Page:History of Bengali Language and Literature.djvu/1087

 “OPINIONS. ay authors have been saved from oblivion. The literature of Eastern Bengal was absolutely unknown. Nobody even thought that there were Bengali poets in Dacca, Tipperah and Hindu religion and traditions, into Bengali. The credit of bringing this vast body of literature to public notice is entirely due to Babu Dinesh Chandra Sen and to him alone.” Lixtract from anarticle by Mahamahopadhya Hara Prasada Shastri, M. A.,in the Calcutta Review, dated October 1897, (the article covers 14 pages of the fournal.) ‘ Bangabhasa O Shahitya’ is the title of a Bengali work by Babu Dinesh Chandra Sen, B. A., Head Master of the Victoria School, Comilla, on the history of Bengali language and literature. It is a neat, handy volume running through’ 403 octavo pages, replete with information of the highest value to students who take any interest in the past of Bengali races or in their literature. * * * An active search for Bengali manuscripts began in various quarters, led by that admirably useful body of learned men, the Asiatic Society of Bengal. Many private individuals also devoted themselves to the work. The Bangiya Sahitya Parishad or Bengal Academy of Litera- ture was started with this as one of its special objects. But by tacit consent it was agreed that one scholar should be entrusted with the work of compiling and digesting the infor- mation already collected, and Babu Dinesh Chandra, whose enthusiasm and earnestness in the matter was an object of admiration to all concerned, took it up. Every one helped him with the result of his researches. For the first time in the history of Bengali literature, all jealousy, obstructionism and petty feelings were set aside to enable him to produce a great work. Whoever reads Dinesh Babu’s preface with care will be struck with the modest, yet straightforward, dignified, yet
 * Chittagong who translated the whole of the Ramayan, the Mahabharat and the large number of other works bearing on