Page:Isvar Chandra Vidyasagar, a story of his life and work.djvu/262

Rh Now, to revert. Vidyasagar next directed his thoughts to the improper, one-sided practice then obtaining in the Sanskrit College, restricting the admission of boys of other castes than the Brahman, Kshatriya, and Vaidya. He saw the injustice of the restriction, and brought the matter to the notice of the Education Council. The authorities called on him for a report on the subject, which he submitted on the 20th. March, 1851. Among other things, he said something like this:—'When the Vaidyas, who are no better than Sudras, are allowed to read in the College, I see no reason why the Kayasthas should not. Moreover, when Amrita Lal Mitra, a son-in-law of Raja Radha Kanta Dev Bahadur of Sobhabazar, and lately a student of the Hindu School, has been permitted to read in the Sanskrit College, there can be no reason why the other Kayasthas should not. That the Kayasthas are Kshatriyas, Raja Raj Narayan of Andul once tried to demonstrate. The Kayasthas belong to one of the respectable castes of Bengal. For the present, they should be permitted to read in the College.' In another part of the report, he distinctly stated:—"The opinions of the principal professors of the College on this subject are averse to this innovation." In fact, not only the teachers of the Sanskrit College, but also private professors of Calcutta and its neighbourhood had raised a hue and cry against this just innovation. Their chief contention was, that