Prasanna Kumar Roy | |
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| Born | 1849 Subhadya,Bengal,British India |
| Died | 1932 (aged 82–83) |
| Alma mater | University of London University of Edinburgh |
| Occupation | Academic |
| Spouse | Sarala Roy |
| Children | Charulata Mukherjee |
Prasanna Kumar Roy (1849 – 1932; better known asDr. P. K. Roy) was an educationist and the first Indian principal ofPresidency College, Kolkata.
Roy was born in 1849 in Subhadya (now inKeraniganj Upazila of Dhaka District, Bangladesh). He was a student ofPogose School in Dhaka. In his youth, he was attracted to theBrahmo Samaj. This came between him and his father, who turned him out of his house.[1] In 1869, P. K. Roy was initiated into Brahmanism, along withAnanda Mohan Bose andAghorenath Chattopadhyay, byKeshab Chandra Sen.[2]
He won a Gilchrist Scholarship to study in England. There he graduated from theUniversity of London in 1873. He was awarded a Doctor of Science degree in psychology from theUniversity of Edinburgh and the University of London in 1876.[1][3] He and Ananda Mohan Bose together established a Brahmo Samaj, theIndian Association, and a library in England.[1]
On returning to India, Roy taught atPatna College,Dhaka College, andPresidency College, Kolkata. He was the first Indian to serve as principal of Presidency College, from 1902 to 1905. Thereafter, he became the registrar of theUniversity of Calcutta. On retirement he served as inspector of colleges under the university. He was posted to England for two years as education assistant to the Secretary for India.[1]
Roy was active in the affairs of theSadharan Brahmo Samaj.[1]
Roy marriedSarala, a daughter ofDurga Mohan Das.[1] Sarala was a sister ofAbala Bose, wife of scientistJagadish Chandra Bose; among her cousins were DeshbandhuChittaranjan Das andSudhi Ranjan Das (laterChief Justice of India).[citation needed]
Roy and Sarala became the parents of a son, Saral Roy, and daughters,Charulata Mukherjee, Kanakalata Roy, Nemima Roy, Dolly Maitland, and Swarnalata Bose. Roy gave his daughter Charulata in marriage toSatish Chandra Mukherjee, the educationist. They became the parents ofAir Marshal Subroto Mukerjee, first IndianChief of Air Staff; the feminist and politicianRenuka Ray; and Prasanta Mukherjee, Chairman of the Railway Board 1957-59.[4]
Roy and Sarala's daughter Kanakalata Roy married Jatindra Nath Roy OBE[5] and one of her grandsons isBunker Roy, noted social activist and reformer.
His son Saral Ray had a son, Sunil Roy (IFS and ardent environmentalist). Sunil Roy was the Indian Ambassador to Poland and Mexico, High Commissioner to Nigeria and the Indian Consul General in New York City[6]
Roy died in 1932 atHazaribagh.[1]
In 1869, he [Ananda Mohan Basu], together with Prasanna Kumar Roy, Sreenarh Datta, Rajaninath Roy and Aghorenath Chartopadhyaya, was publicly initiated into Brahmoism by Keshab Chandra Sen.
a graduate of the Dacca College and of the universities of London and Edinburgh
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