Chatterji, Bankim Chandra

(also Chatterjee, Cattopadhyay). Born June 26,1838, in Katalpara, near Calcutta; died Apr. 8,1894, in Calcutta. Indian Bengali-language writer.

Chatterji, a romanticist, was the author of the first historical novels in Bengali. His poem “Hail to Thee, Mother” (“Bande Mataram”) was the hymn of the national liberation movement from 1905 to 1947. His novels Candrasekhar (1873), Ananda Math (1882), and Raj Singh (1893; Russian translation, 1960) enthusiastically supported the struggle for independence. The social position of Indian women, deprived of rights, is the main theme of the novels Bishka Brikka (also known as The Poison Tree, 1872; Russian translation, 1962) and Krishnakanter Vil (1875).

Chatterji also wrote the collections of satirical short stories Popular Amusements (1874) and Kamalakanter Daptar (1875), as well as articles on literary history, sociology, science, philosophy, and religion. As an educator, publicist, and editor of the journals Banga Darshan and Prochar, Chatterji played an important role in the cultural life of Bengal.