Son of Naba Kishore Mallick, he was born in 1810 at Sinduriapatti in
Kolkata. His father was engaged in thread trading and was linked to the Seths, the original residents of Govindapur, which was one of the villages that developed into the city of Kolkata. The family had a great standing in society. After initial education at home with some grounding in English, Rasik Krishna Mallick joined Hindu College and turned out to be a highly successful student, one of the flowers of the institution. He greatly admired the activities of
Raja Rammohun Roy, who was then active in Kolkata and was greatly influenced by his thinking. In 1828, when
Derozio joined Hindu College, he became one of his disciples. While still a student, Rasik Krishna Mallick appeared as witness in some case in the supreme court at Kolkata. In those days, the system was that the Hindu witnesses had to take oath touching a copper vessel containing Ganges water and
tulsi (holy basil) leaf. An
Oriya Brahmin came with these things to every witness. When the process was repeated with Rasik Krishna Mallick, he refused to comply. When his
Bengali statement was translated in court as, "I do not believe in the sacredness of the Ganges," there was a hush, every one put their hands to their ears and thought, "How can a boy from the Mallick family say this?" The Ganges has always been considered to be sacred by the
Hindus. The result was that his family drugged him and wanted to take him forcibly to Varanasi for penance and reformation. However, Rasik Krishna Mallick recovered and ran away. His family turned him out of the house. He worked in
Hare School for some time. When Indians were allowed for the first time to be appointed or promoted as deputy collectors Rasik Krishna Mallick was one of the beneficiaries and was posted to
Bardhaman. While residing in
Bardhaman, Rasik Krishna Mullick joined forces with his close friend,
Ramtanu Lahiri, who was also stationed there, to make a bold statement against orthodox traditions. Together, they cast off their
sacred threads, symbolizing their rejection of rigid caste customs and embrace of a more truthful, reformist outlook. Lahiri, driven by deep conviction, upheld his principles with unwavering resolve. His reputation for honesty was unblemished: he performed his duties with fearless integrity, remained untouched by bribery, and won admiration for his incorruptible nature. United, Mullick and Lahiri personified a progressive spirit, choosing truth over convention and standing as beacons of social reform.
Pandit Shivanath Shastri describes how Ramtanu Lahiri, belonging to the highest class Brahman family, regarded Rasik as his intellectual Guru. Whenever any view of the Young Bengal School contrary to the opinion of Rasik was put before Ramtanu, he used to brush it aside abruptly with the remark, "Do you understand better than Rasik?" ==Achievements==