sarf.120218

Description

Prabartak, an illustrated Bengali monthly, was first published in 1915. Published by a religious body, the Prabartak Sangha from Prabartak Publishing House, Calcutta, Prabartak became a well-circulated journal in colonial Bengal. The journal covered a range of subjects including religion and philosophy, history and literature. Prabartak published novellas, poems, stories and plays as well as hymns, sermons, essays, speeches, biographical accounts, obituaries, travelogues and book reviews. The journal also carried reports on the programs and activities of the Sangha.

The journal gave prominence to the tenets, programs and news of the Sangha. Prabartak carried detailed reports on the various events held at the ashramas (congregations) of the Sangha and reproduced the important speeches delivered by the Sangha leaders on such occasions. In consonance with the objectives of the Sangha, the journal published articles on some key religious and philosophical themes namely ‘Dharma Biswas’ (Religious Belief), ‘Bhakti’ (Devotion), ‘Prem’ (Love), ‘Atma Pratyay’ (Self-confidence), ‘Naba Hindu Shakti’ (The Power of Neo-Hinduism), ‘Bostu o Sadhana’ (Matter and Worship), ‘Atma Tattva’ (Self Theory), ‘Prerona’ (Motivation), and ‘Shiksha o Gyan’ (Education and Knowledge).

Illustrious Bengalis such as Abanindranath Tagore, Charuchandra Ray, Nazrul Islam, Moti Lal Roy, Aurobindo Ghosh, Bipin Chandra Pal, Bhupendranath Datta, Pearymohan Sengupta, Achintya Kumar Sengupta and Kumudranjan Mallick contributed to the journal. The journal serialized Mahendranath Datta’s ‘Londone Swami Vivekananda’ (Swami Vivekananda in London).

The journal published articles on Congress politics, the oppression and emancipation of women, communal conflict, Bengali food habits, festivals, Bengali literature and astrology. Post independence, Prabartak published articles on the problems and prospects of sectors such as the food industry and commerce and rural development in independent India.

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