Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay

Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay (1838-94) was the pre-eminent Bengali novelist of his day and is considered the father of the modern Indian novel. He was one of the first graduates of Calcutta University and had an extremely successful career as a district magistrate in the Indian Civil Service. He also wrote the country’s national song, ‘Bande Mataram’.