Taj25O2937005 at 06:57, 13 November 2025

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{{short description|Brahmo Samaj missionary and translator (1835–1910)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2018}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Girish Chandra Sen
| image = Girish chandra sen.JPG
| caption =
| birth_date = 1835
| birth_place = [[Narsingdi District|Panchdona]], [[Bengal Presidency]], [[British India]]
| death_date = {{death date|1910|8|15|df=y}} (aged 74–75)
| death_place = [[Calcutta]], [[Bengal Presidency]], [[British India]]
| occupation = [[Scholar]], [[Missionary]]
| father =
}}
'''Girish Chandra Sen''' ({{circa|1835}} – 15 August 1910) was a [[Bengali people|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.<ref>{{cite book |author=U. A. B. Razia Akter Banu |year=1992 |title=Islam in Bangladesh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XyzqATEDPSgC&pg=PA52 |publisher=BRILL |page=52 |isbn=90-04-09497-0}}</ref>

==Early life==
Sen was born in a [[Baidya]] family<ref>{{Cite journal |year=1996 |title=Sri Ramakrishna Touched Them: Girish Chandra Sen |url=https://ia601304.us.archive.org/11/items/PrabuddhaBharata-July1896-Dec2001/05PB-May1996.pdf |journal=[[Prabuddha Bharata]] |publisher=Swami Smaranananda |volume=101 |pages=322}}</ref> in the village of Panchdona in [[Narayanganj District]] in [[Bengal]] (now part of [[Narsingdi District]] in Bangladesh).<ref name=bpedia>{{cite book |last=Mohanta |first=Sambaru Chandra |year=2012 |chapter=Sen, Girish Chandra |chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Sen,_Girish_Chandra |editor1-last=Islam |editor1-first=Sirajul |editor1-link=Sirajul Islam |title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh |edition=Second |publisher=[[Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]]}}</ref> He studied in [[Pogose School]] in [[Dhaka]].<ref>{{Cite news |author=M H Haider |date=21 August 2015 |title=And Shadows Flee Away |url=http://www.thedailystar.net/star-weekend/heritage/and-shadows-flee-away-129868 |newspaper=The Daily Star |access-date=2 June 2016}}</ref>

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.<ref name=bpedia/> After five years (1881–1886) of studies, he produced the first Bengali translation of the Quran.<ref name=bpedia/>

==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 language|Persian]].<ref>{{Cite news |author=Mustafa Zaman |date=18 February 2005 |title=Reading in Translation : A Journey Through History |url=http://archive.thedailystar.net/magazine/2005/02/03/cover.htm |newspaper=The Daily Star |access-date=3 June 2016 |archive-date=5 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160605095923/http://archive.thedailystar.net/magazine/2005/02/03/cover.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[File:girish chandra quran.png|thumb|Quran translation of Girish Chandra Sen]]

Sen is also the first known translator of the [[List of works by William Shakespeare|works of Shakespeare]] in Bengali.<ref>{{cite news |author=Md. Shafiqul Islam |date= 28 May 2011 |title=Hamlet and Ophelia in Dhaka |url=http://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-187481 |newspaper=The Daily Star |access-date=2 June 2016}}</ref> 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''. For his great contributions in translating Islamic literature into [[Bengali language]], Muslims of Bengal often referred to him as ''Bhai Girish Chandra''.<ref name=bpedia />

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite encyclopedia |editor1-last=Sengupta |editor1-first=Subodh Chandra |editor2-last=Basu |editor2-first=Anjali |year=1988 |orig-year=First published 1976 |script-title=bn:গিরিশচন্দ্র সেন |trans-title=Girishchandra Sen |script-encyclopedia=bn:সংসদ বাঙালি চরিতাভিধান |encyclopedia=Saṃsada bāṅāli caritābhidhāna |trans-encyclopedia=Parliament Bengali Biographical Dictionary |url=https://archive.org/details/Samsad-Bangali-Charitabhidhan-Ed2/page/%E0%A7%A7%E0%A7%A9%E0%A7%A8/mode/1up |language=bn |volume=1 |edition=2nd |location=Kolkata |publisher=Sahitya Samsad |page=132}}
* ''History of Brahmo Samaj'' by Pandit Sivanath Sastri

{{Bengal Renaissance}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sen, Giris Chandra}}
[[Category:1835 births]]
[[Category:1910 deaths]]
[[Category:Scholars from Kolkata]]
[[Category:Bengali Hindus]]
[[Category:Bengali writers]]
[[Category:19th-century Bengali people]]
[[Category:Brahmos]]
[[Category:Hinduism and Islam]]
[[Category:Translators from Arabic]]
[[Category:Translators to Bengali]]
[[Category:Translators of the Quran into Bengali]]
[[Category:19th-century Indian translators]]
[[Category:19th-century Indian scholars]]
[[Category:Writers from West Bengal]]
[[Category:People from Narsingdi District]]

Girish Chandra Sen - Revision history

Taj25O2937005 at 06:57, 13 November 2025