Career
He is known for his Bangabhashabhidhan, the first monolingual Bengali dictionary, published in 1817. Although he was opposed to Raja Rammohun Roy’s move to abolish the practice of sati, he extended support to Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar in his move for remarriage of widows. He spoke strongly against the system of polygamy, then prevalent in Hindu society, primarily amongst the Brahmins.
He was associated with the Tattwabodhini Sabha and aimed at the advancement of Bengali language through lieutenant
He worked for some time on the government’s desire to replace Persian by Bengali as language of the courts. In this he had the active support of both David Hare and Prasanna Coomar Tagore.
He strived hard for the use of Bengali as medium of education.
