Born - 10 November 1848
Died - 6 August 1925
Achievements - Being among the earliest of Indian politicians in
the pre-independence era, Sir Surendranath Banerjee established the
Indian National Association that he later merged with the Indian
National Congress owing to their common agenda. At a very young age, he
cleared the British instituted ICS examinations, but was dismissed due
to racial discrimination. He whipped up a strong protest against this.
Among the earliest Indian politicians during the British raj was Sir
Surendranath Banerjee. He set up the Indian National Association that
was among the earliest political organizations of that era. Later on,
Banerjee became a senior member of the Indian National Congress. Born on
10 November 1848 at Calcutta in West Bengal, Surendranath Banerjee was
intensely swayed by the liberal, progressive thinking of his father,
Durga Charan Banerjee. Read on to know more about the biography of Sir
Surendranath Banerjee.
After graduating from the University of Calcutta, Surendranath traveled to
England in 1868 along with Romesh Chunder Dutt and Behari Lal Gupta to
appear for the Indian Civil Service exams. Though he passed the ICS in
1869, he was dismissed because of a dispute over his right age. After
this matter was sorted out in a court of law, Banerjee reappeared for
the exam and once again managed to clear it in 1871. He was appointed as
the assistant magistrate in Sylhet, but was chucked out due to racial
discrimination.
Not one to leave challenges lying down his entire life history, Sir
Surendranath Banerjee headed straight to England this time. Though he
raised his voice against the injustice, his protest failed to deliver
any positive result. However, during his stay in England from 1874 to
1875, Banerjee acquainted himself with the works of Edmund Burke and
other liberal philosophers. Upon returning to India, Surendranath
Banerjee instead started working as a professor of English at the
Metropolitan Institution, the Free Church Institution and at the Ripon
College.
In the time to come, Banerjee went on to launch 'The Bengali' newspaper
and the Indian National Association in 1876. He employed these forums to
address political and social issues like the age-limit for Indian
students appearing for ICS. He rebuked the racial discrimination
practiced by the British officers through public speeches all over the
country, which made him very popular. After the Congress was set up in
1885 at Bombay, Banerjee merged his Indian National Association with it
owing to their common agenda. He served as Congress President in 1898
and 1904.
 |
