The Bengal Movement That Inspired Scientists and Litterateurs

What is Bengal Renaissance?
Bengal Renaissance signifies the cultural and intellectual upsurge among the intellects of Bengal region. Raja Ram Mohan Roy is widely believed to have been the pioneer who started the movement, the movement which had a blend of people from all walks of life including journalists and artists.

An intellectual awakening
Bengal underwent an intellectual awakening that had no parallels in India’s history, the people who emerged during the time shaped thoughts and beliefs that were way ahead of time and also laid the foundation of ‘modern’ Indian society. The intellectuals took on various issues, some took up science, some confronted religion and the beliefs which came along with it, some propagated Atheism and rationalism, whatever the cause may be the Bengal Renaissance like its European counterpart unleashed a potential that would shape India’s future.

Literary aspect
The 1857 rebellion further gave much impetus to the renaissance movement that saw a splurge in literature movement. Bankim Chandra Chatterjee was considered as one of most brilliant writers who gave impetus to the movement. Rabindra Nath Tagore who was very keen on the subject of educational reform and his literary work was also the winner of Nobel Prize For Literature in 1913, the first Asian to win the award.

Science
Science in Bengal also got a huge lift during the Bengal renaissance, many scientists from Bengal took up path-breaking work in science. The people who achieved laurels in the field of science during this period includes Mahalanobis, Sathyendranath Bose, and Jagadish Chandra Bose. Mahalanobis later founded the Indian statistical institute and contributed significantly for large-scale surveys.