Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c14.s4.t34: Benoy Kumar Sarkar
Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c14.s4.t34
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Benoy Kumar Sarkar
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Benoy Kumar Sarkar (1887–1949) was an eminent Indian social scientist, educationist and nationalist. He was probably the first modern Indian academician to write scholarly works on China. This puts him among the pioneers of modern Indian scholarship on China. Born in the district of Malda in Bengal in 1887, he had a brilliant academic career commencing with attaining the topmost position in the entrance examination for Calcutta University at the young age of 13. He stood first in merit in BA 1905 examination of the Presidency College in Calcutta (now Kolkata) where he graduated with dual honours degree in English and history. He completed his Master’s degree in 1906.
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Apart from his solid academic credentials, Sarkar was a prominent public figure and well regarded in contemporary Bengali intellectual circle. He made his professional debut as a writer for *Amrita Bazar Patrika*, Calcutta in 1906. Committed to nationalist, socialist and social service agenda, he participated actively in both the swadeshi (self-rule) and the national education movement. His outlook was modern and fundamentally Indian, which he endeavoured to connect with contemporary Asia and the world.
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During 1914-1925, Sarkar travelled around the world, mostly visiting and lecturing at universities and research institutes in China, Japan, Korea, United States of America, Egypt, England, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, Austria and Italy. He spent a significant period of time in China, Germany and Italy and was able to acquire linguistics competence in several European languages such as French, Germen and Italian, in addition to already having mastered English, Bengali and Hindi. He was accompanied in his journey by Shivaprasad Gupta of Varanasi, another ardent nationalist, educationist, writer and publisher.
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In 1925, Sarkar started his academic career as a lecturer at the Department of Economics of University of Calcutta. He was a prolific writer publishing a large volume of work in both Bengali and English on variety of topics providing powerful alternative ideas and vision. Among one of his more famous books was *Chinese Religion through Hindu Eyes: A Study in the Tendencies of Asiatic Mentality*. This was published in 1916 with an introduction by Wu Tingfang - the Chinese foreign minister and an acting premier during the early days of the Republic of China as well as the writer of *America, Through the Spectacles of an Oriental Diplomat* (1914). Dedicated to the memory of Kumarajiva, Xuanzang and Kobo Daishi, Sarkar’s book highlighted the essential cultural unity between India, China and Japan. It endorsed and developed pan-Asianism arising out of the Japanese concept of sangoku (three countries). In many sense, it also opened the field for Indian discourses on Sino-Indian studies. This was followed by a book in Bengali, China Sabhyatar ‘A , Aa , Ka, Kha, (The *A, B, C, of Chinese Civilisation*) in 1923. Under the series entitled Vartmana Jagat (Contemporary World) he presented in Bengali detailed accounts of each country that he visited. This included a 450 pages book, *Varttaman Yuge Chin Samrajya*, (*The Chinese Empire in Modern Times*) which was published in 1928.
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Sarkar also founded several institutes in Calcutta which included the Bengali Institute of Sociology, Bengali Asia Academy, Bengali Dante Society and Bengali Institute of American Culture. He was also nominated to several prestigious academic societies and institutes around the world. In 1947, he became a professor and head of the Department of Economics and Commerce, University of Calcutta. He died on a trip to the United States in Washington, DC, in November 1949.