This is because the evolution of the bhadralok as a specific social construct was contingent upon a peculiar and complex encounter between colonialism on the one hand and caste, class, education and imperial employment on the other. The bhadralok’s canvas of interest and accomplishment may have been wide; indeed, Bengal’s renaissance would not have been possible otherwise. Even after Independence, the bhadralok banded together to monopolise the, albeit diminishing, crumbs of privilege. Numbers, rather than sophistication and social privilege, now hold the key to power. What ought to be attempted instead is the democratisation of the bhadralok’s ideals: reform, intellectual fervour, liberalism, nationalism without shrillness, reason and modernity.

Source: The Telegraph February 08, 2026 03:12 UTC