Born on June 26 or 27, 1838, close to Naihati in Bengal, India—died on April 8, 1894, in Calcutta, India, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, also written as Chatterjee and known in Bengali as Bakim Candra Caopdhyy, was an Indian author. Through his novels, he helped establish prose as the Bengali language’s literary vehicle and contributed to the development of an Indian school of fiction modelled after European ones.
Being from a traditional Brahman family, Bankim Chandra attended Hooghly College, Presidency College in Calcutta, and the University of Calcutta, where he was among the first to graduate. He worked in the Indian public service as a deputy magistrate from 1858 till his retirement in 1891.
