Ramram Basu

Ramram Basu (c. 1751 - August 7, 1813) was a notable early scholar and translator of the Bengali language (Bangla), and credited with writing the first original work of Bangla prose written by a Bengali.

Basu first appears in western history in 1787 as the Bangla teacher for Englishman Dr. John Thomas, a Christian missionary at Debhata in Khulna, and then from 1793-1796 for noted scholar William Carey (1761-1834) at Madnabati in Dinajpur. In 1800 he joined Carey's Serampore Mission with its celebrated printing press, and in May 1801 was appointed Munshi, assistant teacher of Sanskrit, at Fort William College for a salary of 40 rupees per month. As college pundits were charged not only with teaching, but also with developing Bangla prose, there he began to produce a respected series of translations and new works, and continued to hold that post until his death.

Basu created a number of original prose and poetical works, including "Christastava", 1788; "Harkara", 1800, a hundred-stanza poem; "Jnanodaya" (Dawn of Knowledge), 1800, arguing that the Vedas were fundamentally monotheist, and that the departure of Hindu society from monotheism to idolatry was the fault of the Brahmins; "Lippi Mātā" (The Bracelet of Writing), 1802, a miscellany; and "Christabibaranamrta", 1803, on the subject of Jesus Christ.

In 1802 his Bangla text book "Rājā Pratāpāditya-Charit" (Life of Raja Pratapaditya), written for the college's use, received a cash prize of 300 rupees. It was printed at the Serampore Mission Press, and is now credited as the first original Bangla book in prose written by a Bengali. Basu also created Bangla versions of the Ramayana and Mahabharata, and aided in Carey's Bangla translation of the Bible.

Despite his active engagement with western missionaries and Christian texts, Basu remained a Hindu, and died in Kolkata on August 7, 1813.

References

* Sachindra Kumar Maity, "Professor A.L. Basham, My Guruji and Problems and Perspectives of Ancient Indian History and Culture", Abhinav Publications, 1997, page 218. ISBN 8170173264.
* [http://a-bangladesh.com/banglapedia/HT/B_0346.htm Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]
* [http://www.cesnur.org/2005/pa_sedgwick.htm New religious movements, religious plurality, and the Bengal Renaissance]