Henry Louis Vivian Derozio

Henry Louis Vivian Derozio (April 10, 1809 – December 23, 1831) was an appointed teacher of the Hindu College of Calcutta and a scholar, poet and academic of Eurasian and Portuguese descent. He considered himself to be an Indian. In his poem To My Native Land he wrote: My Country! In the days of Glory Past A beauteous halo circled round thy brow And worshipped as deity thou wast, Where is that Glory, where is that reverence now?

Early life
Son of Francis Derozio, he was born at Entally-Padmapukur in Kolkata on 10 April 1809. While a student of David Drummond's school at Dhurmotalla, he had had his first lessons in superstition-free rational thinking, apart from the good grounding in history, philosophy and English literature. Drummond was a vastly learned Scottish missionary famous for his free-thinking.

He quit education at the age of 14 and initially joined his father’s concern at Kolkata and later shifted to Bhagalpur. Inspired by the scenic beauty of the banks of the River Ganges, he started writing poetry. Some of these were published in Dr. Grant's India Gazette. His critical review of a book by Emmanuel Kant attracted the attention of the intelligentsia. In 1828, he went to Kolkata with the objective of publishing a book of poems. On learning that a faculty position was vacant at the newly established Hindu College, he applied for it and was selected. Amongst his poetic creations Fakir of Jhungeera is famous.

It may be recalled that Raja Ram Mohan Roy Bahadur established the Brahmo Samaj in 1828. This event produced a massive commotion and backlash within the orthodox Hindu society. Efforts began to scotch the religious revolt. It is in the perspective of this backdrop that Derozio unleashed his ideas that culminated in what was to become a social revolt.

Hindu College
He introduced the first generation of English educated students in this country to the ideas then in vogue in the West. Although he was a teacher of Class Four (the highest class was Class One), he attracted students of other classes also. He helped them with their studies even beyond the officially allocated class hours. Many of them went to his home and he entertained them as friends.

He encouraged free thinking and a questioning of orthodox Hindu customs and conventions on the basis of Judeo-Christian rationalism. He infused in his students the spirit of freedom, the yearning for knowledge and the passion to serve their native country.

In his efforts, he created a sensation as a lecturer in Hindu College. His students were known as Derozians. He organised an Academic Association where they spoke on various subjects and he used to listen to them. In 1830, they published a magazine called Parthenon. Apart from articles criticizing Hindu practices, the students wrote on women's emancipation and criticized many aspects of British rule. It was banned after publication of the first issue.

He wrote about his students:

Expanding like the petals of young flowers I watch the gentle opening of your minds…

Expulsion
Due to his unorthodox take on society, culture and religion, he was expelled as a faculty member from that college by a majority 6:1 vote. He faced penury and starvation.

He died of cholera, on 23 December 1831, at the early age of 22. He was buried at the Park Street cemetery.

Influence
Although his life was cut short, his ideas had a profound influence on the social movement that came to be known as the Bengal Renaissance in early 19th century Bengal. And despite being viewed as something of an iconoclast by others like Alexander Duff and other (largely evangelical) Christian Missionaries; later in Duff's General Assembly's Institution, Derozio's ideas on the acceptance of the rational spirit were accepted partly as long as they were not in conflict with basic tenets of Christianity, and as long as they critiqued orthodox Hinduism. Derozio was an atheist but his ideas were also partly responsible for the conversion of upper caste "twice born" Hindus like Krishna Mohan Banerjee and Lal Behari Dey to Christianity. Most of his other students joined the Brahmo Samaj in later life or even formally remained part of Hindu society but they certainly were path breakers.