Page:Ramtanu Lahiri, Brahman and Reformer - A History of the Renaissance in Bengal.djvu/152

 Tara Chand Chakravartti. The young reformers for years afterwards passed under this nickname. Tara Chand was understood by Government to be hostile to it on account of the Liberal views he expressed in a newspaper called The Quill. We have omitted to notice certain events of general interest in which this band of educated Bengalis had taken a more or less prominent part; and we will notice them here in chronological order.

First.— In 1834 the leaders of the European and native communities in Calcutta held a meeting in the town hall to consider how to perpetuate the memory of Raja Rammohan Roy. Rupi Krishna Mullick, one of the young reformers, took a prominent part in the proceedings of the meeting.

Second.— The establishment of the Calcutta Medical College in June 1835. The want of an institution like this had long been felt by the Europeans residing in the country, as well as by the intelligent portion of the native community. There had been in existence an apology for a medical school in Calcutta, called the Medical Institution to train Native Hospital Assistants. All that these men were required to know was the nature of a few English medicines, their qualities, and their use; and the lectures were delivered in Hindustani. In 1834 Dr Tyler was the superintendent of the institution, and Dr Ross lecturer on chemistry. There is a funny account of the latter’s method of teaching. He began and ended every lecture with an enumeration of the qualities of soda; and the students were so worried by his harping on the many uses of this substance that they called him Mr Soda. Young Bengali would often associate his name with the ludicrous; and K. M. Banerji once wrote an article in one of the newspapers of the day headed “Mr Soda.”

There was a class for medical students in the Sanskrit and the Madrasah Colleges; but they were taught the