Ghosh, Manmohan (1844-1896)

Ghosh, Manmohan (1844-1896) a reformer, lawyer, and leader of the INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS, was born at Krishnanagar, son of Ramlochan Ghosh, an associate of Raja RAMMOHUN ROY. His ancestral home was at Boiragidi in Vikrampur. Manmohan was greatly inspired by his father's patriotic outlook.

Manmohan passed the Entrance examination in 1859 from Krishnanagar Collegiate School and was admitted to Presidency College in Kolkata in 1861. A year later he went to England with SATYENDRANATH TAGORE to appear at the Indian Civil Service examination, but was unsuccessful. He then joined Lincoln's Inn and completed his Bar-at-law. Returning to Kolkata in 1866, he joined the bar at Calcutta High Court and soon succeeded in establishing a name for himself.

Manmohan was one of the founders of the Indian National Congress in 1885. He was the chairman of the reception committees of the sixth Calcutta Congress (1890) and the Krishnanagar session (1896) of the Bengal Provincial Conference. Manmohan Ghosh was an extraordinary orator. In course of his later visits to England, he gave valuable speeches about the Indian political scene.

A man of a liberal outlook, Manmohan supported women's education, even sending his wife, Swarnalata, to Loretto Convent. At a symposium organised by the progressive Brahmos in 1872, he argued in support of the need for women's education. In 1873 he was chosen secretary of Bethune School in Kolkata and became a patron of the Hindu Mahila Vidyalay. In 1876 he established the Banga Mahila Vidyalay.

Manmohan Ghosh also wrote on political and social issues. In 1860 he wrote an article in the HINDU PATRIOT protesting against the oppression of indigo farmers. He pioneered the movement for separating the judiciary from the executive and wrote a book on the subject: The Administration of Justice in India. He opposed child marriage and, in 1891, supported the bill requiring consent in marriage. In 1861 he published the Indian Mirror and edited it up to March 1862.