A General Survey of Socio-Cultural Reform Movement Part 1

A General Survey of Socio-Cultural Reform Movement

Raja Ram Mohan Roy and Brahmo Samaj :-

• Ram Mohan Roy was called the father of Indian Renaissance and maker of Modern India. 
• He wrote Gift to Monotheists (1809) and translated the Vedas and five Upnishad into Bengali to prove his conviction that ancient Hindu texts support monotheism. 
• In 1814 he set up the Atmiya Sabha (or Society of Friends ) in Calcutta to propagate the monotheistic ideals of vedanta and to campaign against idolatry, caste rigidities, meaningless rituals and other social ills. 
• He wrote Percepts of Jesus (1820). 
• Raja Ram Mohan Roy founded the Brahmo Sabha in august 1828. It was later renamed Brahmo Samaj. 
• The long term agenda of the Brahmo Samaj – to purify Hinduism and to preach monotheism was based on the twin pillars of reason and the Vedas and the Upnishad. 
• No graven image, statue or sculpture, carving, painting, picture, portraits, etc., were to be allowed in the Samaj building. 
• The features of Brahmo Samaj are :- 
• 1. It denounced polytheism and idol worship.
  2. It discarded faith in divine avataras.
  3. It denied that any scripture could enjoy the status of ultimate authority transcending human reason and conscience.
  4. It criticise the caste system.
   
• He started his anti Sati struggle in 1818 and his efforts were rewarded by the Government Regulation in 1829 which declared the practice of Sati a crime. 
• Roy attacked Polygamy and the degraded state of widows and demanded the right of inheritence and property for women. 
• In 1825, he established a Vedanta College where courses in both Indian and Western social and physical sciences were offered. 
• He died in 1833. 
• Raja Radhakant Deb organised the Dharma sabha to counter the Brahmo Sabha Propoganda.

Debendranath Tagore and Brahmo Samaj :- 

1. Tagore headed the Tattvabodhini Sabha founded in 1839, which along with its organ Tattvabodhini Patrika in Bengali, was devoted to the systematic study of India’s past with a rational outlook and to the propogation of Rammohan’s ideas.
2. He joined the Brahmo samaj in 1842.

• Keshab Chandra Sen and the Brahmo Samaj:-

• He joined the Brahmo samaj in 1858 and was made Acharya.
• He was instrumental in popularising the movement , and branches of Samaj were opened outside Bengal – in United Provinces, Punjab, Bombay, Madras and other towns.
• He was dismissed from the office of Acharya in 1865.
• Keshab and his followers founded the Brahmo Samaj of India in 1866.
• Debendra Nath Tagore’s samaj came to be known as the Adi Brahmo Samaj after that.
• After 1878, disgusted followers of Keshab set up a new Organisation called the Sadharan Brahmo Samaj.
• The Sadharan Brahmo Samaj was started by Anand Mohan Bose, Shibchandra Deb and Umesh Chandra Datta.

Significance of Brahmo Samaj :-

• It worked for :-

1. Abolition of Sati.
2. Abolition of Pardah system.
3. Discouraged Child Marriage.
4. Discouraged Polygamy.
5. Worked for Widow remarriage and for provision of educational facilities.
6. Attacked casteism and untouchability.

• Prarthana Samaj :-
  • In 1867, Keshab Chandra Sen helped Atmaram Pandurang in founding the Prarthana Samaj in Bombay.
  • Mahadeo Govind Ranade joined the samaj in 1870.
    • His efforts made the samaj gain an all India character.
    • Their emphasis was on monotheism but on the whole, the samaj was more concerned with social reforms than with religion.
    • There was a four point social agenda :-
      1. Disapproval of caste system. 
      2. Women’s education. 
      3. Widow remarriage. 
      4. Raising the age of marriage for both males and females.

• Along with Dhondo Keshav Karve, Ranade founded the Widow Remarriage Movement as well as Widow’s Home Association with the aim of providing education and training to widows so that they could support themselves.
Young Bengal Movement and Henry Vivian Derozio :-

• Anglo Indian Henry Vivian Derozio, was the leader and inspirer of the progressive, intellectual and radical trend emerging among youth of Bengal known as Young Bengal Movement.
• Dorezio was perhaps first nationalist poet of modern India.
• The movement failed to have a long term impact.
• They demanded induction of Indians in higher grades of services, protection of ryots from oppressive zamindars, better treatment to Indian labors abroad in British colonies, revision of the Company’s charter, freedom of press and trial by jury.

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar :-

• He became principal of Sanskrit college in 1850.
• For breaking the priestly monopoly of scriptural knowledge, he opened the Sanskrit College to non-Brahmins.
• He introduced western thoughts in Sanskrit college to break the self imposed isolation of Sanskrit learning.
• Vidyasagar started a movement in support of widow remarriage which resulted in legislation of widow remarriage.
• He was a crusader against child marriage and polygamy.
• He helped organise 35 girl’s schools and did much for cause of women education.

Balshastri Jambhekar :- 

• He is known as Father of Marathi journalism. 
• He started the newspaper Darpan in 1832 which he used to awaken the people to awareness of social reforms and to instil in the masses a scientific approach to life. 
• He attacked Brahminical orthodoxy and tried to reform popular Hinduism. 
• In 1940, he started Digdarshan which published articles on scientific subjects as well as history. 
• Jambhekar founded the Bombay Native General Libraryn and started the Native Improvement Society of which an offshoot was the Student Literary and Scientific Library.

• Paramahansa Mandali :-
  • Dadoba Panduranga, Mehtaji Durgaram and others founded the Paramahansa Mandali in 1849.
  • It baegan as a secret society that worked to reform Hindu Religion and society in general.
  Satyashodhak Samaj and Jyotirao(Jyotiba) Phule :-
  • Born in Satara, Jyitiba Phule founded the Satyashodhak Samaj in 1873 with the leadership of samaj coming from backward classes , mali, telis, kunbis, saris, and dhangars.
  • The main aim of the movement were :
    1. Social service.
    2. Spread of education among women and lower caste people.
    3. The complete abolition of the caste system and socio-economic inequalities.
  • Phule’s works Sarvajanik Satyadharma and Gulamgiri became the inspiration for the common masses.
  • Phule was awarded the title ‘Mahatma’ for his social reform work.
  Gopalhari Deshmukh ‘Lokhitwadi’ :-
  • He was a social reformer and rationalist from Maharashtra.
  • He wrote for a weekly Prabhakar under the pen name of Lokhitwadi on social reform issues.
  • He held the post of a judge under British raj.
  • He started weekly Hitechhu and played a leading role in founding the periodicals , Gyan Prakash, Indu Prakash and Lokhitawadi.
  Gopal Ganesh Agarkar :-
  • He was an educationist and social reformer from Maharashtra.
  • He was the founder of New English School, the Deccan Education Society and Fergusson College.
  • He was the first editor of Kesari, the journal started by Lokmanya Tilak.
  • He stated his own periodical, Sudharak, which spoke against untouchability and the caste system.