Young Bengal

As Young Bengal, also known as Young Calcutta, Hindu College Students or Derozios, refers to a student movement in the early 19th century in Kolkata, India.

The movement consisted mainly of intellectuals, calling for the free thinking and wanted to break away from social provisions and traditions. She was a key part of the Bengal Renaissance. Its founder was the freethinker Henry Louis Vivian Derozio.

Role models and motivation

The Young Bengal emerged in the late 1820s and lasted until the 1840s. The main reason for its establishment was the different perception of the colonial influence on their country, their culture and politics. While on the one hand and the economic security of the Western influence was enjoyed expectantly, on the other hand formed the desire for resistance to foreign domination. Influential ideas came not only from English radicalism and the French Revolution, in which the Declaration of Human and Civil Rights in 1789 welcomed, but also by Raja Rammohan Roy, the reformer of Hinduism, among other things, the caste system, child marriage and sati cult ( widow burning ) criticized. Although he was not a member of the Young Bengal movement, but his ideas were motivating Through his departure for England in 1830.

Important members

• Henry Louis Vivian Derozio (1809-1831) was the founder of the Young Bengal. He attended an English private school in Dharamtola district, where he was influenced by a Scots name Drummond deeply; his teacher presented itself not only as a poet, philosopher and free thinker, but also as an admirer of the French Revolution. In Derozio he caused by the fact that he already began as a boy to read quality literature. He turned out to be an excellent early thinkers and writers, as well as a patriotic poet. In his criticisms of Kant's theories commonly referenced. Because of its popularity it has today, adjusted age of 19 in 1828 to the recently founded Hindu College, Presidency College as a teacher of English literature and history. Quickly fancied him an admiring circle pendant. His free spirit and his ideas spread rapidly, students visited him at home and maintained a friendly relationship with him. In the same year formed a Debattierrunde, known as the Academic Association, which lasted until 1839. Because of its impact force was Derozio of directors of the Hindu College, who feared an insurrection, directed his office. In the same year he died of cholera, but he left behind in his students a deep impression.
• David Hare (1775-1841) took over after the death Derozios the office of President of the Academic cooperative.

Goals and ideals

• " Down with Hinduism Down with othodoxy "
• Education and Training
• Improvements in the situation of women
• Improve the situation of farmers (economic and social)
• Patriotism
• Political and administrative

Events and Actions

The Academic Association was convinced that Western knowledge is essential along with his science in India. They also met on deliberately conspicuous by mocking old traditions and the divine existence into question presented; next they criticized religious and social rites and demanded more educational opportunities for women. As a symbol of their emancipation they drank wine and ate beef; 1832 converted some supporters of the Young Bengals to Christianity, later followed by other. They had several press organs and published numerous writings, the most famous newspapers were the Enquirer and the Bengali Jnananvesan, which appeared weekly. Although they rejected Hinduism and were thus negatively added to the population, they were still open to new ideas and in a collective, the Young Bengal attached mass, not interested. The aim was, rather, the independent development in freedom and development of the spirit.

After the death Derozios took David Hare (1775-1841), the President of the Academic Association and provided a kind of father figure for the Young Bengal dar. Although he enjoyed no special academic education, but he was a very wealthy merchant from England, whose foundation contributed to the construction of the Hindu college (now there is even a more David Hare School in Kolkata ). The development of the Young Bengal ran after the death of its founder by the absence of a unified ideology slowly and they were characterized rather by building several institutions representing the interests of. The Society for the Acquisition of General Knowledge, which was founded in 1838 with Tarachand Chakravarti as president, served mainly as a venue for readings. In addition, political, social and cultural issues were discussed and the interests of women was more use made ​​. For this purpose, followed by several publications.

The short-lived Mechanical Institute, which was launched in 1839 by David Hare, themed, among other human rights and freedom of the press and calls for the right to trial, as well as English as the court language. In the early 1840s the Young Bengal went through a turnaround and the focus gradually migrated from the Bengali culture and increasingly focuses on economic and political aspects. This was also especially the new newspaper Bengal Spectator.

Failure and end

Despite many ideals and progressive ideas, the movement of the Young Bengal is ultimately "failed". There was a pervasive positive content. Too much has been criticized and the students were not self-employed, to produce evolving ideology. You could not make it outside of their circles to establish a survival of the movement. The Young Bengal movement was, as the sharpest judgment, only a temporary and poor movement.

Another point of criticism is the focus on all things Western. The Young Bengal categorically praised the European ideas and saw the indigenous values ​​suspicious. However, the European ideologies were not undistorted and limited to India, or transmitted Bengal. Often they were alone with their points of view and could not organize a proper campaigns that fought for social issues. In the desire to always be attached to the new bourgeois liberalism, they lost sight of the facilities on site. Criticism is also the increase in alcohol consumption of many colleagues. These have so maybe lost focus on the ideals and philosophy of its founder.

As quickly as it had arisen, the Young Bengal disappeared again in public. A survival of the movement did not take place and "they faded out like a generation without fathers and children "

Effects

The Young Bengal movement had seen both politically moderate, as well as extremist trains. On one hand, they wanted to improve the conditions in India in collaboration with the British. This line pulled up to the Nehru-Gandhi era of the year 1928., The extremist side of the movement, which for independence from British rule (if necessary even by force ) fought, found her survival in the revolts of 1857, terrorist groups the Congress and the communist, socialist and other leftist movements of the 20th century. The Spirit of Young Bengal can be felt in today's Kolkata rather little. Most students in the universities and colleges are fixed on career and money. Only highlighting the Western lifestyle ( with positive and negative aspects ) seems important again today. In addition, the Derozio Award, a prize for education and human enrichment to directors and teachers awarded to honor Derozios freedom struggle.