Jadav Chandra Chakravarti whom we mostly refer as JCC was born in current Bangladesh in a village near Sirajganj in 1855. His father was a priest and it need not be said that he grew up in poverty. His father passed in his childhood but notwithstanding extreme poverty he continues his studies in the village school. Not much details I could find about his personal life or childhood.
It seems he completed his master's from Presidency College in Calcutta, which definitely points to his abilities as bridging the distance between an obscure village of Bengal to Presidency is not an easy job to be done. JCC completed his M.A. in Mathematics from Presidency.
For the period from the completion of his Master's till till the end of 1877 he was professor in a Calcutta college. Details of his assignment during this period couldn't be tracked.
However from 1888 started the glorious chapter of his career. He joined Mohammedan Anglo Oriental (M.A.O.) College in Aligarh on 1st January, 1888. This college was later elevated to the status of University and is the current Aligarh Muslim University.
M.A.O. College at that time was not kind to Hindu teachers but JCC took up the challenge and became on of the initial teachers of the college. JCC's reputation and tall stature in Mathematics followed by his commitment towards the founding principles of M.A.O. College earned him respect of the students and liking of the trustees. And because of his overall goodwill he was made the Registrar of the college in 1899.
'that Prof. Chakravarti came from Calcutta at a time when politicians of Bengal were being roughly handled at Aligarh and it is too much hope that remarks were not occasionally dropped which must have been painful to him. But besides proving himself and admirable teacher, a loyal colleague, he has shown a sympathetic interest in the progress of the institution and the cause which it was founded to promote; the esteem and confidence which he now commands among Muhammadan trustees was almost conspicuously shown by his appointment as Registrar of the College in 1899 - a post which he continues to hold at much inconvenience to himself but to the great advantage of the institution'
Sir Ziauddin Ahmad was JCC's only student in advance mathematics at M.A.O . College. When M.A.O. was made into University then Mathematics became one of the first departments to be incorporated and the JCC was carried over. JCC was an inspirational teacher at the college and his students used to redert him as 'Babu Sahib' affectionately.
JCC went on sick leave from the beginning of 1909 only to return in 1911 and tender his resignation. He was however convinced to carry for few more years. JCC ultimately resigned in 1916 and moved to Sirajganj. After his retire the college instituted Chakravarti Medal in his honour to be presented to the best performer in M.A. Mathematics. He passed away in Calcutta on 26th November, 1920. Not much information could again could be gathered for his post retirement life.
For more than half a century JCC was one of the stalwarts who helped in the advancement of Mathematics in the country. His widely popular book 'Arithmetic' has been translated into all major Indian languages and reprinted more than 100 times. Apart from 'Arithmetic' JCC also authored few other text books on other branches of mathematics all of which became widely popular. However nothing underscore more the importance of 'Arithmetic' other than the fact the book remains in relevant usage more than 100 hundred years after it was first publish. The book established new ways of teaching arithmetic which remains relevant even today.
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