Rash Behari Ghosh
Sir Rash Behari Ghosh was an Indian politician, lawyer, social worker and philanthropist.
Early life and education
Rashbehari Ghosh was born on 23 December 1845 in Torkona village in Khandaghosh area. His family belonged to the Sadgop caste and resided in Purba Bardhaman district, Bengal Presidency. He attended Burdwan Raj Collegiate School and Presidency College, Kolkata. He obtained a first class in the MA examination in English. In 1871, he passed the Law examination with honours and was awarded the Doctor of Laws degree in 1884.Political career
Ghosh became a member of the Indian National Congress and leaned towards the moderate wing. He had deep faith in progress, but was opposed to radicalism in any form. He served as the President of the Congress for two terms. First in the historic 1907 Surat Session, succeeding Dadabhai Naoroji, after which the Congress split into Moderates and Extremists, and then the year after in Madras, 1908.Ghosh was a member of the Bengal Legislative Council and the Council of India. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire in the 1896 New Year Honours and appointed a Companion of the Order of the Star of India in the 1909 Birthday Honours. He was knighted in the 1915 New Year Honours and conferred with his knighthood on 14 July of that year.
Contributions
Ghosh's contributions earned him a series of honours, such as the Tagore Law Professorship at Calcutta University and an honorary DL degree from Calcutta University.He made a fortune through his legal practice, but donated much of it by way of charity and endowments. He established Torkona Jagabandhu School. In 1913, he established an endowment for scientific studies at Calcutta University with an initial capital of ten lakh rupees. He also donated 13 lakh rupees to establish a National Council of Education at Jadavpur. It later became Jadavpur University. Ghosh was the first president of NCE.
Keeping in line with his ideals, Sir Rashbehari Ghosh Mahavidyalaya was established at Ukhrid in Khandaghosh CD Block in 2010. He also established schools and hospital in his village.
He donated a princely sum to Acharya Praffulla Roy for establishing Bengal Chemical and Pharmaceutical Works.