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The famous Bengali primer 'Barna Parichay' was written by:
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Answer: Option C — Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
Detailed Solution
"Barna Parichay" ("Introduction to Letters") is a Bengali primer written by Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar and published in two parts in 1855.
About Barna Parichay:
- It was written to teach young children the Bengali alphabet and simple words and sentences.
- Vidyasagar reformed and simplified the Bengali alphabet, removing some letters that were no longer needed and organising it into 12 vowels and 40 consonants.
- It also taught moral lessons through short stories about good and bad children, such as the honest "Gopal" and the naughty "Rakhal".
- For over 150 years, it has been used to teach generations of Bengali children to read, and it is still in print.
About Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (1820-1891):
- He was born Ishwar Chandra Bandyopadhyay in Birsingha village, Medinipur district, West Bengal.
- He received the title "Vidyasagar" ("Ocean of Learning") from the Sanskrit College, Calcutta, for his scholarship.
- He was Principal of the Sanskrit College and opened it to students of non-Brahmin castes.
He was the leading campaigner for widow remarriage. His efforts led to the Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act, 1856, drafted under Lord Dalhousie and enacted in July 1856 under Lord Canning.
He campaigned against child marriage and polygamy.
He promoted women's education, helped found many girls' schools and supported the Bethune School in Calcutta.
He was known for his generosity and kindness and was called "Dayar Sagar" ("Ocean of Kindness").
He is regarded as one of the leading figures of the Bengal Renaissance.
Other social reformers of Bengal:
- Raja Ram Mohan Roy: founded the Brahmo Samaj (1828); campaigned against Sati, which was abolished in 1829 by Lord William Bentinck.
- Keshab Chandra Sen: Brahmo leader.
- Debendranath Tagore: founded the Tattvabodhini Sabha.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Raja Ram Mohan Roy founded the Brahmo Samaj and fought against Sati.
- ✗Rabindranath Tagore wrote "Gitanjali".
- ✗Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay wrote "Anandamath".
Quick tip
Remember: "Barna Parichay" (1855, Bengali primer; 12 vowels and 40 consonants) = Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act 1856); Ram Mohan Roy = Brahmo Samaj and abolition of Sati (1829).
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Books & Authors — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Books & Authors, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers famous books and their authors, including ancient Indian texts, works of the freedom struggle, classic and modern literature, autobiographies of famous people, and recently published books by well-known personalities. Questions usually name a book and ask for its author, or the other way round. Ancient and historical books, such as Arthashastra (Kautilya), Indica (Megasthenes) and Gitanjali (Rabindranath Tagore), are tested most often. Autobiographies are another favourite, so learn titles such as 'My Experiments with Truth' (Mahatma Gandhi) and 'Wings of Fire' (A. P. J. Abdul Kalam). Practise the books and authors questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.