Hemendranath Tagore

Who was Hemendranath Tagore?

Hemendranath Tagore, Debendranath Tagore's third son, is notable for being the first ever Brahmo as he was the first child born in 1844 to any of the 21 Brahmos who swore the First Brahmo Covenant on 21 December 1843 at Calcutta. An intensely private person, he was also well known as the strict disciplinarian entrusted with the responsibility of looking after the education of his younger brothers in addition to being administrator for the large family estates of Debendranath's branch of Tagore family. While alive, he was also the constant spiritual companion to his father Debendranath Tagore who founded Brahmoism and, despite his extreme youth, acted as the channel between his father and the seniors of the Tattwabodhini Sabha. At the time of the First Brahmo Schism of 1865 he was responsible for expelling the non-Brahmin workers from the Calcutta Brahmo Samaj. The Adi Dharm religion is founded exclusively on his philosophy and is today the largest development from Brahmoism with over 8 million adherents in India.

Like most of Debendranath's children, he had varied interests in different fields and was a polymath and the Scientist of the family.