Socio - Religious Reform

Movements in 19th Century

Modern History: Module – VII (Socio - Religious Reform Movements in 19th Century)
Modern History: Module – VII (Socio - Religious Reform Movements in 19th Century)
Modern History: Module – VII (Socio - Religious Reform Movements in 19th Century)
 Women’s Issues
● Education,

● Gender inequality,
● Superstition

● Sati,
● Condition of Widow,
● Tonsure,

Modern History: Module – VII (Socio - Religious Reform Movements in 19th Century)
 Women’s Issues
● Child Marriage,

● Female Infanticide

● Purdah ,

● Polygamy,
● Dowry System

Modern History: Module – VII (Socio - Religious Reform Movements in 19th Century)
 Types of Movements
Reformist movements

● Responding to time, scientific temper of the modern era. For

instance, the Brahmo Samaj, the Prarthana Samaj, the
Aligarh Movement.

Revivalist movements

● Revival of old system. For example, Arya Samaj & the

Deoband movement.
Modern History: Module – VII (Socio - Religious Reform Movements in 19th Century)
● Both these movements depended on an appeal to the lost
purity of the religion they sought to reform.

● The only difference between the two, is the degree to which

it relied on tradition or on reason & conscience.

Modern History: Module – VII (Socio - Religious Reform Movements in 19th Century)
 Causes
● Modern education
● Impact of British rule
● Revolutions in other countries (like France)

● Pessimistic attitude towards activities of British &

Christian Missionaries

● Sanskritization by Upper caste

● Religious & Social ills

Modern History: Module – VII (Socio - Religious Reform Movements in 19th Century)
Q: What was sati & what does it mean?
The term sati literally means a 'pure &
virtuous woman'. It was applied in case
of a devoted wife who contemplated
perpetual & uninterrupted conjugal union
with her husband life after life & as proof
thereof burnt herself with the dead body
of her husband.
❑ Indian reformers led by Ram Mohan Roy
launched a frontal attack on the evil of sati.
❑ With an eye, to the coming Charter debates in
the British Parliament and anxious to get a
renewal of its charter for another 20 years by
presenting a creditable image of its activities
in India, the Court of Directors encouraged
Bentinck to enact legislation to suppress sati
who banned it in1829.

Modern History: Module – VII (Socio - Religious Reform Movements in 19th Century)
Raja Ram Mohan Roy : Father of the Indian Renaissance

Modern History: Module – VII (Socio - Religious Reform Movements in 19th Century)
 Raja Ram Mohan Roy
● Used logical reasoning & rational thinking
● 1814: Set up Atmiya Sabha in Calcutta
● 1817: Supported David Hare to set up Hindu college
● Founded Vedanta College at Calcutta in 1825, where he introduced
Mechanics & Voltaire’s Philosophy.
● Wrote Gift to Monotheists (1809)
● Opposed Idol Worship
● Translated to Bengali the Vedas & 5 Upanishads
● Demanded property inheritance rights for women.

Modern History: Module – VII (Socio - Religious Reform Movements in 19th Century)
 Political Activist
● Roy condemned oppressive practices of Bengali zamindars &
demanded fixation of maximum rents.

● He also demanded abolition of taxes on tax free lands.

● He called for a reduction of export duties on goods abroad &

abolition of the Company's trading rights.

● He demanded judicial equality.

Modern History: Module – VII (Socio - Religious Reform Movements in 19th Century)
 Internationalist
● He was influenced by the French Revolution.

● He stood for cooperation of thought & activity & brotherhood

among nations.

● He supported the revolutions of Naples & Spanish America &

condemned the oppression of Ireland by absentee English
landlordism & threatened emigration from the empire if the
reform bill was not passed.

Modern History: Module – VII (Socio - Religious Reform Movements in 19th Century)
 Brahmo Samaj
● Main theme “Nirguna Sapna” (formless worship)
● Purpose was to purify Hinduism.
● Promoted Monotheism – Oneness of God.
● The new society was to be based on the twin pillars of reason & the
Vedas & Upanishads.
● Most of all it based itself on human reason which was to be the
ultimate criterion for deciding what was worthwhile & what was
useless in the past or present religious principles & practices.

Modern History: Module – VII (Socio - Religious Reform Movements in 19th Century)
● Followers of Samaj were Keshab Chandra Sen ,Debendra Nath
Tagore, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Ashwani Kumar Datta,
Derozians , Prasanna Kumar Tagore, Chandrashekhar Deb &
Tarachand Chakravarty, 1st secretary of the Brahmo Sabha.

● After Roy’s death, D N Tagore headed Brahmo Sabha Tagore

repudiated the doctrine that the Vedic scriptures were infallible.
● 1839-founded Tattvabodhini Sabha.

● Tattvabodhini Sabha & its organ the Tattvabodhini Patrika promoted

a systematics study of India's past in the Bengali language.

Modern History: Module – VII (Socio - Religious Reform Movements in 19th Century)
● The Samaj actively supported the movement for widow
remarriage, abolition of polygamy, women's education &
opposed superstitious practices & rituals.
● Samaj denied the need for a priestly class for interpreting
religious writings.
● Brahmo Samaj split, Keshub Chandra Sen , A M Bose left &
started “All India Brahmo Samaj”.
● Under D Tagore, it was Adi Brahmo Samaj
● AM Bose started Sadharan Brahmo Samaj.

Modern History: Module – VII (Socio - Religious Reform Movements in 19th Century)
Modern History: Module – VII (Socio - Religious Reform Movements in 19th Century)
 Henry Vivian Derozio
● Teacher in Hindu college Calcutta 1826-31.
● Started the Young Bengal movement.
● Inspired by French revolution.
● Had radical thoughts of liberty & freedom.
● Derozio was perhaps the 1st nationalist poet of modern India.
● Due to his early demise the movement came to an end
● SN Banerjee described the Derozians as “the pioneers of the
modern civilization of Bengal, the conscript fathers of our race
whose virtues will excite veneration & whose failings will be treated
with gentlest consideration”.

Modern History: Module – VII (Socio - Religious Reform Movements in 19th Century)
 Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
● Worked for the cause of emancipation of women.
● Promoted education among girls & set up institutions for them.
● As a Government Inspector of Schools, he organised 35 girls'
schools, many of which he ran at his own expense.

● As Secretary to the Bethune School, he was one of the pioneers

of higher education for women.
● All his life he campaigned against polygamy.
● Due to his efforts Widow Remarriage Act was passed in 1856.

Modern History: Module – VII (Socio - Religious Reform Movements in 19th Century)
● In 1850, he protested against child-marriage.
● Principal of the Sanskrit College.
● He opened the gates of the Sanskrit college to non-Brahmin
students.
● To free Sanskrit studies from the harmful effects of self-imposed
isolation, he introduced the study of Western thought in the
Sanskrit College.
● He also helped found a college which is now named after him.
● He also devised a new Bengali primer & evolved a new prose
style.

Modern History: Module – VII (Socio - Religious Reform Movements in 19th Century)
 Jyotiba Phule (1827-1890)
● Started the Dalit Movement
● Was against upper class Brahminical domination
● Satya Shodhak Samaj is a religion established by him in 1873.

● This was started as a group whose main aim was to liberate the
Shudra & Untouchable castes from exploitation and oppression.

● Phule used the symbol of Rajah Bali as opposed to the,

Brahmin's symbol of Rama.

Modern History: Module – VII (Socio - Religious Reform Movements in 19th Century)
● He openly condemned the inequality in the religious books,
orthodox nature of religion, exploitation of masses by the means
of it, blind & misleading rituals & hypocrisy in the prevalent
religion.
● Advocated the ideals of human well being in broader aspects,
human happiness, unity, equality, & easy religious principles &
rituals.
● 1851: Phule & his wife started a girls' school at Poona & soon
many other schools came up.
● Active promoters of these schools were Jagannath Shankar Seth
& Bhau Daji.

Modern History: Module – VII (Socio - Religious Reform Movements in 19th Century)
● Through his writings & activities Phule always condemned caste
hierarchy & the privileged status of priests in it.
● Wrote Gulamgiri & Sarvajanic Satyadharma.
● Phule was also a pioneer of the widow remarriage movement

● Another prominent worker in this field was Karsandas Mulji who

started the Satya Prakash in Gujarati in 1852 to advocate widow
remarriage.

● Vishnu Shastri Pandit founded the Widow Remarriage

Association in the 1850's.

Modern History: Module – VII (Socio - Religious Reform Movements in 19th Century)
 Dayanand Saraswati
● He had received education on Vedanta from a blind teacher
named Swami Virajananda in Mathura.
● Started Arya Samaj (1875) movement at Bombay & shifted
headquarters to Lahore.

● Slogan: “Go Back to Vedas”

● Believed in infallibility of Vedas.
● Approved Vedas, rejected Puranas & anything related to western
culture.

Modern History: Module – VII (Socio - Religious Reform Movements in 19th Century)
● He also favored the study of western sciences.
● Swaraj word was used for the 1st time by Swami Dayanand.
● Advocated equal rights for men & women.
● He was against idol worship, ritual, dominance of Brahmans &
priesthood.
● It offered a sharp criticism of the existing Hindu practices, like
polytheism, widow celibacy, foreign travel, child marriage .

● He opposed caste system.

● Inter caste marriage act 1872.
● Satyarth Prakash

Modern History: Module – VII (Socio - Religious Reform Movements in 19th Century)
● Samaj fixed the minimum marriageable age at 25 years for boys
& 16 years for girls.

● Swami once lamented the Hindu race as "the children of

children".

Modern History: Module – VII (Socio - Religious Reform Movements in 19th Century)
● The work of the Swami after his death was carried forward by
Lala Hansraj, Pandit Gurudutt, Lala Lajpat Rai & Swami
Shraddhanand, among others.

● Some of his followers later started a network of schools &

colleges in the country to impart education on western lines.

● Lala Hansraj played a leading part in this effort.

● 1902: Swami Shraddhananda started the Gurukul near Haridwar
to propagate the more traditional ideals of education.

Modern History: Module – VII (Socio - Religious Reform Movements in 19th Century)
● This movement became anti Muslim & anti Christian movement.

● Shuddhi movement began for reconversion of converted Hindus

● Cow protection movement

Modern History: Module – VII (Socio - Religious Reform Movements in 19th Century)
The ten guiding principles of the Arya Samaj are—

(i) God is the primary source of all true knowledge;

(ii) God, as all-truth, all-knowledge, almighty, immortal, creator of Universe, is alone
worthy of worship;
(iii) the Vedas are the books of true knowledge;
(iv) an Arya should always be ready to accept truth and abandon untruth;
(v) dharma, that is, due consideration of right and wrong, should be the guiding
principle of all actions;
(vi) the principal aim of the Samaj is to promote world's well- being in the material,
spiritual and social sense;
(vii) everybody should be treated with love and justice;
(viii) ignorance is to be dispelled and knowledge increased;
(ix) one's own progress should depend on uplift of all others
(x) social well-being of mankind is to be placed above an individual's well-being.

Modern History: Module – VII (Socio - Religious Reform Movements in 19th Century)
 Jat Pat Todak Mandal
● Society for the abolition of caste: Lahore
● Founder : Bhai Parmanand

● Decided to work
● 1st among the Arya Samajists in order to assimilate the
reconverted.

● Members brought in through Shuddhi.

● Condemned caste distinctions.
Modern History: Module – VII (Socio - Religious Reform Movements in 19th Century)
 Ramakrishna Paramhansa
● Was a saintly person who sought religious salvation in the
traditional ways of renunciation, meditation & devotion(bhakti).
● In his search for religious truth or the realization of God he lived
with mystics of other faiths, Muslims & Christians.
● He emphasized that there were many roads to God & salvation &
that 'service of man was service of God, for man was the
embodiment of God’.
● “So long as the millions live in hunger & ignorance, I hold every
man a traitor, who having been educated at their expense, pays
not the least heed to them”.

Modern History: Module – VII (Socio - Religious Reform Movements in 19th Century)
 Swami Vivekananda
● Disciple of Ramakrishna Paramhansa
● Great humanist
● Believed in Karma ( Action)
● Proclaimed the essential oneness of all religions.
● For our motherland a junction of the 2 great systems Hinduism
& Islam is the only hope.
● Vivekananda condemned the caste system & the current Hindu's
emphasis on rituals, ceremonies, & superstitions & urged the
people to imbibe the spirit of liberty, equality, & free-thinking.

Modern History: Module – VII (Socio - Religious Reform Movements in 19th Century)
● He himself subscribed to Vedanta , which he declared to be fully
rational system.
● Paramartha & vyavahara & spirituality & day to day life .

● 1893: Took part in World Religious Conference in US

● Lectures from Colombo to Almora

● 1897: Ramakrishna Mission started , Belur.

Modern History: Module – VII (Socio - Religious Reform Movements in 19th Century)
❑ Vivekananda used the Ramakrishna Mission for humanitarian relief & social work.
The Mission stands for religious & social reform.

❑ Vivekananda advocated the doctrine of service—the service of all beings.

❑ Vivekananda was for using technology & modern science in the service of mankind.

❑ Ever since its inception, the Mission has been running a number of schools.

❑ It offers help to the affected of calamities like famines, floods & epidemics.

Modern History: Module – VII (Socio - Religious Reform Movements in 19th Century)
❑ It is a deeply religious body, but it is not a proselytising body.

❑ It does not consider itself to be a sect of Hinduism.

❑ In fact, this is one of the strong reasons for the success of the Mission.

❑ Unlike the Arya Samaj, the Mission recognises the utility & value of image worship
in developing spiritual fervour & worship of the eternal omnipotent God, although it
emphasises the essential spirit & not the symbols or rituals.

❑ It believes that the philosophy of Vedanta will make a Christian a better Christian, &
a Hindu a better Hindu.

Modern History: Module – VII (Socio - Religious Reform Movements in 19th Century)
Shiv Narain Agnihotri & Dev Samaj
● Agnihotri was an active member of Brahmo Samaj in 1875 &
worked tirelessly for various reform movements started by it.
● 1887: Formed a new society, the Dev Samaj.

● Deva Samaj was originally established as a theistic society, but

later it emerged as an atheistic society, denying the existence of
gods & emphasising ethical conduct.
● The society emphasized on the eternity of the soul, the
supremacy of the guru, & the need for good action.

Modern History: Module – VII (Socio - Religious Reform Movements in 19th Century)
● It called for an ideal social behavior such as not accepting
bribes, avoiding intoxicants & non-vegetarian food & observing
non-violence.

● Its teachings were compiled in a book, Deva Shastra.

Modern History: Module – VII (Socio - Religious Reform Movements in 19th Century)
 Prarthana Samaj
● Founded by the Dadoba Tarkhadkar & his brother Atmaram
Pandurang in 1867 at Bombay,when Keshub Chandra Sen visited
Maharashtra, with an aim to make people believe in one God &
worship only one God.

● Parallel to Brahmo Samaj

● Although the adherents of Samaj were devoted theists, they
didn’t regard the Vedas as divine or infallible.
● The emphasis was on monotheism, but on the whole, the samaj
was more concerned with social reforms than with religion.

Modern History: Module – VII (Socio - Religious Reform Movements in 19th Century)
● They drew their nourishment from the Hindu scriptures & used
the hymns of the old Marathi "poet-saints" like Namdev,
Tukaram in their prayers.

● Their ideas trace back to the devotional poems of the Vitthals as

part of the Vaishnava bhakti devotional movements of the 13th
century in Maharashtra.

● But, beyond religious concerns, the primary focus of the Samaj

was social & cultural reform.

Modern History: Module – VII (Socio - Religious Reform Movements in 19th Century)
Social Reform under Prarthana Samaj:
● "Prarthana Samaj" or "Prayer Society" reform movements led
many projects of cultural change & social reform in Western
India (Bombay):

○ Improvement of the position of women & depressed classes

○ An end to the caste system

○ Abolition of child marriages & infanticide.

○ Educational opportunities for women, & remarriage of
widows.

Modern History: Module – VII (Socio - Religious Reform Movements in 19th Century)
○ Its success was guided by Sir Ramakrishna Gopal Bhandarkar, a
noted Sanskrit scholar, Narayan Chandavarkar, & Justice MG
Ranade.
○ It became popular after Ranade joined. The main reformers
were the intellectuals who advocated reforms of the social
system of the Hindus.
○ Along with Dhondo Keshav Karve, Ranade founded the Widow
Remarriage Movement as well as Widows’ Home Association
with the aim of providing education & training to widows.
○ It was spread to the southern India by noted Telugu reformer &
writer, Kandukuri Veeresalingam.

Modern History: Module – VII (Socio - Religious Reform Movements in 19th Century)
 Indian Social Conference
● Founded by M G Ranade & Raghunath Rao.
● The National Social Conference met annually from 1887 to 1895
as part of the INC Sessions.
● Met annually at the same time & venue as the INC
● Can be called the social reform cell of the INC
● Conference advocated inter caste marriages, opposed polygamy
etc.
● Launched pledge movement to inspire people to take a pledge
against child marriage.

Modern History: Module – VII (Socio - Religious Reform Movements in 19th Century)
 Theosophical Society
● 1875: Started by Helena Blavatsky, Henry Steel Olcott, William
Quan Judge in New York.
● After a few years Olcott & Blavatsky moved to India & established
the International Headquarters at Adyar.
● Theosophists advocated the revival & strengthening of the ancient
religions.
● They recognized the doctrine of the transmigration of the Soul.
● They also preached the Universal Brotherhood of Man.
● As religious revivalists the Theosophists were not very successful.

Modern History: Module – VII (Socio - Religious Reform Movements in 19th Century)
● Movement led by westerners who glorified Indian religions &
philosophical tradition.
● This helped Indians recover their self-confidence, even though it
tended to give them a sense of false pride in their past greatness.

Annie Besant & Theosophical society

● 1907- Elected as its President.

● Worked for revival of Hinduism -its philosophy & modes of worship.
● Founded the Central Hindu college at Banaras which was later
developed by Madan Mohan Malaviya into the Banaras Hindu
University.
● Organized Home Rule Movement.

Modern History: Module – VII (Socio - Religious Reform Movements in 19th Century)
 Behramji Merwanji Malabari
● An Indian poet, publicist, author, and social reformer.
● Best known for his ardent advocacy for the protection of the
rights of women & for his activities against child marriage.

● The relentless efforts of this Parsi reformer, was rewarded by the

enactment of the Age of Consent Act (1891) which forbade the
marriage of girls below the age of 12.

● Malabari acquired & edited the Indian Spectator.

Modern History: Module – VII (Socio - Religious Reform Movements in 19th Century)
Seva Sadan

• He founded the Seva Sadan in 1908 along with a friend, Diwan

Dayaram Gidumal.

• Seva Sadan specialized in taking care of those women who were

exploited & then discarded by society.

Modern History: Module – VII (Socio - Religious Reform Movements in 19th Century)