapasvini'' (1863), ''Biye Pagla Budo'' (1866), ''Sadhabar Ekadashi'' (1866), ''Lilavati'' (1867), ''Jamai Barik'' (1873) and ''Kamale Kamini'' (1873). He also wrote a novel titled ''Poda Mahehshvar''. Another one of his noted contributions was ''Jamalaye Jibanta Manush'' (''An Alive Man in the Abode of Yama''), the basic storyline will later be adopted into film [[Jamalaye Jibanta Manush|in the same name]] starring [[Bhanu Bandopadhyay]] and [[Basabi Nandi]].

===''Nil Darpan''===
[[File:নীলদর্পণ Nil Darpan.jpg|thumb|English translation of ''Nil Darpan''.]]
Mitra's play ''[[Nil Darpan]]'' was about the plight of [[indigo]] farmers. [[Indigo revolt]] (1858) in Bengali was the revolt of the indigo farmers against the indigo planters. It was one year after the [[Sepoy Revolt]], Bengal saw one more important revolt in its history. The play was published from [[Dhaka]] and soon after its publication it ignited a major argument in the newspapers.<ref name="ReferenceA">Dinabandhu Mitra, Ajit Kumar Ghoshal, Shahitya Academy Publication</ref> His first hand experience of the indigo cultivators, while on the job as the postmaster in rural [[Orissa]] and Bengal, were reflected in the drama. [[Michael Madhusudan Dutt]] translated the play into English immediately after it was published.<ref>Prothom Alo, [[Sunil Ganguli]], [[Ananda Publishers]]</ref> and [[James Long (Anglican priest)|Reverend James Long]] published it. The play got wide publicity in Europe where it was translated into other languages. No other Bengali book at that time got so wide publicity at such large scale. It was so emotionally motivating that when the play was staged, the notable educator and reformer [[Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar]] was so taken in by the realism of the performance of Ardhendushekhar Mustafi (the actor playing the role of the indigo planter Mr Wood) that he [[list of shoe throwing incidents|threw a shoe]] at the actor.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> The actor accepted the shoe as a compliment.

A lawsuit was filed against Rev. Long on 19 July 1861 for libeling the editor of the ''Englishman'' and libeling the indigo planters. Rev. Long was fined a sum of 1000 Rs. and a month of time in jail, the fully packed court house were full with sympathy towards the Rev. and the dramatist. The fined sum was paid at the spot by author [[Kaliprasanna Singha]].<ref name=akademi/> The court hearing against the indigo planters went for the next four years.<ref name=bpedia>{{cite Banglapedia|article=Mitra,_Rai_Bahadur_Dinabandhu}}</ref> [[Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay]] compared ''Nil Darpan'' to [[Uncle Tom's Cabin]] for its role in arousing people's awareness of the evils of indigo plantations.<ref name=bpedia/>

==Later life and legacy==
Mitra was awarded the title ''Rai Bahadur'' by the British Raj for services rendered at the [[Lushai Expedition]].<ref name=bpedia/> He was the matchmaker between [[Bankim Chandra Chatterjee]] and Rajlakshmi Devi.<ref>{{Citation|title=দীনবন্ধু মিত্রকে আজও কেন আমরা স্মরণ করি / Dinabandhu Mitra by Dr Niranjan Bandopadhyay|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaL_lngOB5g|language=en|access-date=2020-01-06}}</ref> He died on 1 November 1873.

The college [[Dinabandhu Mahavidyalay]] (estd. 1947) is named after Mitra.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://dinabandhumahavidyalaya.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=46&Itemid=55|title=About Us|website=dinabandhumahavidyalaya.org|access-date=2020-01-06}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitra, Dinabandhu}}
[[Category:1830 births]]
[[Category:1873 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Nadia district]]
[[Category:Hare School alumni]]
[[Category:Presidency University, Kolkata alumni]]
[[Category:University of Calcutta alumni]]
[[Category:Bengali writers]]
[[Category:Bengali-language writers]]

Dinabandhu Mitra - Revision history

imported>Vatsmaxed at 02:56, 26 July 2021