Indian reformer: Raja Ram Mohan Roy

Indian reformer: Raja Ram Mohan Roy

Raja Ram Mohan Roy was an Indian reformer who was one of the founders of the Brahmo Sabha in 1828, the precursor of the Brahmo Samaj, a social-religious reform movement in the Indian subcontinent.

Brahmo samaj’s chief aim was the worship of the eternal god. It was against priesthood, rituals, and sacrifices. It focused on prayers, meditation, and reading the scriptures. Brahmo Samaj was started to expose religious hypocrisies.

He was born on 14 August 1774 at Radhanagar village, Hoogly district, Bengal Presidency into an orthodox Bengali Hindu family, Now Bengal Presidency known as West Bengal. Raja Ram Mohan Roy’s father’s name is Ramakanta Roy and his mother’s name is Tarini Devi. His wife’s name is Uma Devi. He had 2 children. And the name of the children was radhaprasad and Sampras. His Religious Views were Hinduism (in his early life) and Brahmoism (later in life).

He was sent to Patna for higher studies where he studied Persian and Arabic. He read Quran the Arabic translation of the works of Plato and Aristotle and the works of Sufi mystic poets. By the age of fifteen, raja ram Mohan rai had learned Bangla, Persian, Arabic, and Sanskrit. He also knew Hindi and English.

He went to Varanasi and studied the Vedas, the Upanishads, and Hindu philosophy deeply. He studied Christianity and Islam as well. At the age of sixteen, he wrote a rational critique of Hindu idol worship.

From 1809 to 1814, he served in the Revenue Department of the East India Company and also worked as a personal Diwan to Woodforde and Digby.

From 1814 onwards he devoted his life to religious, social, and political reforms.

In his address, entitled ‘Inaugurator of the Modern Age in India,’ Tagore referred to Ram Mohan as a luminous star in the firmament of Indian history.

He visited England as an ambassador of the Mughal king Akbar Shah II (father of Bahadur Shah) where he died of a disease. He died in September 1833 in Bristol, England.

He was given the title ‘Raja’ by the Mughal Emperor of Delhi, Akbar II whose grievances he presents before the British king. Check out the list of Mughal Emperors on the linked page.

His influence was clear in the fields of education, politics, religion, and terms of public welfare. Raja Ram Mohan Roy fought and stood up alone for women’s rights, Raja Ram Mohan Roy’s perseverance led to the abolishment of sati, and Raja Ram Mohan Roy was in favor of widow remarriage. So He was willing to stop the sati pratha and child marriage followed by the Hindus in some parts of India. Raja Ram Mohan Roy is regarded as the father of the Indian renaissance.

Raja Ram Mohan Roy gave him contributions in different fields like economic and political, social, educational, religious, etc. and because of his contribution, Raja Ram Mohan Roy is known as the ‘father of modern India and ‘father of India renaissance.

Economic and Political Contributions by Raja Ram Mohan Roy

Raja Ram Mohan Roy was impressed and admired the civil liberties given to people under the British System of Constitutional Government. He wanted to extend the benefits of that system of government to the Indian people.

Reforms for Taxes :

He condemned the oppressive practices of Bengali zamindars.

He demanded fixation of minimum rents.

He called for a reduction of export duties on Indian goods abroad and demanded the abolition of taxes on tax-free lands.

He raised his voice for the abolition of the East India Company’s trading rights.

Press freedom:

he spoke against the unjust policies of the British government especially the restrictions on press freedom. Through his writings and activities, he supported the movement fa or the free press in India.

When press censorship was relaxed by Lord Hastings in 1819, Ram Mohan found three journals- The Brahmanical Magazine (1821); The Bengali weekly, Samvad Kaumudi (1821); and the Persian weekly, Mirat-ul-Akbar.

Administrative reforms:

He demanded equality between Indians and Europeans. He wanted the Indianisation of superior services and separation of the executive from the judiciary.

Social Contributions by Raja Ram Mohan Roy:

He conceived reformist religious associations as instruments of social and political transformation.

In 1814 he formed Atmiya Sabha, the Calcutta Unitarian Association in 1821, and 1828 the Brahmo Sabha or Brahmo Samaj in 1828.

He campaigned for rights for women, including the right for widows to remarry, and the right for women to hold property.

His efforts led to the abolition of Sati in 1829 by Lord William Bentinck, the then Governor-General of India, and opposed the practice of polygamy.

Raja Ram Mohan Roy campaigned against the caste system, untouchability, superstitions, and the use of intoxicants.

He attacked child marriage, polygamy, the illiteracy of women, and the degraded state of widows.

He stressed rationalism and the modern scientific approach

He fought against the perceived ills of Hindu society at that time.

He started the Sambad Kaumudi, a Bengali weekly newspaper that regularly denounced Sati as barbaric and against the tenets of Hinduism.

Educational Contribution by Raja Ram Mohan Roy:

He started many schools to educate Indians in Western scientific education in English.

He believed that English-language education was superior to the traditional Indian education system.

He supported David Hare’s efforts to find the Hindu College in 1817, while Roy’s English school taught mechanics and Voltaire’s philosophy.

In 1822, he founded a school based on English education.

In 1825, he established Vedanta college where courses in both Indian learning and Western social and physical sciences were offered.

Raja Ram Mohan Roy traveled to England in 1830 to request the Imperial Government to increase the royalty, received by the Mughal Emperor and to ensure that Lord Bentick's Sati Act would not be overturned. During his visit to the United Kingdom, Raja Ram Mohan Roy died of meningitis at Stapleton in Bristol on 27 September 1833. He was buried at the Arnos Vale Cemetery in Bristol. Recently, the British government has named a street in Bristol 'Raja Rammohan Way' in memory of Raja Ram Mohan Roy.

Ram Mohan viewed education as a medium to implement social reforms so he came to Calcutta in 1815 and the very next year, started an English College by putting in his savings. He wanted the students to learn the English language and scientific subjects and criticized the government's policy of opening only Sanskrit schools.