Summary

● Factors which gave Rise to Reform Movements

Presence of colonial government on Indian soil.

Various ills plaguing Indian society—obscurantism, superstition, polytheism, idolatry, degraded position of women, exploitative caste hierarchy.

Spread of education and increased awareness of the world. Impact of modern Western culture and consciousness of defeat by a foreign power.

Rising tide of nationalism and democracy during the late 19th century.

● Social Base

Emerging middle class and Western-educated intellectuals.

● Ideological Base

Rationalism, religious universalism, humanism, secularism.

● Social Reform Components

Betterment of Position of Women Degraded position due to

Purdah system Early marriage Lack of education

Unequal rights in marriage, divorce, inheritance Polygamy

Female infanticide

Restrictions on widow remarriage Sati

Major Contributors to Reforms

Social reform movements, freedom struggle, movements led by enlightened women, free India’s Constitution.

Legislative Measures for Women

Bengal Regulation (1829) banning sati

Bengal Regulations (1795, 1804)—declaring infanticide illegal. Hindu Widows’ Remarriage Act, 1856.

Age of Consent Act, 1891 Sarda Act, 1930

Special Marriage Act, 1954 Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 Hindu Succession Act, 1956

Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act Maternity Benefits Act, 1961

Equal Remuneration Act, 1976

Child Marriage Restraint (Amendment) Act, 1978 Suppression of Immoral Traffic Act in Women and Girls, 1956 (amended in 1986)

Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 (amended in 1986)

● Struggle Against Caste-based Exploitation Factors Undermining Caste Rigidities Forces unleashed by colonial administration Social reform movements

National movement

Gandhi’s campaign against untouchability

Stirrings among lower castes due to better education and employment

Free India’s Constitution

Chapter 9

A General Survey of Socio-Cultural Reform Movements

Socio-Cultural Reform Movements and their Leaders

Raja Rammohan Roy and Brahmo Samaj Raja Rammohan Roy (1772-1833), often called the the father of Indian Renaissance and the maker of Modern India, was a man of versatile genius.

Rammohan Roy believed in the modern scientific approach and principles of human dignity and social equality. He put his faith in monotheism. He wrote Gift to Monotheists (1809) and translated into Bengali the Vedas and the five Upanishads 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 the Vedanta and to campaign against idolatry, caste rigidities, meaningless rituals and other social ills. Strongly influenced by rationalist ideas, he declared that Vedanta is based on reason and that, if reason demanded it, even a departure from the scriptures is justified.

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He said the principles of rationalism applied to other sects also, particularly to the elements of blind faith in them. In his Precepts of Jesus (1820), he tried to separate the moral and philosophical message of the New Testament, which he praised, from its miracle stories. He earned the wrath of missionaries over his advocacy to incorporate the message of Christ into Hinduism.

He stood for a creative and intellectual process of selecting the best from different cultures, over which, again, he faced orthodox reaction.

Raja Rammohan Roy founded the Brahmo Sabha in August 1828; it was later renamed Brahmo Samaj. Through the Sabha he wanted to institutionalise his ideas and mission. The Samaj was committed to “the worship and adoration of the Eternal, Unsearchable, Immutable Being who is the Author and Preserver of the Universe”. Prayers, meditation and readings of the Upanishads were to be the forms of worship and no graven image, statue or sculpture, carving, painting, picture, portrait, etc., were to be allowed in the Samaj buildings, thus underlining the Samaj’s opposition to idolatry and meaningless rituals. 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 Upanishads. The Samaj also tried to incorporate teachings of other religions and kept its emphasis on human dignity, opposition to idolatry and criticism of social evils such as sati.

Rammohan Roy did not want to establish a new religion. He only wanted to purify Hinduism of the evil practices which had crept into it. Roy’s progressive ideas met with strong opposition from orthodox elements like Raja Radhakant Deb who organised the Dharma Sabha to counter Brahmo Samaj propaganda. Roy’s death in 1833 was a setback for the Samaj’s mission.

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Raja Rammohan Roy and his Brahmo Samaj form the starting point for all the various reform movements—whether in Hindu religion, society or politics—which have agitated modern India.

—H.C.E. Zacharias

The features of Brahmo Samaj may be summed thus—

● it denounced polytheism and idol worship;

● it discarded faith in divine avataras (incarnations);

● it denied that any scripture could enjoy the status of ultimate authority transcending human reason and conscience;

● it took no definite stand on the doctrine of karma and transmigration of soul and left it to individual Brahmos to believe either way;

● it criticised the caste system.

His ideas and activities were also aimed at political uplift of the masses through social reform and, to that extent, can be said to have had nationalist undertones.

Raja Rammohan Roy’s Efforts at Social Reform Rammohan was a determined crusader against the inhuman practice of sati. He started his anti-sati struggle in 1818 and he cited sacred texts to prove his contention that no religion sanctioned the burning alive of widows, besides appealing to humanity, reason and compassion. He also visited the cremation grounds, organised vigilance groups and filed counter petitions to the government during his struggle against sati. His efforts were rewarded by the Government Regulation in 1829 which declared the practice of sati a crime.

As a campaigner for women’s rights, Roy condemned the general subjugation of women and opposed prevailing misconceptions which formed the basis of according an inferior social status to women. Roy attacked polygamy and the degraded state of widows and demanded the right of inheritance and property for women.

Rammohan Roy did much to disseminate the benefits of modern education to his countrymen. He supported David Hare’s efforts to found the Hindu College in 1817, while Roy’s English school taught mechanics and Voltaire’s philosophy. In 1825, he established a Vedanta college where courses in both Indian learning and Western social and physical sciences were offered. He also helped enrich the Bengali language by compiling a Bengali grammar book and evolving a modern elegant prose style.