Empowering women with science in a colonial context: The role of Bāmābodhinī Patrikā (1863–1922) in Bengal

The 19th-century Bengal renaissance was a modernizing movement manifested in Western education, social reform, women’s education and liberation, the spread of modern science, and the growth of Indian nationalism. The constant struggle between tradition and modernity, which surfaced in colonial Bengal, was ignited by several periodicals due to their reach to the educated middle class. No matter how small, every effort towards women’s education substantially influenced the qualitative measures at the local level. When educationists, social reformers, and British administrators were engaged in a debate as to whether modern science education should be imparted to Bengali women or not, Bāmābodhinī Patrikā took the lead. Its consequence can be seen in the enrolment of many girls in science courses. It cannot be said with certainty that the initiatives by Bāmābodhinī Patrikā were the principal cause of the flux of women into science or medical education; however, its contribution, no doubt, added to the cumulative effects. The nationalist agenda of empowering our children with science and technology, to make them competent to take on the Europeans and break their monopoly in medicine and engineering, also played a significant part. The importance of educating and empowering the womenfolk towards societal progress was also fully recognized. This article focuses on several science articles published in the periodical, which ran for about sixty years, though in later issues, the publication of science articles saw a noticeable decline. The social revolutions have also been penned to highlight the impact of science communication and education through print media.