Sir

Krishna Govinda Gupta

স্যার কৃষ্ণগোবিন্দ গুপ্ত
Born(1851-02-28)28 February 1851
Bhatpara, Narsingdi,[1] British India
Died20 March 1926(1926-03-20) (aged 75)
Calcutta, British India
OccupationCivil servant
Signature
signature_alt      = স্বাক্ষর

Sir Krishna Govinda Gupta KCSI (Bengali: স্যার কৃষ্ণগোবিন্দ গুপ্ত; 28 February 1851 – 20 March 1926) was a British Indian civil servant, the sixth[2] Indian member of the Indian Civil Service,[3] a barrister-at-law, a prominent Bengali social reformer of the 19th century and leading Brahmo Samaj personality.

Early life and education

Krishna Govinda Gupta was born in a Bengali Baidya-Brahmin family in Bhatpara village, Sadar Police Station, Narsingdi district, near Dhaka, presently located in Bangladesh.[4] His father was Kali Narayan Gupta, a landlord of Bhatpara, and an eminent person in Brahma society.[5] His mother was Annada Sundari Gupta, a daughter of Madhab Chandra Sen. His early education was carried out at Mymensingh Government School and Dacca College. Later, he joined the University College, London, where he successfully took the Open Competitive Examination standing second in the final examination. He became the seventh Indian member of the Indian Civil Service, joining the service as a probationer in 1871 coming out to India in 1873. He was also called to the Bar by The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple. His brothers were Peary Mohan Gupta, Ganga Gobinda Gupta and Benoy Chandra Gupta. His sisters were Subala Gupta, Bimala Das, Hemanta Shashi Sen, Soudamini Das, Chapala Dutta, Sarala Das.

He was married to Prasanna Tara Gupta, who was a daughter of Nabin Chandra Das. His children were Birendra Chandra Gupta, Jatindra Chandra Gupta, Hem Kusum Sen, married to Atul Prasad Sen, Saraju Sen, Ila Gupta and Nilini Gupta, married to Sir Albion Rajkumar Banerjee, ICS.

Painter Anjolie Ela Menon is a great grand daugher thru Birendra Chandra Gupta.[6]

Career

In the British occupied India appointment to all covenanted posts were reserved for the Britishers only. The posts of Munsif and Sadar Amin were created and opened to Indians in 1832. In 1833, the posts of deputy magistrate and deputy collector were created and opened to Indians. The ICS Act of 1861 established the Indian Civil Service. The Act of 1853 had already established the practice of recruiting covenanted civilians through competitive examinations. Krishna Govinda Gupta appeared in the Indian Civil Service examination[4][7] in 1871 in London and became a probationer. He joined Civil Service on 24 October 1873 as Assistant Magistrate and Collector, being the sixth Indian to join ICS up to that time.[2]

Successively he served in the special duty of controlling famine in Bengal and Bihar during 1873-74; became joint magistrate and deputy collector in 1884; appointed as Secretary, Board of Revenue in 1887; became magistrate and collector in 1889; appointed as the junior secretary to the Board of Revenue in 1890; became the commissioner of excise in March 1893; and acted as the divisional commissioner of Burdwan in 1901. He was the first Indian to be appointed as Member, Board of Revenue in 1904. He then became a member of the Indian Excise Committee in 1905 and was on special duty in connection with the Fisheries of Bengal in 1906.

It was a report submitted by Krishna Govinda[8] in 1906, on the potential of fisheries in Bengal, while he was a member of the Excise Committee, that paved the way of creation of the Department of Fisheries in the Government of Bengal in 1908. Encouragement in cultivation of inland fisheries, prawn and other water based farming etc. were a government prerogative since that time. The legacy is still continuing for the fish loving Bengalis in both India and Bangladesh until the present.

On 25 July 1907, Krishna Govinda Gupta along with Dr. Syed Hussain Bilgrami became the first Indian to be nominated as member of the Secretary of State's Council of India.[9] Later he was also appointed as a member of Lord Esher's Army in India Committee in 1920.

List of Indian ICS offices (1861-1899)

Sl NoNameYear of ExaminationYear of Joining
1Satyendranath Tagore18631864
2Romesh Dutt18691871
3Behari Lal Gupta18691871
4Surendranath Banerjee18691871
5Ananda Ram Baruah18701872
6Krishna Govinda Gupta18711873
8Brajendranath De18731875
9Cursetjee Rustomjee18741876
10Perungavur Rajagopalachari18861888
11Basanta Kumar Mullick18871889
12Albion Rajkumar Banerjee18941895
13Atul Chandra Chatterjee18961897

Socio-literary activities

Satyendranath Tagore Tagore (1842–1923), an ICS of 1863, was a close associate of Krishna Govinda in his socio literary activities. Taraknath Palit, Monomohun Ghose, Satyendra Prasanna Sinha, Bihari Lal Gupta and Krishna Govinda Gupta were some of the regular participants among the eminent stalwarts of the then Bengal in the majlis (discussions) arranged from time to time in Satyendranath's house in Park Street and Ballygunge.[10]

Legacy

A school called 'Pachdona Sir K. G. Gupta High School' has been established in Pachdona, Narsingdi district (then subdivision) on 1 January 1919. It continues to be one of the most prominent high schools of the district.

References

  1. Sirajul Islam; Miah, Sajahan; Khanam, Mahfuza; Ahmed, Sabbir, eds. (2012). "Gupta, Sir Krishnogobinda". Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Online ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Banglapedia Trust, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 984-32-0576-6. OCLC 52727562. OL 30677644M. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  2. 1 2 Maheswari, S. R. (1998). Administrative Thinkers. Macmillan Publishers India Ltd. ISBN 978-1403-90949-7.
  3. Nasta, Susheila, ed. (2013). India in Britain - South Asian Networks and Connections, 1858 - 1950. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-023-039-271-7.
  4. 1 2 The Indian Biographical Dictionary. 1915.
  5. "প্রতিষ্ঠানের তথ্য". pskgghs.edu.bd. Archived from the original on 26 September 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  6. "Anjolie's World". The Times of India. 11 March 2001. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  7. Office of the Secretary of State for India, ed. (1905). India List and India Office List for 1905. Harrison and Sons.
  8. "মৎস্য দপ্তর". fisheries.narayanganj.gov.bd. Archived from the original on 29 August 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  9. Riddick, John F (2006). The History of British India - A Chronology. Praeger Publishers. ISBN 0-313-32280-5.
  10. Agrawal, Lion M. G., ed. (2008). Freedom Fighters of India - Vol 4. Isha Books, Delhi. ISBN 978-81-8205-472-1.
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