Bankim Chandra Chatterjee
A novelist whose pen forged a new Bengali prose and gave India its first national song, Vande Mataram, a rallying cry for independence.
1838–1894 (age 56)·Indian Bengali writer, poet and journalist·Birthday: June 27
Biography
Bankim Chandra Chatterjee lived at the crossroads of colonial service and intellectual rebellion. A district magistrate under the British Raj, he wielded his education not for administration alone but for cultural revolution. He pioneered a modern Bengali novelistic style, moving away from archaic verse to a vibrant, accessible prose that captured the social complexities of 19th-century India. His serialized novel Anandamath became a political earthquake; within its pages was the hymn Vande Mataram, a devotional ode to the motherland that ignited the spirit of the Swadeshi movement. While his views on Hindu revivalism are debated, his literary craftsmanship and his creation of a symbol that unified a nation against colonial rule remain foundational to modern Indian identity.
#1 When Bankim Was Born
The biggest hits of 1838
Bankim's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1838Born
1843Started school
1851Became a teenager
1854Could drive
1856Could vote
1859Turned 21
1868Turned 30
President: Andrew Johnson
1878Turned 40
President: Rutherford B. Hayes
1888Turned 50
President: Grover Cleveland
1894Died at 56
President: Grover Cleveland
Key Achievements
- Wrote Anandamath, a seminal historical novel that inspired Indian nationalist sentiment.
- Composed Vande Mataram, the song that became a battle cry for Indian independence and later the national song of India.
- Pioneered the modern novel form in Bengali literature with works like Durgeshnandini and Kapalkundala.
- Founded and edited the influential literary magazine Bangadarshan.
Did You Know?
He was one of the first two graduates of the University of Calcutta.
He wrote his first novel, Rajmohan's Wife, in English.
The tune for Vande Mataram was later composed by Rabindranath Tagore.
“The secret of a nation's strength lies in its unity.”
