Chakravarti, Tarachand
Chakravarti, Tarachand (1806-1857) born in a Brahmin family of modest circumstances and educated at hindu college under derozio, Tarachand Chakravarti was one of those outstanding young bengal radicals who refused to accept ideas without examining them. He was a lieutenant of rammohun roy of whose brahma samaj he became the first secretary.
Tarachand Chakravarti was proficient in English as well as Sanskrit, Persian and Hindustani. Among his literary and ideological colleagues were Ramgopal Ghosh, dakshinaranjan mukherjee, peary chand mitra, ramtanu lahiri and Rasik Krishva Mullick. According to Tarachand, he was influenced intellectually by Rammohun Roy, Bentham, Tom Paine, Hume and Bacon.
Tarachand joined the Calcutta Journal as its English translator in 1822. One year later, he started working with hh wilson to translate the puranas into English. Subsequently he worked with several English barristers.
Tarachand Chakravarti founded the Society for the Acquisition of General Knowledge in 1838 and became its first president. He was a founding member of the british indian society (1843). He was a major contributor to the bengal spectator of Ramgopal Ghosh. Tarachand';s own paper, Quill, was the mouthpiece of the modernist reform school that he headed. He advocated equal rights for all and abolition of social evils including polygamy and early marriage. He was the first to advocate revoking the permanent settlement and restoring the rights of raiyats.
He was the first Babgali to compile scientifically an English-Bangla Dictionary (1832). The dictionary, published by the calcutta school-book society, greatly influenced the process of transition from Persian to English. He also published an edition of the Manusa'm'hit'a (1832) in the original Sanskrit, with Bangla and English translations. Tarachand Chakravarti';s ideas and activities contributed to a fusion of oriental and western cultures, a credit which he shares with his guru, Rammohun Roy. [Sirajul Islam] [Islam, Sirajul Chief Editor, Banglapedia]
