আধুনিকতার প্রতিভূ, বাংলা সাহিত্যের প্রথম প্রাবন্ধিক রাজা রামমোহন রায়/ Raja Rammohan Roy, the representative of modernity, the first essayist of Bengali literature

Abstract

The nineteenth century was the age of the Renaissance in Bengal. Not only Raja Rammohan Roy was the pioneer of the Bengal Renaissance, has he been dubbed the 'Father of Indian Renaissance'. He was given the title of Raja by Mughal emperor Akbar II. He was a social reformer and a writer, who fiercely campaigned against the practice of Sati (widow immolation), mobilizing public opinion and persuading British Governor-General Lord William Bentinck to enact the Bengal Sati Regulation in 1829, making it illegal and punishable by law. At that time, there was no ideal written form for writing in prose in Bengali. In this article, I have tried to establish his name as the pioneer in writing a successful objective essay in the Bengali language. From his two essays on 'Sati-daho pratha' named ''Sahamaran Bishayak Prabartak o Nibartak er Sambad'' 1st and 2nd Prastab, I have found all the characteristics of an objective essay, successfully built by Rammohan Roy, in the early stage of modern Bengali literature. This article has discussed also about Raja Rammohan Roy's growing up, education, social activities and how he made his writing as a weapon to fight against the superstitions. Mainly this article is establishing his essays on Sahamaran, as the first proper essay writing in Bengali.