Socio-religious reform movements

a. Brahmo Samaj 1828 - Raja Rammohan Roy established to purify Hinduism and preach monotheism.

i. First modern man of India, pioneer of socio-religious reform movements in India
ii. 1815 established Atmiya Sabha which developed into Brahmo Samaj. Combined teaching of various religions to develop unity among people.
iii. Roy helped Bentinck to declare Sati punishable offense in 1829. Protested against child marriage and female infanticide.
iv. Favored widow remarriage, women's right to property, did not believe in supremacy of Brahman priests.
v. In 1817, founded Hindu College in Calcutta along with David Hare.
vi. Started first Bengali weekly - Samvad Kaumudi and edited Persian weekly - Mirat-ul-akhbar.

b. Young Bengal Movement ~1828 - Henry Vivian Derozio.

i. Followers known as Derozians, attacked old traditions and decadent customs.
ii. Advocated women's right and education. Against idol worship, casteism and superstitions.

c. Prarthana Samaj 1867 - by Atmaram Pandurang. Off shoot of Brahmo Samaj.

i. Reform movement within Hinduism, concentrating on social reforms such as inter-dining, inter-marriage, widow remarriage, uplift of women and depressed classes.
ii. Justice M.G. Ranade who was a supporter promoted Deccan Education Society

d. Arya Samaj 1875 - Swami Dayanand Saraswati

i. Vedas source of true knowledge, motto was - back to vedas. Against idol worship, child marriage and caste system based on birth. Encouraged inter-caste and widow remarriage.
ii. Started Suddhi movement to bring back Hindus who had converted
iii. Wrote Satyartha Prakash
iv. Arya Samaj became popular in Punjab, contributed to spread of education (Dayanand Anglo-Vedic DAV educational group 1886 Lahore by supporters).

e. Theosophical Society - in USA by Blavatsky and Olcott in 1875.

i. Form universal brotherhood without distinction of race, color, creed
ii. To promote study of ancient religion and philosophies
iii. HQ in Adyar, Madras in 1882, took over by Annie Besant in 1893.
iv. Founded Central Hindu School with Madan Mohan Malviya in Benaras (became BHU)

f. Ramakrishna Mission 1897 - Swami Viveknanda

i. Originally Narendranath Dutta, became most famous disciple of Ramkrishna Paramhansa.
ii. Preached vedantic philosophy and condemned caste system and rituals.
iii. Raised prestige of India and Hinduism in Parliament of Religions held in Chicago 1893

g. Aligarh Movement - by Syed Ahmad Khan

i. For social and educational advancement of Muslims in India, fought against medieval backwardness.
ii. In 1866, started Mohammadan Education Conference for spreading liberal ideas among Muslims.
iii. In 1875, founded school at Aligarh to promote English education among Muslims, went on to become AMU

h. Deoband School - organized by orthodox Muslim ulemas

i. Revivalist movement whose objectives were - propagate pure teachings of Koran and Hadis AND keep alive spirit of Jihad against foreign rulers.

i. Sikh Reform movement -

i. Nirankari movement - Baba Dayal Das, worship of formless god
ii. Namdhari movement - Baba Ram Singh, followers wore white clothes and gave up meat
iii. Singh Sabhas - aimed at reforming Sikh society, encouraged Gurmukhi and Punjabi literature
iv. Akalis 1920 - to remove corrupt priests from gurudwaras

j. Parsi reform movement

i. Parsi Religious Reform Association - 1851 by Furdunji Naoroji and S.S. Bengalee. Advocated spread of women's education and reform marriage customs

k. Some key people

i. Pandit Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar - great educator, humanist and reformer. Founded many schools for girls. Protested against child marriage and favored widow remarriage (Widow Remarriage Act 1856).Vidyasagar spent the last 18 years of his life living among Santhal tribals in present day Jharkhand, where he started what is possibly India’s first school for Santhal girls.
ii. Jyoti Phule - belonged to low caste family, life long struggle against Brahamanical supremacy. Founded Satyasodhak Samaj in 1873. Established first girls' school at Poona
iii. Saint Ramalinga - foremost saint of TN in 19th century. Founded Samarasa Suddha Sanmargha Sangha in 1865 - to promote ideals of establishing casteless society. Est Satya Gyana Sabai in 1872. Introduced idea of worshipping God in form of light.
iv. Sri Vaikunda Swamigal - teachings known as Ayyavazhi, later recognized as separate religion
v. Periyar E.V. Ramaswamy - sought to secure untouchables' rights. Started Self Respect Movement in 1925 to uplift Dravidians and expose Brahamanical tyranny, conducted Self Respect Marriage (without rituals). Attacked laws of Manu. Was given title of Periyar and later Socrates of South Asia by UNESCO.


i. Women - practice of Sati, purdah, child marriage, female infanticide, dowry and polygamy had made their life quite miserable. From education and social standing point of view, women were oppressed. Not entitled to inherit any property and completely dependent on men.

(a) Laws were enacted during 19th and 20th century, first was against Sati by Bentinck by Bengal Sati Regulation, 1829.
(b) Female infanticide was in vogue in North/NW India. Killed by feeding opium, strangulating or intentional neglect. Laws enacted in 1795, 1802, 1804 and 1870.
(c) Widow remarriage - prominent reformers were Raja Rammohan Roy and Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar. J.P. Grant tabled the bill that became Widow Remarriage Act 1856.
(d) Child marriage - 1870 Indian Reforms Association (started by Keshab Chandra Sen). B.M. Malabari launched Mahapap Bal Vivah. In 1891, Age of Consent Act raised it to 12 years. In 1930, Sharda Act raised it to 14 years.
(e) Purdah system - purdah was not prevalent in South India and among peasant women. Disappeared with large scale participation of women in national freedom movement without any legislation.

ii. Caste related legislation - by 19th century, castes of India had split into innumerable sub-castes on basis of birth.

(a) Gandhi made removal of untouchability a part of his constructive program, through paper called The Harijan and organized Harijan Sevak Sangh
(b) B.R. Ambedkar dedicated entire life to welfare of downtrodden. In 1924, formed Bahiskrit Hitkarni Sabhi, Akhil Bhartiya Dalit Varg Sabha against caste oppression.

Satyashodhak Samaj, a social reform society founded by Jyotirao Phule in 1873. Its purpose was to liberate the Shudra and Untouchable castes from exploitation and oppression. Naryana Guru established Narayan Dharma Partipalana Yogam (1903) to inculcate self-esteem among downtrodden. Periyar E.V. Ramaswamy worked to eradicate this evil practice through Self-Respect Movement (started in 1925 by S. Ramanathan).