Banerji, Rev. Krishna Mohan (1813-1885) scholar, writer, and Christian preacher, was born on 24 May 1813 at his maternal uncle's residence in Shyampur, Kolkata. He was the son of Jiban Krishna Banerji of Banogram, 24-Paraganas. In 1823, Krishna Mohan enrolled at Pataldanga School (later renamed Hare School), established by the calcutta school society. He then studied at Hindu College from 1924 to 1829. In 1829, he started teaching at Pataldanga School. He came in touch with david hare and became greatly influenced by the ideals of henry derozio who taught at Hindu College.

In 1832 he was converted to christianity by alexander duff. His conversion led to his dismissal from Pataldanga School. He was then appointed Superintendent of Mirzapur School, established by the Calcutta Committee of the Church Missionary Society. In 1833, Krishna Mohan was brought before the Supreme Court on charges of having converted a boy named Brajanath Ghosh to Christianity. He was not daunted and continued his mission of preaching Christianity, converting, among others, his wife, Bindubasini Devi, and his brother, Kali Mohan Banerji. He also played a significant role in michael madhusudan dutt's conversion.

Krishna Mohan became the head of the newly established Christ Church in 1839 and served there for thirteen years, preaching in Bangla. After retiring in 1852, he joined Bishop's College as a professor and continued to work there till 1868. During this period he donated eight thousand taka for proselytising purposes and for helping poor students.

Besides preaching Christianity, Krishna Mohan contributed to various other areas. In 1831, he published the weekly Enquirer, the mouthpiece of the Navya Dal (New Group). He edited the Hindu Youth (1831), the Government Gazette (1840), and the Sangbad Sudhangshu (1850). He supported Raja rammohun roy's movement against sati. He was interested in women's education and wrote an essay on 'The Native Female Education' in 1841. This essay considerably affected the government education policy towards women. He was also partly responsible for the introduction of the joint Entrance examination system at the university of calcutta.

Krishna Mohan was a linguist and knew several languages, including Sanskrit, Persian, Urdu, Hindi, English, Greek, Hebrew, Oriya, Tamil, and Gujrati. Calcutta University honoured him with the title of Doctor of Laws in 1876, and the Indian Government awarded him the title of CIE in 1878. He was a Fellow (1867-68) of Calcutta University and a Representative (1880) of the Calcutta Municipality. He was also associated with the bethune society (1851), the Bangiya Samaj-Bijnan Sabha (1866), the Bharat-Sangskar Sabha (1870), the british indian association, the India League, the indian association and the asiatic society. In 1868 he became a member of the Royal Asiatic Society, London.

Krishna Mohan's writings were published in various journals such as the Calcutta Review, the Calcutta Intelligencer, the bengal spectator, Mookherjee's Magazine, the Indian Antiquary. His greatest contribution, however, was his thirteen-volume encyclopedia, vidyakalpadruma (1846-51). His other works include Upadeshmala (1840), Sadadarshan Sangvad (1867), Dialogues on the Hindu Philosophy (1861), The Arian Witness (1875). He also wrote a play, The Persecuted, criticising Hindu society for its regressive orthodoxy. He translated kalidasa's Raghuvangsha and Kumarsambhav into English.

A man of profound intellectual prowess and moral integrity, Krishna Mohan worked as a bridge between the old and the new. A dedicated scholar, he advocated reason and understanding as the basis of education.

Krishna Mohan breathed his last on 11 May 1885 in Calcutta. [Shipra Dastider]