Socio-Religious Reform I: Brahmo Samaj, Arya Samaj, Prarthana Samaj, Ramakrishna Mission and Theosophy

The Indian renaissance

In the nineteenth century, Indian society faced a deep crisis of confidence. Western education, Christian missionaries, the printing press and British criticism of Indian customs pushed educated Indians to look again at their own traditions. The result was a wave of socio-religious reform movements, sometimes called the Indian Renaissance. These movements worked on two levels:

• Religious reform: attacking idolatry, polytheism, priestly domination and superstition, and stressing reason, conscience and the original scriptures.
• Social reform: fighting sati, child marriage, purdah, the ban on widow remarriage, caste discrimination and lack of women's education.

Reformers took two broad approaches. Reformist movements (Brahmo Samaj, Prarthana Samaj, Aligarh) used reason and Western ideas to change society from within. Revivalist movements (Arya Samaj, Deoband) sought to return to what they saw as a pure ancient tradition. Both gave Indians self-respect and a sense of shared identity, preparing the ground for nationalism.

Raja Rammohan Roy and the Brahmo Samaj

Raja Rammohan Roy (1772–1833), often called the "Father of the Indian Renaissance" and the "Father of Modern India", knew Sanskrit, Persian, Arabic, English and other languages.

• Atmiya Sabha (1814) in Calcutta, to discuss monotheism and oppose idolatry.
• Brahmo Sabha (1828), later the Brahmo Samaj, based on worship of one formless God, the Upanishads and reason; opposed idol worship, caste and rituals.
• Led the campaign that ended in the abolition of sati (1829) under Bentinck.
• Supported English and scientific education; helped found Hindu College (1817) and set up the Vedanta College (1825).
• Wrote Tuhfat-ul-Muwahhidin (A Gift to Monotheists, Persian, 1803) and *Precepts of Jesus*.
• Published newspapers: Sambad Kaumudi (Bengali) and Mirat-ul-Akhbar (Persian); protested against press restrictions.
• Received the title "Raja" from the Mughal emperor Akbar II, whom he represented in England; he died at Bristol in 1833.

Debendranath Tagore (father of Rabindranath) revived the Samaj, founded the Tattvabodhini Sabha (1839) and the *Tattvabodhini Patrika*. Keshab Chandra Sen spread it beyond Bengal and pushed for radical social reform such as inter-caste marriage. Differences led to splits:

• 1866: Keshab formed the Brahmo Samaj of India; Debendranath's group became the Adi Brahmo Samaj.
• 1878: after Keshab married his minor daughter to the Maharaja of Cooch Behar, against the Samaj's own rules, his followers formed the Sadharan Brahmo Samaj.
• The Native Marriage Act (Brahmo Marriage Act), 1872 legalised Brahmo marriages and fixed minimum ages.

Other reformers in Bengal

• Henry Vivian Derozio (1809–31), a teacher at Hindu College, inspired the radical Young Bengal Movement, which questioned all traditions and authority.
• Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (1820–91), principal of Sanskrit College, campaigned for widow remarriage, leading to the Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act, 1856. He opposed child marriage and polygamy, promoted girls' schools, and wrote the Bengali primer Barna Parichay.

Prarthana Samaj and reform in western India

The Prarthana Samaj was founded in Bombay (1867) by Dr Atmaram Pandurang, inspired by Keshab Chandra Sen. M.G. Ranade and R.G. Bhandarkar joined later. It stressed monotheism and devotion in the tradition of Maharashtra's Bhakti saints (Namdev, Tukaram) and worked on social issues: inter-caste dining and marriage, widow remarriage and women's education. Ranade also founded the Widow Remarriage Association (1861), the Deccan Education Society (with Tilak, Agarkar and others) and the Indian National Social Conference (1887). Other reformers in western India included Gopal Hari Deshmukh "Lokahitawadi" and Behramji Malabari, whose campaign led to the Age of Consent Act (1891).

Swami Dayananda Saraswati and the Arya Samaj

Swami Dayananda Saraswati (1824–83), born Mool Shankar in Gujarat, founded the Arya Samaj in Bombay in 1875; its headquarters later moved to Lahore.

• Slogan: "Go back to the Vedas"; he considered the Vedas infallible and the source of all true knowledge.
• Main book: Satyarth Prakash (1875), in Hindi.
• Opposed idolatry, rituals, priestly domination, child marriage, untouchability and caste by birth; supported widow remarriage and women's education.
• Started the shuddhi movement to reconvert people to Hinduism.
• After his death, the Samaj split into two wings: the DAV (Dayananda Anglo-Vedic) school, first school in Lahore (1886), led by Lala Hansraj and Lala Lajpat Rai, which combined English and Vedic education; and the Gurukul wing under Swami Shraddhananda, which founded the Gurukul Kangri (Haridwar, 1902).

The Arya Samaj was strong in Punjab and western UP and created self-confidence that fed into later nationalism.

Ramakrishna Paramahansa and Swami Vivekananda

Ramakrishna Paramahansa (1836–86), a priest at the Dakshineswar Kali temple, taught that all religions are true and lead to the same God, and that service to human beings is service to God. He practised Hindu, Islamic and Christian devotion himself.

His disciple Swami Vivekananda (Narendranath Datta, 1863–1902) became the most famous Indian voice in the world:

• At the Parliament of the World's Religions in Chicago (1893), he presented Vedanta as a universal religion.
• He founded the Ramakrishna Mission (1897) at Belur near Calcutta, devoted to social service – education, health care and famine relief – along with spiritual practice.
• He preached practical Vedanta: "service to man is service to God" (daridra narayana), and urged youth to be strong and self-reliant.
• His birthday, 12 January, is celebrated as National Youth Day.

The Theosophical Society

The Theosophical Society was founded in New York (1875) by Madame H.P. Blavatsky and Colonel H.S. Olcott, and moved its headquarters to Adyar, Madras (1882). It respected Hinduism, Buddhism and Zoroastrianism, believed in the universal brotherhood of humanity, and was interested in spiritual and occult ideas. Annie Besant, who joined in 1889, led it in India. She founded the Central Hindu College at Benaras (1898), which became the core of Banaras Hindu University (1916) under Madan Mohan Malaviya, and later led the Home Rule League (1916). By praising Indian culture, Theosophy gave educated Indians pride in their heritage.

Contribution and limits

Contributions: they fought superstition and inhumane customs; promoted women's education and rights; challenged caste; spread rational and scientific thinking; built schools, colleges and newspapers; and restored cultural self-confidence, which became a base for political nationalism.

Limits: they were mostly confined to the urban, educated upper castes; many depended on the colonial state to pass laws; revivalist strands sometimes sharpened religious identities, which later fed communal politics.

Laws that came out of reform

Reformers often turned to the colonial state for laws. Key examples: Bengal Sati Regulation (1829); Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act (1856); Native Marriage Act (1872); Age of Consent Act (1891), raising the age of consent for girls from 10 to 12; and later the Sarda Act (Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929), which fixed the minimum age of marriage at 14 for girls and 18 for boys. Each law faced orthodox opposition, and Tilak, for example, opposed the 1891 Act on the ground that foreigners should not legislate on Hindu customs.

Mains practice question

Q. "Nineteenth-century reform movements were both reformist and revivalist." Explain with examples. (250 words)

Framework: context of colonial rule and Western education; reformist (Brahmo, Prarthana) vs revivalist (Arya Samaj); Ramakrishna Mission's universal approach; Theosophy; common aims – reason, women, caste; achievements and limits; link with nationalism.

Quick self-test

1. Who founded the Atmiya Sabha? *(Rammohan Roy, 1814)*
2. Which book is Dayananda's main work? *(Satyarth Prakash)*
3. Where is the headquarters of the Ramakrishna Mission? *(Belur)*
4. Which Act was passed due to Vidyasagar's efforts? *(Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act, 1856)*