Brahmabandhav Upadhyay

Brahmabandhav Upadhyay Biography

Brahmabandhav Upadhyay was a Theologian, journalist and freedom fighter from Hoogly, West Bengal. He was a Hindu by birth, who later converted to Christianity and known for the activities associated with Kali Charan Banerjee, a representative of Bengal Christians in Indian National Congress during its formative years of late 19^th century.

He was born in Khanyan of Hoogly in 1861 as Bhavani Charan Banerjee. He did his schooling from Scottish Mission School and completed graduation from Scottish Church College in Kolkata. Swami Vivekananda was his classmate at Scottish Church College, which was then known by the name General Assembly's Institution. He was a contemporary to Rabindranath Tagore too. Since school days he was inclined towards the freedom struggle movement. He joined the movement during his college days. Though he has given significant contribution to freedom struggle movement from Bengal, he has never received its credits which he actually deserved.

He was a disciple of Keshub Chandra Sen and was closely associated with his Brahmo Samaj and also Protap Chunder Mozoomdar. The association with both these people drew him towards Christianity and Jesus Christ. Kali Charan Banerjee's conversion gave him more faith in Christianity. He received baptism from an Anglican priest, R. Heaton. He re-baptized, admitted into the Catholic Church and assumed the new name - Brahmabandhab Upadhyay.

He used Hindu philosophy in interpreting the Christian faith for the Indian context and played a key role in preaching Christianity in Bengal. He found the Advaita Vedanta philosophy to be the better way to preach his ideas, giving it new clothes of a new religion. He was also known as a theologian and Mystic.

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Updated: September 03, 2014