contributions of Raja Ram Mohan Roy towards the Socio-religious reforms of the 19th century India.

Raja Ram Mohan Roy is considered to be the Father of Indian renaissance who tried to apply reason and selective western ideas to Indian society. He was of the firm belief that Indian society needs to come out of a narrow mindset and adopt modern ideas in changing time. With this view, he started a social movement called Brahmo Samaj.

Contribution of Raja Ram Mohan Roy:-          

1. He stressed the oneness of God and Love towards all human beings.

2. He read the Vedas and Upanishads in Sanskrit and translated them into Bengali. His theological treatises show his depth in Koran, Bible as well as in the commentaries of Sankara.

3. He wrote on Indian religions, the Indian economy and Indian education to educate and involve the people in the reform movements.

4. Rammohan stood against idol worship, beliefs in many Gods and Goddesses, meaningless ceremonies and unnecessary rituals. He Vehemently criticized the Hindu orthodox practices and religious dogmas present in his contemporary Indian society. However, critics point out that his writings were not exactly critical of the Hindu texts but were rather a common criticism against elements of falsehood present in all religions. His writings take certain general observations about the nature and function of religions and explain what helps to keep them alive and useful to society.

5. Rammohan pointed out the value of religious beliefs and wanted religion to rest on purity, virtues, and ethics. He promoted a rational, ethical, non-authoritarian and this-worldly view on Hinduism but this turned a number of Hindus including his parents against him as his thoughts were considered outrightly radical.

6. He founded the Atmiya sabha(1815) and later the Brahmo Samaj(1828) which were pioneer organizations in the field of socio-religious change but it is also alleged that his organizations were not totally free from the very practices he renounced. eg. idolatry, monotheism.

7. He opposed superstitious practices prevalent in society and worked towards women's rights. He opposed Sati, Child Marriage, restrictions on widow marriage, polygamy, female infanticide, etc. Sati abolished in 1829 due to his efforts. However, KC Sen"s daughter was married at 13 to a wealthy brahmin much to his dismay.

8. Rammohan became the pioneer of Indian nationalism by preaching the sensitive value of unity among men. The aim of his reform movement was to liberate the individual from social tyranny and from mental ignorance but his idea of nationalism was not that of independence from the British. eg. he is credited with having written in favor of British Indigo planters who were very cruel in their dealings with the Indians.

9. Rammohan also tried his best for the political awakening among Indians. He first realized the value of free press and free opinion. He first published a weekly to ventilate the views of the people on social, political, economic problems both national and international. But the readership was confined to elite circles only.

10. In the field of education, Rammohan was one of the first thinkers in India to realize the value of Western Science, and thought. He created major opinions in favor of the English education that could generate a sense of unity among the Indian educated youths. He was responsible for the setting up of many schools to promote modern education along scientific lines. However, the involvement of the masses was limited and confined to the cities only.

11. He sought to integrate the best features of western culture with that of the Indian but many consider him to be an apologist of his times.

         His efforts were successful in many ways as can be seen from passing a few laws by the British. His idea of socio-religious reforms were further taken by other reformists and transformed society with modern values. It can be seen in the present setting of Democracy and secular constitution with modern ideas in all spheres of life.