Kolkata: The state government has set up a 27 member committee to celebrate the bi-centenary of Pandit Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar. State Education minister Partha Chatterjee will be the president of the body.
Four state ministers, namely Suvendu Adhikari (Transport), Soumen Mahapatra (Irrigation and waterways), Bratya Basu (Information Technology) and Shashi Panja, minister of state (Women and Child Development and Social Welfare), have become members of the committee. Chief Secretary Malay De, Home Secretary Atri Bhattacharya, Surajit Kar Purkayastha, state security advisor, additional chief secretary (higher education department), principal secretary, Information and Cultural Affairs, secretary, Education department, secretary, Women and Child Development and Social Welfare, presidents of West Bengal Board of Secondary Education, West Bengal Higher Education Council, director, Information and Cultural Affairs department and director, department of Culture, are members of the committee. Swami Subhakarananda of Ramakrishna Mission and journalists Snehashis Sur, Kingshuk Pramanick, Biswa Majumdar and Anirban Chowdhury are also members of the committee.
Nrisingha Prasad Bhaduri, Joy Goswami, Pala Banerjee, Abdul Mannan and Sujan Chakraborty have also been included as members.
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (1820-1891) played an important role in spreading education among children.
He had written Barnaparichay, Kathamala, Batrish Singhasan and Betal Panchabingsati for children. For those pursuing Sanskrit, he wrote Upakramanika.