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The Hon'ble MP for Kolkata North East, Sri Sudip Bandyopadhyay, inaugurated a new gallery at the 2nd floor of the museum on 22nd May 2022, on the occassion of the 250th birth anniversary of Raja Rammohun Roy..
Sri Sudip Bandopadhyay, Hon'ble MP, Lok Sabha, highlighted the importance of such figures as Raja Rammohun Roy in the making of the nation. He graciously assured the committee of all help from the Government in future plans of the Museum in the same way as the Chief Minister and the State Government have done so far.
The gallery entitled - Renaissance of Bengal and Rammohun Roy's Contemporaries - Associates and Adversaries was built with the financial support from Dept. of Information & Cultural Affairs, Govt. of West Bengal. Comprising of poster panels composed of photographs, paintings, sketches and introductory write-ups, the gallery displays a total number of 24 Associates from both of India and abroad who were contemporaries during the time of Raja Rammohun Roy. The important personalities who had contributed immensely during this time period for religious, socio - cultural & educational reforms. Some of the important personalities who were a part of Bengal Renaissance , include Jeremy Bentham, William Carey, Prince Dwarakanath Tagore, David Hare, William Bentinck, Tarachand Chakraborty and others.
The keynote address was delivered by Prof. (retd.) Dr. Sobhanlal Dutta Gupta, Surendra Nath Banerjee Professor of Political Science, University of Calcutta, who spoke on "Rmmohun : Kaler Darpane Phire Dekha."
In his erudite lecturer, Prof. Duta Gupta viewed Rammohun in three time frames : a) In his lifetime, when the great reformer was unfortunately an object of slander as his thoughts were sharply opposed by Hindu Conservatives and Christian Missionaries. His rejection of idolatry came in for criticism from the Hindus while his advocacy of Unitarianism offended the Christian . b) The second phase of Rammohun's reception by succeeding generations after Raja's death centenary in 1933, an enlightened assessment of him was initiated by Rabindranath Tagore. This new understanding cemented the fame of Rammohun as the founder of modernity and defender of reason, science and humanism. Eminent people like Brajendranath Seal, Pramatha Chauduri and Soumendranath Tagore shared this view. c) The third phase of Rammohun's reassessment began in 1972, on his 150th birth anniversary when a shift took place, primarily under the impact of Marxism, the Naxalbari movement, subaltern studies and post colonialism, an altogether new understanding gained ground. |
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