Page:Isvar Chandra Vidyasagar, a story of his life and work.djvu/369

 natives, and of these six, two were Mussulmans. Prasanna Kumar Tagore, Rama Prasad Ray, Ram Gopal Ghosh, and Isvar Chandra Vidyasagar were the Hindu members. At a meeting of the University, shortly after its foundation, a motion was brought forward for the exclusion of Sanskrit from the University and for the abolition of the Sanskrit College. Vidyasagar opposed the motion, and by arguments convinced the other members of the inadvisability of the step. It was mainly through his exertions that the motion was negatived, and the Sanskrit College saved from imminent destruction. At the meeting of the 28th November of that year, a Board of Examiners was framed for conducting the different examinations, and Vidyasagar was appointed Examiner of Sanskrit, Bengali, Hindi, and Uriya. In fact, Vidyasagar had so much influence with the authorities of the time, that it is said, that at the University Convocation for that year, Lord Bishop had his seat on the right of the Chancellor (Governor-General), and Vidyasagar, on the left.

Lord Dalhousie had formed a "Central Committee" for conducting the examinations of the civilians of the Fort William College in the different vernacular languages of the country. Vidyasagar was a member of this committee. In fact, he was connected with all the educational bodies of the time.

Some time before this, Vidyasagar's great