Page:Ramtanu Lahiri, Brahman and Reformer - A History of the Renaissance in Bengal.djvu/138



But he was not the man to be thus downtrodden. Having been informed by Dr Wilson of the Committee’s resolution, he sent in his resignation, together with a letter refuting the charges against him, and protesting against the unjust treatment he had received. He said he had never preached Atheism, never recommended marriages between brothers and sisters, and never inculcated disobedience to parents. On leaving the college, in April 1831, Mr Derozio started a daily paper, under the name of The East Indian, which in a short time obtained a considerable prestige. He became, by dint of his intellectual gifts, the leader of the Eurasian society in Calcutta. But Providence willed that he should soon leave this world of trial. It was only for a few months, after which he was called away to his final rest. On the 17th of December 1831 he was seized with cholera, and died six days after. On his sick-bed he received the kindest attentions from Krishna Mohan Banerji, Dakhinaranjan Mukerji, Ram Gopal Ghosh, and other Indian admirers.

In spite of the dismissal of Derozio from the Hindu College, the current of free thought that had had its rise in his instruction did not die away. It was as impossible for the orthodox party to oppose this current as to obstruct the rush of an avalanche. “Down with idolatry, down with superstition,” became the general cry of young Bengalis. On the 23rd of August 1831 his favourite pupils got into a scrape. They used to meet in Krishna Mohan’s house; and on the day in question they came there as usual. Having feasted on loaves from a Muhammadan bakery, and on roast meat from the butcher, they threw the refuse of the dishes into the court of an adjoining house, and bawled, “This is beef, nothing but beef.” The cry drew a crowd around Krishna Mohan’s house; and the offenders