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{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2018}}
{{Short description|Indian journalist (1824 – 1861)}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2018}}
{{Infobox person
| name        = Harish Chandra Mukherjee<br/>হরিশ্চন্দ্র মুখোপাধ্যায়
| image        =
| image_size  =
| caption      =
| birth_date  = 24 July 1824
| birth_place  = [[Kolkata]], [[Bengal Presidency|Bengal]], [[British India]]
| death_date  = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1861|06|16|1824|07|24}}
| death_place  = [[Kolkata]], [[Bengal Presidency|Bengal]], [[British India]]
| occupation  = Journalist
| spouse      =
| nationality  = [[British India]]
}}


'''Harish Chandra Mukherjee''' () (24 July 1824 – 16 June 1861), was an [[India]]n [[journalist]] and [[Patriotism|patriot]], who fought for the indigo cultivators (and against the indigo planters) and forced the government to bring about changes .<ref name= "Bose">Sengupta, Subodh Chandra and Bose, Anjali (editors), 1976/1998, ''Sansad Bangali Charitabhidhan'' (Biographical dictionary) Vol I, {{in lang|bn}}, p853, {{ISBN|81-85626-65-0}}</ref>
'''Harish Chandra Mukherjee''' ( 24 July 1824 – 16 June 1861) was an Indian journalist. He was the editor of the ''[[Hindoo Patriot]]'' weekly.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Harish Chandra Mukherjee (The Indigo Movement) |url=http://indianculture.gov.in/node/2827526 |access-date=2023-12-14 |website=INDIAN CULTURE |language=en |archive-date=2023-12-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231214110909/https://indianculture.gov.in/node/2827526 |url-status=live }}</ref>


==Early life==
==Biography==
Son of Ramdhan Mukherjee, the family hailed from Sridharpur in Purba Bardhaman district but he was brought up in his maternal uncle’s place at [[Bhowanipur]] in [[Kolkata]]. As per the custom of the day, his father had three wives. Harish Mukherjee was son of the third wife Rukmini Devi. He was a free student at Union School but had to give up studies because of poverty. He started working in a small firm but later found employment, through competitive examinations, as a clerk in the office of the Military Auditor General. He gradually rose to a high position in that office and worked there all his life.<ref name = "Sastri">Sastri, Sivanath, ''Ramtanu Lahiri O Tatkalin Banga Samaj'', {{in lang|bn}}1903/2001, pp129-130, New Age Publishers Pvt. Ltd.</ref>
Mukherjee was born in 1824 in [[Bhowanipore]] near Calcutta. He was the younger of the two sons of his father, Ram Dhun Mukerji, by his third wife, Rukhhini Debi, and was brought up in the house of his maternal uncles. After studying in the Union School where he was admitted as a charity boy, he left school at the age of fourteen in search of employment.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-08-05 |title=IIMC Dhenkanal celebrates Odia Journalism Day |url=https://orissadiary.com/iimc-dhenkanal-celebrates-odia-journalism-day/ |access-date=2023-12-14 |website=Odisha Diary |language=en-US |archive-date=2023-12-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231214111328/https://orissadiary.com/iimc-dhenkanal-celebrates-odia-journalism-day/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Ray |first=Srikanta |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QMwBAAAAMAAJ&dq=Harish+Chandra+Mukherjee&pg=PA75 |title=Bengal Celebreties |date=1906 |publisher=City Book Society |language=en |access-date=2023-12-14 |archive-date=2023-12-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231214111430/https://books.google.com/books?id=QMwBAAAAMAAJ&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&pg=PA75&dq=Harish+Chandra+Mukherjee&hl=en |url-status=live }}</ref>


In 1852, he became a member of [[British Indian Association]] and soon became one of the members of its think-tank. He was one of the founders of the [[Sambhunath Pandit#Bhowanipur Brahmo Samaj|Bhowanipur Brahmo Samaj]].<ref name = "Sastri"/>
== Works ==
He started his career by writing bills, letters, petitions, and translating Bengali documents to English.<ref>{{cite web |title=Harish Chandra Mukherjee – A Less Known Liberal |url=https://indianliberals.in/content/harish-chandra-mukherjee-a-less-known-liberal/ |website=Indian Liberals |access-date=14 December 2023 |archive-date=14 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231214110309/https://indianliberals.in/content/harish-chandra-mukherjee-a-less-known-liberal/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1848, he was selected to join in the office of the Military Auditor General. He was promoted from clerk to Assistant Military Auditor. In 1852, when he became a member of the [[British Indian Association]], he read all the Regulation Laws in order to be able to carry on discussions on that subject with other members.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-06-16 |title=Harish Chandra Mukherjee death anniversary: Lesser-known facts about the patriot who fought for indigo cultivators |url=http://www.news9live.com/knowledge/harish-chandra-mukherjee-death-anniversary-lesser-known-facts-about-the-patriot-who-fought-for-indigo-cultivators-176768 |access-date=2023-12-14 |website=News9live |language=en-US |archive-date=2023-12-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231214110926/https://www.news9live.com/knowledge/harish-chandra-mukherjee-death-anniversary-lesser-known-facts-about-the-patriot-who-fought-for-indigo-cultivators-176768 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=India |first=The Hans |date=2019-09-17 |title=CCVA chief visits National Institute of Design |url=https://www.thehansindia.com/andhra-pradesh/ccva-chief-visits-national-institute-of-design--564737 |access-date=2023-12-14 |website=thehansindia.com |language=en |archive-date=2023-12-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231214111344/https://www.thehansindia.com/andhra-pradesh/ccva-chief-visits-national-institute-of-design--564737 |url-status=live }}</ref>


==Hindu Patriot==
Harish Chandra began his journalism by writing to the Hindu Intelligencer and to the Englishman. In 1853, three brothers, Srinath Ghose, Girish Chunder Ghose and Khetna Chunder Ghose, started a newspaper called the ''[[Hindoo Patriot]]'', which was issued under their joint editorship. They were assisted by Harish Chandra who later began editing the newspaper.<ref name="RepInd">{{cite book |last1=Pillai |first1=G. P. |title=Representative Indians |date=1897 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5GYoAAAAYAAJ |access-date=14 December 2023}}{{source-attribution}}</ref>
A self-taught person he attained proficiency in history, politics, law and English. He severely criticised the government in such newspapers as ''[[Hindu Intelligencer]]'' edited by [[Kashiprasad Ghosh]] and ''[[The Bengal Recorder]]'' edited by [[Ramgopal Ghosh]]. He was associated with the ''[[Hindoo Patriot|Hindu Patriot]]'' right form its start in 1853. In 1855, he secured the ownership and became the editor of the newspaper. [[Sambhunath Pandit]] used to write articles on legal matters in it.


When the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 struck, the political reaction in Bengal was not well defined. "There were, however, bold adventurers who could perceive dimly the inevitable trend in India’s political evolution."<ref>Sengupta, Nitish, ''History of the Bengali-speaking People'', p285, UBS Publishers’ Distributors Pvt. Ltd., {{ISBN|81-7476-355-4}}.</ref> He wrote in the ''[[Hindoo Patriot|Hindu Patriot]]'', "The time is nearly come when all Indian questions must be solved by Indians. The mutinies have made patent to the English public what must be the effects of politics in which the native is allowed no voice."<ref name= "Bose"/>
Harish Chandra edited the Hindoo Patriot. He supported the issue of widow remarriage and criticised the annexation policy of [[Lord Dalhousie]]. He defended the policy of [[Lord Canning]] during the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]]. During the [[Indigo revolt]] of 1859, he stood by the side of the [[Ryot|ryots]], and exposed the oppression and high-handedness of the planters. His strong advocacy of the cause led to the appointment of the Indigo Commission to enquire into the grievances of the people. He was an important witness examined before the Commission, and he gave evidence in support of his position. In
 
1860, the Indigo planters instituted civil and criminal suits against him and immediately after his sudden death at the age of thirty-six, they succeeded in obtaining a decree.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mahotsav |first=Amrit |title=The Hindu Patriot |url=https://amritmahotsav.nic.in/district-reopsitory-detail.htm?11190 |access-date=2023-12-14 |website=Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, Ministry of Culture, Government of India |language=English |archive-date=2023-12-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231214114011/https://amritmahotsav.nic.in/district-reopsitory-detail.htm?11190 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Chattopadhyaya |first=Kanai Lal |date=1973 |title=The Struggle of Indigo-Peasants in Bengal and the Role of Harish Chandra Mukerjee |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44138711 |journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress |volume=34 |pages=169–174 |jstor=44138711 |issn=2249-1937 |access-date=2023-12-14 |archive-date=2023-12-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231214111251/https://www.jstor.org/stable/44138711 |url-status=live }}</ref>
After his death in 1861, [[Hindoo Patriot|Hindu Patriot]] was badly in want of resources, when [[Kaliprasanna Singha]] bought the magazine and saved it from extinction. Kaliprasanna initially handed over management of the magazine to [[Shambhu Chandra Mookerjee]]. ''[[Hindoo Patriot|Hindu Patriot]]'' was edited for 23 years by [[Kristo Das Pal|Krishnadas Pal]].<ref>Sengupta, Subodh and Bose, Anjali, p104.</ref>
 
==Revolt of indigo cultivators==
[[Indigo dye|Indigo cultivation]] had been greatly increased from the 18th century. The cultivators were forced to undertake indigo cultivation for which they hardly got anything in return. The oppression gradually increased and when the cultivators could no longer bear it they revolted and refused to undertake indigo cultivation. It was then that the intelligentsia in [[Kolkata]] took up the matter. Harish Mukherjee played a vital pioneering role in that movement with his brilliant writing in the ''[[Hindoo Patriot|Hindu Patriot]]''. His writing roused public opinion and finally [[Dinabandhu Mitra]] came out with his play ''[[Nil Darpan]]'' in 1860.
 
The indigo planters wanted to throttle the ''[[Hindoo Patriot|Hindu Patriot]]'' first. The case fell through because Bhowanipur was outside the jurisdiction of the English Supreme Court then functioning in Kolkata. So great was the wrath of the indigo planters that even after his death, they wanted to punish his widow with court cases. Subsequently, James Long was jailed but the net benefit was the setting up of an Indigo Enquiry Commission by the government that went into the entire problem. It did not solve the problem but put in some checks on the untold misery.<ref name = "Sastri"/>
 
The fallout of overwork during the period killed Harish Mukherjee in 1861. He died aged 37.<ref name= "Bose"/> A sad song circulated in those days:
 
::''Neelkarerā Sonār Bānglā korle ebār chhārkār''
::''Asamay Harish morlo'',
::''Long-er holo kārāgār''
::''Chāsīr ebār prān bānchāno bhār''.<ref name= "Bose"/>


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist|2}}
{{Reflist}}
 
==External links==
* {{cite book |last=Choudhury |first=Nurul Hossain |year=2012 |chapter=Mukherjee, Harishchandra |chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Mukherjee,_Harishchandra |editor1-last=Islam |editor1-first=Sirajul |editor1-link=Sirajul Islam |editor2-last=Jamal |editor2-first=Ahmed A. |title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh |edition=Second |publisher=[[Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]]}}
 
{{Bengal Renaissance}}
{{Authority control}}
 
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mukherjee, Harish Chandra}}
[[Category:Writers from Kolkata]]
[[Category:People from Purba Bardhaman district]]
[[Category:Brahmos]]
[[Category:Bengali people]]
[[Category:1824 births]]
[[Category:1824 births]]
[[Category:1861 deaths]]
[[Category:1861 deaths]]
[[Category:Journalists from British India]]
[[Category:Journalists from West Bengal]]
[[Category:Journalists from West Bengal]]
[[Category:19th-century Indian journalists]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian journalists]]

Latest revision as of 20:29, 31 December 2025


Harish Chandra Mukherjee ( 24 July 1824 – 16 June 1861) was an Indian journalist. He was the editor of the Hindoo Patriot weekly.[1]

Biography[edit | edit source]

Mukherjee was born in 1824 in Bhowanipore near Calcutta. He was the younger of the two sons of his father, Ram Dhun Mukerji, by his third wife, Rukhhini Debi, and was brought up in the house of his maternal uncles. After studying in the Union School where he was admitted as a charity boy, he left school at the age of fourteen in search of employment.[2][3]

Works[edit | edit source]

He started his career by writing bills, letters, petitions, and translating Bengali documents to English.[4] In 1848, he was selected to join in the office of the Military Auditor General. He was promoted from clerk to Assistant Military Auditor. In 1852, when he became a member of the British Indian Association, he read all the Regulation Laws in order to be able to carry on discussions on that subject with other members.[5][6]

Harish Chandra began his journalism by writing to the Hindu Intelligencer and to the Englishman. In 1853, three brothers, Srinath Ghose, Girish Chunder Ghose and Khetna Chunder Ghose, started a newspaper called the Hindoo Patriot, which was issued under their joint editorship. They were assisted by Harish Chandra who later began editing the newspaper.[7]

Harish Chandra edited the Hindoo Patriot. He supported the issue of widow remarriage and criticised the annexation policy of Lord Dalhousie. He defended the policy of Lord Canning during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. During the Indigo revolt of 1859, he stood by the side of the ryots, and exposed the oppression and high-handedness of the planters. His strong advocacy of the cause led to the appointment of the Indigo Commission to enquire into the grievances of the people. He was an important witness examined before the Commission, and he gave evidence in support of his position. In 1860, the Indigo planters instituted civil and criminal suits against him and immediately after his sudden death at the age of thirty-six, they succeeded in obtaining a decree.[8][9]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ "Harish Chandra Mukherjee (The Indigo Movement)". INDIAN CULTURE. Archived from the original on 2023-12-14. Retrieved 2023-12-14.
  2. ↑ "IIMC Dhenkanal celebrates Odia Journalism Day". Odisha Diary. 2019-08-05. Archived from the original on 2023-12-14. Retrieved 2023-12-14.
  3. ↑ Ray, Srikanta (1906). Bengal Celebreties. City Book Society. Archived from the original on 2023-12-14. Retrieved 2023-12-14.
  4. ↑ "Harish Chandra Mukherjee – A Less Known Liberal". Indian Liberals. Archived from the original on 14 December 2023. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  5. ↑ "Harish Chandra Mukherjee death anniversary: Lesser-known facts about the patriot who fought for indigo cultivators". News9live. 2022-06-16. Archived from the original on 2023-12-14. Retrieved 2023-12-14.
  6. ↑ India, The Hans (2019-09-17). "CCVA chief visits National Institute of Design". thehansindia.com. Archived from the original on 2023-12-14. Retrieved 2023-12-14.
  7. ↑ Pillai, G. P. (1897). Representative Indians. Retrieved 14 December 2023. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain:
  8. ↑ Mahotsav, Amrit. "The Hindu Patriot". Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, Ministry of Culture, Government of India. Archived from the original on 2023-12-14. Retrieved 2023-12-14.
  9. ↑ Chattopadhyaya, Kanai Lal (1973). "The Struggle of Indigo-Peasants in Bengal and the Role of Harish Chandra Mukerjee". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 34: 169–174. ISSN 2249-1937. JSTOR 44138711. Archived from the original on 2023-12-14. Retrieved 2023-12-14.
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