Question

why was Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar boycott??

Answer 1

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was a man of contradicting characters. He was an obstinate man who defined his own path of action. He was never swayed by others insistence or arguments and took decisions based on his own judgement. He was a man with exceptional strength of character and did not tolerate jibes at his own self-respect. He held his own against high ranking British officials often making them see the errors of their discriminatory ways. He was not used to taking nonsense from anyone and implemented that obstinate quality in constructive ways to improve the Bengali society from within. Unshakable courage was the mettle of his success in introducing the Widow Remarriage Act in 1856.

On the other hand, he had a soft heart that melted into empathy for other’s plight. He was easily moved to tears when he saw someone in pain and was always the first person to offer his help to colleagues and friend in distress. He spent most of his salary to pay for the expenses of poor students. He felt the pain of the child and adolescent widows around him and dedicated his all to lessen their predicament. He helped revered Bengali poet Michael Madhusudan Dutt to relocate from France to England and study for the bar. He also facilitated his return to India and inspired him to write poetry in Bengali creating some of the most legendary literary works in the language. Michael Madhusudan gave him the epithet ‘Daya Sagar’ (ocean of generosity) for hi selfless altruism.