Reverend Krishnamohan Bandyopadhyay, scholar and editor, whose conversion to Christianity had created a stir in Bengal, passed away on this day. He was 72.
Born in Kolkata in a Brahmin family, Bandyopadhyay studied in his early years at Calcutta School Society, the brainchild of David Hare. Later, Bandyopadhyay studied at Hindu College, where he was deeply inspired by radical thinker and poet Henry Louis Vivian Derozio. Bandyopadhyay converted to Christianity under the influence of Alexander Duff in 1832. Soon afterwards he was placed in charge of the Church Missionary Society school in Amherst Street and joined the Anglican Church, according to an account by Miss M. E. Gibbs on http://anglicanhistory.org.
“He joined Bishop’s College as an ordinand, and was made a deacon by Bishop Wilson in 1836, after which he took charge of Christ Church, Cornwallis Street…,” the account adds.
He was appointed a teacher at Bishop’s College later.
Around the time of his conversion, which captured the imagination of Bengal and drew sharp reaction, Bandyopadhyay had started editing The Inquirer and had written the play The Persecuted: or, Dramatic Scenes Illustrative of the Present State of Hindoo Society in Calcutta.
He wrote the 13-volume encyclopaedia Vidyakalpadruma. His writings explored the connections between Christianity and Hindu thought.
He became a member of Royal Asiatic Society in 1864 with Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar. He received an honorary doctorate degree from the University of Calcutta.