History of Bengali Language and Literature c2.11

c2.11

Before I conclude, I owe it to myself to offer my special thanks to that great friend and patron of Bengali literature, the Hon'ble Mr. Justice Asutosh Mookerjee, Vice-Chancellor of the Calcutta University, to whose ardent sympathy and unwearied efforts our language owes its present firm footing in this University. It is to his constant encouragement that these lectures owe their origin and completion. If I have been able even in a small measure to prove myself worthy of his distinguished patronage, I shall consider my labours amply rewarded. In the Convocation address delivered by him on the 13th March, 1909, he made the following kind and appreciative reference to my lectures. "We have had a long series of luminous lectures from one of our own graduates Babu Dinesh Chandra Sen, on the fascinating subject of the history of the Bengali Language and Literature. These lectures take a comprehensive view of the development of our vernacular, and their publication will unquestionably facilitate the historical investigation of the origin of the vernacular literature of this country, the study of which is avowedly one of the foremost objects of the new Regulations to promote."