RAJA RAM MOHAN ROY-SOCIAL REFORMER(THE SAVIOUR)

                                    RAJA RAM MOHAN ROY

SO THIS IS THE BLOG FOR THE MOST ANTICIPATED SOCIAL REFORMER RAJA RAM MOHAN ROY,HE IS THE ONE WHO KNOWS THAT IN OUR SOCIETY OR WE CAN SAY IN OUR COUNTRY THERE IS VERY HARSH AND BAD RITUALS AND CUSTOMS ARE HAPPENING AND WOMEN BEING VICTIM BY THESE RITUALS OR CUSTOMS,he raise his voice against these rituals and the thing happening with those womens are really very brutual which is unacceptable by even raja ram mohan roy,he criticises these types of rituals and he supported womens and being against the ritual performer

Raja Ram Mohan Roy was a prominent Indian social reformer and the founder of the Brahmo Samaj. Let's take a look at his life history, contribution and achievements.
Cultural India : Reformers : Raja Ram Mohan Roy
Raja Ram Mohan Roy


Born: August 14, 1774

Place of Birth: Radhanagar village, Hoogly district, Bengal Presidency (now West Bengal)

Parents: Ramakanta Roy (Father) and Tarini Devi (Mother)

Spouse: Uma Devi (3rd wife)

Children: Radhaprasad and Ramaprasad

Education: Persian and Urdu in Patna; Sanskrit in Varanasi; English in Kolkata 

Movement: Bengal Renaissance 

Religious Views: Hinduism (early life) and Brahmoism (later in life)

Publications: Tuhfat-ul-Muwahhidinor A Gift to Monotheists (1905), Vedanta (1815), Ishopanishad (1816), Kathopanishad (1817), Moonduk Upanishad (1819), The Precepts of Jesus - Guide to Peace and Happiness (1820), Sambad Kaumudi - a Bengali newspaper (1821), Mirat-ul-Akbar - Persian journal (1822), Gaudiya Vyakaran (1826), Brahmapasona (1828), Brahmasangeet (1829) and The Universal Religion (1829). 

Death: September 27, 1833

Place of death: Bristol, England

Memorial: Mausoleum at Arnos Vale Cemetery, Bristol, England

Raja Ram Mohan Roy is considered as the pioneer of modern Indian Renaissance for the remarkable reforms he brought in the 18th and 19th century India. Among his efforts, the abolition of the brutal and inhuman Sati Pratha was the most prominent. His efforts were also instrumental in eradicating the purdah system and child marriage. In 1828, Ram Mohan Roy formed the Brahmo Samaj, uniting the Bhramos in Calcutta, a group of people, who had no faith in idol-worship and were against the caste restrictions. The title 'Raja' was bestowed upon him by the Mughal emperor Akbar II, in 1831. Roy visited England as an ambassador of the Mughal King to ensure that Bentick's regulation banning the practice of Sati was not overturned. He died of meningitis in 1833 while residing in Bristol, England.

Early Life and Education

Raja Ram Mohan Roy was born on August 14, 1774 to Ramakanta Roy and Tarini Devi in Radhanagar village of Hoogly district, Bengal Presidency. His father was a wealthy Brahmin and orthodox individual, and strictly followed religious duties. At the age of 14 Ram Mohan expressed his desire to become a monk, but his mother vehemently opposed the idea and he dropped it.

Following the traditions of the time, Ram Mohan had a child marriage at age nine but his first wife died soon after the marriage. He was married for a second time at ten and had two sons from the marriage. After the death of his second wife in 1826, he married for a third time and his third wife outlived him. 

Though his father Ramakanto was very orthodox but wanted his son to pursue higher education. He got Bengali and Sanskrit education from the village school. After that, Ram Mohan was sent to Patna to study Persian and Arabic in a Madrasa. Persian and Arabic were in high demand at that time as it was still the court language of the Mughal Emperors. He studied the Quran and other Islamic scriptures. Post completion of his studies in Patna, he went to Benares (Kashi) to learn Sanskrit. He mastered the language in no time and began studying scriptures, including the Vedas and Upanishads. He learnt English language at the age of 22. He read the works of philosophers like Euclid and Aristotle which helped shape his spiritual and religious conscience.



Post completion of his education, Rammohan entered the services of the East India Company as a clerk. He worked in the Collectorate of Rangpur, under Mr. John Digby. He was eventually promoted to be a Dewan, a post that referred to a native officer entrusted with the role of collecting revenues.

Social Reforms

During the late 18th century (what was known as the Dark Age), the society in Bengal was burdened with a host of evil customs and regulations. Elaborate rituals and strict moral codes were enforced which were largely modified, and badly interpreted ancient traditions. Practices like child marriage (Gouridaan), polygamy and Sati were prevalent that affected women in the society. The most brutal among these customs was the Sati Pratha. The custom involved self-immolation of widows at their husband’s funeral pyre. While the custom in its original form gave choice to the women to do so, it gradually evolved to be a mandatory custom especially for Brahmin and higher caste families. Young girls were married to much older men, in return for dowry, so that these men could have the supposed karmic benefits from their wives’ sacrifice as Sati. More often than not the women did not volunteer for such brutality and had to be forced or even drugged to comply.

Raja Ram Mohan Roy was abhorred by this cruel practice and he raised his voice against it. He spoke freely and took his views to the higher ups in the East India Company. His passionate reasoning and calm perseverance filtered through the ranks and ultimately reached the Governor General Lord William Bentinck. Lord Bentinck sympathised with Roy’s sentiments and intentions and amid much outcry from the orthodox religious community, the Bengal Sati Regulation or Regulation XVII, A. D. 1829 of the Bengal Code was passed. The act prohibited the practice of Sati Daha in Bengal Province, and any individual caught practicing it would face prosecution. Raja Ram Mohan Roy’s name is thus etched forever as a true benefactor of women not just for helping abolish the custom of Sati, but also raising his voice against child marriage and polygamy, while demanding equal inheritance rights for women. He was also a great opponent of the rigid caste divisions of his time.

Educational Reforms

Ram Mohan Roy was educated in traditional languages like Sanskrit and Persian. He came across English much later in life and learned the language to get better employment with the British. But a voracious reader, he devoured English literature and journals, extracting as much knowledge as he could. He realised that while traditional texts like Vedas, Upanishads and Quran provided him with much reverence for philosophy, his knowledge was lacking in scientific and rational education. He advocated the introduction of an English Education System in the country teaching scientific subjects like Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and even Botany. He paved the way to revolutionizing education system in India by establishing Hindu College in 1817 along with David Hare which later went on to become one of the best educational institutions in the country producing some of the best minds in India. His efforts to combine true to the roots theological doctrines along with modern rational lessons saw him establish the Anglo-Vedic School in 1822 followed by the Vedanta College in 1826.



Religious Contributions

Ram Mohan Roy vehemently opposed the unnecessary ceremonialism and the idolatry advocate by priests. He had studied religious scriptures of different religions and advocated the fact that Hindu Scriptures like Upanishads upheld the concept of monotheism. This began his quest for a religious revolution to introduce the doctrines of ancient Vedic scriptures true to their essence. He founded the Atmiya Sabha in 1928, nd the first meeting of this new-found religion as held on August 20 that year. The Atmiya Sabha reorganised itself into the Brahma Sabha, a precursor organisation of the Brahmo Samaj. The primary facets of this new movement were monotheism, independence from the scriptures and renouncing the caste system. Brahmo religious practices were stripped bare of the Hindu ceremonialism and were set up following the Christian or Islamic prayer practices. With time, the Brahma Samaj became a strong progressive force to drive social reforms in Bengal, especially women education.

Journalistic Contributions

Ram Mohan Roy was a staunch supporter of free speech and expression. He fought for the rights of vernacular press. He also brought out a newspaper in Persian called 'Miratul- Akhbar' (the Mirror of News) and a Bengali weekly called 'Sambad Kaumudi' (the Moon of Intelligence). In those days, items of news and articles had to be approved by the Government before being published. Ram Mohan protested against this control by arguing that newspapers should be free and that the truth should not be suppressed simply because the government did not like it.

Death

Raja Ram Mohan Roy travelled 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 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 as 'Raja Rammohan Way' in the memory of Raja Ram Mohan Roy.

Legacy


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 his own savings. He wanted the students to learn the English language and scientific subjects and criticized the government's policy of opening only Sanskrit schools. According to him, Indians would lag behind if they do not get to study modern subjects like Mathematics, Geography and Latin. Government accepted this idea of Ram Mohan and also implemented it but not before his death. Ram Mohan was also the first to give importance to the development of the mother tongue. His 'Gaudiya Byakaran' in Bengali is the best of his prose works. Rabindranath Tagore and Bankim Chandra also followed the footsteps of Ram Mohan Roy.

Raja Ram Mohan Roy : Early Life and Reforms

Raja Ram Mohan Roy was popularly known as the Father of Indian Renaissance.

With his fight against social prejudice and concern for humanity, he inaugurated a new lease of life for Indians.

Early Life:

Raja Ram Mohan was born on 22nd May 1772 in a Brahmin family in the village of Radhanagar near Krislinanagar in Bengal

With his gifted brain, he learnt many languages and studied several scriptures of different religions like Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sufism, Budhism etc. He was influenced by the western culture and spread the message of unity of religions and rationality.

He was against the practice of idol worship, blind faith and religious rituals. In 1803, his first book ‘Tuhfat-ul- Muwahhidin’ was published, where he argued for Monotheism Me founded the Atmiya Sabha in 1815 and on 20th. August 1828, the Brahmo Samaj was established. Through these institutions, he fought against orthodox Hindus and the fanatic Christian missionaries who challenged his ideas. Instead of establishing a separate religion, Rammohan wanted to reform Hinduism. He died on 27th September 1833 in England.

Reforms:

(а) Religious:

As a Hindu, Rammohan was well aware of the weak points from which Hinduism was suffering. On the basis of the Vedas and Upanishads, he provided a new life to Indian society. He interpreted religion with reason and opposed idol-worship and ritualism. He believed that every religion possesses the same truth. He criticized the ritualism of Christianity and refused to accept Christ as the incarnation of God. He wanted to simplify and to modernize the Hindu religion being influenced by the western concept of reason and scientific thought

(b) Social:

Raja Rammohan and his Brahmo Samaj attacked all the evil practices from which the society was suffering. He led a crusade against the practice of ‘Sati’, polygamy, child marriage, caste-system, untouchability, purdah system and use of intoxicants. He supported inter-caste marriages, women education, widow remarriages etc. His ideas, preaching’s and also the practical steps taken for this purpose had created a general awakening in Bengal.

(c) Educational:

The Brahmo Samaj adopted practical steps to propagate its religious and social ideas. It established various learned societies and educational institutions. Rammohan championed the cause of English language and western system of education and supported the move of Lord Macaulay. He started the English school, the Hindu College and the Vedanta College at Calcutta.

Rammohan started publishing newspapers and magazines for which he was called the “Father of Indian Journalism”. He edited the Bengali newspaper, “Sambad Kaumudi”, and the Persian newspaper “Mirat-Ul-Akbar”. As a champion of the liberty of Press, he also opposed all sorts of restrictions imposed on it.

(d) Economic:

Though he himself belonged to a Zamindar background, yet he wanted the liberation of the poor tenants who were exploited by the Zamindars and their agents. Rammohan wanted the revenue to be fixed with the cultivators in Bengal. He opposed the heavy export duties imposed on Indian goods.

(e) Political:

With the glorification of ancient Indian culture, the Brahmo Samaj as an institution helped in developing confidence among Indians in their own religion. This confidence helped in the resurgence of Indian nationalism. Rammohan also believed in the freedom of man and opposed the racial superiority of Europeans. Though he did not demand independence for India, yet he fought for the civil liberties of the people

Raja Rammohan Roy is called as the Father of Indian Renaissance due to his mass awakening and rational thinking. The Brahmo Samaj worked as a pioneer in revitalizing the Hindu society. Of course, the focus of the activities of the Brahmo Samaj was confined to Bengal. But it had a number of branches established in distant provinces like Punjab, Madras, Uttar Pradesh etc. He paved the way on which other Hindu social and religious reformers could tread.

Through his crusade against evil socio-religious practices, Rammohan envisaged a new social order. After his death, Dwaraka Nath Tagore took up the charge of the Brahmo Samaj. Subsequently it faced a division and declined.


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