Idioms Of Improvement: vidyasagar and cultural encounter in Bengal
- New Delhi Primus Books 2020
- 312 p.
Two hundred years after his birth, kvarcandra Vidyasagar remains a compelling figure in the history of modern Indian social change. The most widely acclaimed reformer of the nineteenth century after Rammohun Roy, Vidyasagar is renowned as both a Sanskrit pandit and an innovative modern thinker, Revered and reviled for his role in promoting the marriage of Hindu widows, he was also responsible for establishing new patterns in education, literature, and publishing. His response to the challenges and opportunities of colonial modernity has inspired poets and vexed interpreters; he remains the focal point for pressing discussions on power, privilege, and cultural hegemony. Idioms of Improvement seeks to fathom this ocean of learning (vidyā-sāgar) by focusing on the convergence of Sanskritic and European cultural norms within Vidyāsāgar's distinctive Bengali worldview. Unlike other colonial reformers, Vidyāsāgar held religious discourse and theology at arm's length. While this fact has charmed his secularist admirers and infuriated the keepers of Hindu orthodoxy, neither camp has been able to provide a convincing, integrated account of his worldview in this regard. Idioms of Improvement offers suchan account, making the case for a religious dimension to Vidyāsāgar's worldview that can explain both his impatience with orthodoxy and his respect for dharma. As one compelling species of liberal Hindu modernity, this worldview deserves careful explication and on-going critical reflection.