Girish Chandra Sen (c. 1835 – 15 August 1910) was a Bengali religious scholar and translator. He was a Brahmo Samaj missionary and known for being the first publisher of the Qur’an into Bengali language in 1886.[1] He was praised by Islamic scholars in countries such as Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, and Iran for his choice of words.
Girish Chandra Sen | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1835 |
| Died | 15 August 1910 (aged 64–65) |
| Occupation(s) | scholar, missionary |
| Father | Madhabram Sen |
Early life
editSen was born in a Baidya family[2] in the village of Panchdona in Narayanganj District in Bengal (now part of Narsingdi District in Bangladesh).[3] He studied in Pogose School in Dhaka.[4]
In 1869, Keshub Chunder Sen chose from amongst his missionaries, four persons and ordained them as professors of four old religions of the world. He was selected to study Islam. Others selected to study different religions were Gour Govinda Ray for Hinduism, Protap Chandra Mozoomdar for Christianity, and Aghore Nath Gupta for Buddhism. A firm believer in the basic unity of all religions, he immersed himself in his studies and later went to Lucknow in 1876 to study Arabic, Islamic literature and the Islamic religious texts.[3] After five years (1881–86) of studies, he produced the first Bengali translation of the Quran.[3]
Works
editOn completion of his studies, he returned to Kolkata and engaged in the translation of Islamic scriptures. After about five years (1881–1886) of studies, he produced an annotated Bengali version of the Qur’an via Persian.[5]
Sen is also the first known translator of the works of Shakespeare in Bengali.[6] His autobiography, Atmajivani, was published in 1906. Initially, Sen worked at the Dhaka Prakash and later as an assistant editor at the Sulava Samachar and Bangabandhu and as editor and publisher of the monthly Mahila. While still at school he wrote a book, Banitabinodan, on the importance of women's education and Ramakrishna Paramhangser Ukti O Jivani. For his great contributions in translating Islamic literature into Bengali language, Muslims of Bengal often referred to him as Bhai Girish Chandra.[7]
References
edit- ^ U. A. B. Razia Akter Banu (1992). Islam in Bangladesh. BRILL. p. 52. ISBN 90-04-09497-0.
- ^ "Sri Ramakrishna Touched Them: Girish Chandra Sen". Prabuddha Bharata. 101. Swami Smaranananda: 322. 1996.
- ^ a b c Mohanta, Sambaru Chandra (2012). "Sen, Girish Chandra". In Islam, Sirajul (ed.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
- ^ M H Haider (21 August 2015). "And Shadows Flee Away". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
- ^ Mustafa Zaman (18 February 2005). "Reading in Translation : A Journey Through History". The Daily Star. Archived from the original on 5 June 2016. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
- ^ Md. Shafiqul Islam (28 May 2011). "Hamlet and Ophelia in Dhaka". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
- ^ "First Translator of Quran into Bengali was a Brahmo Samaj scholar".
Further reading
edit- Sansad Bangali Charitabhidhan (Biographical dictionary) in Bengali edited by Subodh Chandra Sengupta and Anjali Bose
- History of Brahmo Samaj by Pandit Sivanath Sastri