Bagol, Jogesh Chandra

Bagol, Jogesh Chandra (1903-1972) researcher and writer, was born on 27 May 1903 in his maternal uncle's house at Kumirmara village in pirojpur district. His paternal home was in Chalisha village. After completing his primary education, he studied at Kadamtala George English High School, passing the Entrance Examination in 1922. He passed the IA Examination in 1924 from Bagerhat College (at present Prafulla Chandra College) and BA in 1926 from City College. He took admission in Calcutta University, but could not continue his studies due to financial constraints.

While still a student, Jogesh Chandra met aswini kumar datta and Kamakhya Charan Nag and was influenced by their nationalistic ideas. In 1928 he started working as a proofreader for the prabasi and Modern Review. He was then appointed sub-editor. During this time he became intimate with Brajendra Nath Das, Ramananda Chattopadhyay, Sajanikanta Das and nirad c chaudhuri. From 1935 to 1941 he was involved with the Desh.

Jogesh Chandra was a prolific writer. He wrote 21 books in Bangla and 4 in English. Most of his writings are research oriented. Among his historical writings are Bharater Muktisandhani (1940), Unavingsha Shatabdir Bangla (1941), and Banglar Navyasangskrti (1958). He also wrote a book on ishwar chandra vidyasagar, Vidyasagar Parichay (1959), and Kolkata, Kalikatay Sangskrtikendra (1959). He also wrote considerably on national and social issues, for example in Hindumelar Itivrtta (1945), The History of the Indian Association (1953), and Jagrti O Jatiyata (1959). He was also interested in women's education, writing in both Bangla and English on the subject in Banglar Strishiksa (1950) and Women's Education in Eastern India (1956). He also wrote for children, for example, Sahasir Jayayatra (1938) and Jatir Baraniya Yara (1943). He also wrote an autobiography, Baraniya (1959).

In 1961, Jogesh Chandra became handicapped by blindness. Until then, he was deeply involved in writing and research. He was so much of a determined character that he wrote two books, Hindumelar Itivrtta and Sahitya Sadhak Charitamala, completely blind. While blind, he also edited a book on the hundred years of Indian Art College. In 1958, he gave commemorative speeches on Vidyasagar and in 1968 on sharat chandra chattopadhyay.

For his significant contributions in research and creative writings, he was awarded with the Rampran Gupta Award of the vangiya sahitya parishat (1956), Sarojini Basu Gold Medal (1962) of Calcutta University and Shishir Kumar Award (1966) of Amritabazar magazine. He died on 7 January 1972 in Kolkata. [Saumitra Sekhar]