That Raja Ram Mohan Roy had objected to the setting up of Sanskrit College because he believed education should be Western, and that it was Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, the father of the modern Bengali alphabet, who insisted that English be taught in that college — these are some of the lesser-known facts that emerged during the translation of a book containing the history of the institution that is completing 200 years.
Established in 1824, now known as Sanskrit College and University, the institution turns two centuries old on February 25, when year-long events will begin in celebration. One of the activities undertaken to mark the bicentenary is the translation into English of the two volumes of Kolikata Sanskrit College-er Itihas (‘History of Kolkata’s Sanskrit College’) Part 1 authored by Brajendranath Bandyopadhyay, and Part 2 by Gopikamohun Bhattacharya.
“We associate Sanskrit College with traditional knowledge systems, but forget that for many years, English was considered an essential subject to be learnt by the scholars in this institution,” Samata Biswas, the English Professor responsible for the translation, said.
