History :Socio - Religious reform movements PART-1

BrahmoSamaj Movement: 

• Founded by Raja Ram Mohan Roy in 1828.
• He earlier started Atmiya Sabha in 1814.
• Criticized Sati Pratha, casteism and advocated widow remarriage.
• He gave enthusiastic assistance to David Hare, who founded the famous Hindu College in Calcutta.
• Established a Vedanta College in which courses both in Indian and Western social and physical sciences were offered.

• He was a gifted linguist. He knew more than dozen languages including Sanskrit, Persian, Arabic, English, French, Latin, Greek and Hebrew.
• He was opposed to Sanskrit system of education; because he thought it would keep the country in darkness.
• Other important leaders were Devendranath Tagore (father of Rabindranath Tagore) and Keshab Chandra Sen.
• Tagore dismissed Keshab Chandra in 1865.
• Keshab started Sangat Sabha, PrarthanaSamaj and BrahmoSamaj of India.
• Tagore’s organization came to be known as Tattvabodhini Sabha and AdiBrahmoSamaj.
• Anand Mohan Bose started the SadharanaBrahmoSamaj.
• Justice M.G. Ranade founded the Prarthana Sabha.

Rammohan Roy (1771-1833)

• He was horn at Radhanagar in Bengal in 1772. He is regarded as the first great leader of modern India. He opposed idol worship and pressed on Doctrine of the Unity of God. He believed that basically all religions preach a common message. He was deeply influenced by monotheism, anti-idolatry of Islam, Sufism, and ethical teachings of Christianity & liberal & rationalist doctrines of the west. He was one of the earliest propagators of modern education.
• Started the Atmiya Sabha in 1814
• The Brahma Sabha in 1829, (BrahmoSamaj). Based on the twin pillars of-reason, the Vedas and the Upanishads. Laid emphasis on human dignity, opposed idolatry, and criticised social evils. Succeeded in persuading Lord Bentick to abolish sati in 1829
• He gave enthusiastic assistance to David Hare, who founded the famous Hindu college in Calcutta.
• Established a Vedanta College (1825) in which courses both in Indian and western social and physical sciences were offered
• Wrote in Persian his famous work ,4 Gift to Monotheists or Tuhafat-ul-Muwahidin— 1809
• Launched a movement for the abolition of Sati through his journal SabadKaumudi (1819)
• Published his Precepts of Jesus— 1820
• He believed that the philosophy of Vedanta was based on this principle of reason.
• Was opposed to Sanskrit system of education , because he thought it would keep the country in darkness.