Explore topic-wise InterviewSolutions in .

The impact of Western culture on India led to a great awakening in India. Many social reformers came forward and advocated changes in society and reforms in Hindu Religion. These reform movements played a major role in modernising India. Raja Rammohan Roy fought against the evil custom of Sati. It was due to his efforts that Lord William Bentinck banned Sati in 1829. He was a strong champion of Women’s Rights and was against child marriage and polygamy. He advocated widow remarriage and advocated that women must be given the right to inheritance. He was a supporter of western education. He founded Vedanta college for teaching of western as well as Indian learning. He opposed Idol worship, caste system and preached worship of one God only

The Sikh reformers launched the Akali Movement against the corrupt management of the gurudwaras.

Syed Ahmed Khan founded the Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College at Aligarh in 1875.

Ramakrishna Mission was founded by Swami Vivekananda to propagate the teachings and ideals of Ramakrishana Paramahansa. 

The main ideas of this Mission are 

1. Selfless social service 

2. Spread of 

3. Removal of ignorance 

4. Social inequalities

Due to social regeneration there was rise of nationalism and the growth of the national movement.

(1) Veeresalingam, a prominent social reformer in South India, was deeply disturbed by the deplorable condition of Women in general and widow remarriage and education for women in particular .Sri Narayan Gum carried on a lifelong struggle against the caste system. His crusade was based on the principle of one caste, one religion, one god for mankind. 

(2) Sir Syed Ahmed Khan started a reform movement called the Aligarh Movement. He had a significant role in awakening the Muslims to the need to change with the times. He believed that only through Western education and knowledge of English, the Muslim community could progress and scientific temper be developed. His greatest achievement was the foundation of Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College at Aligarh in 1875. This College later on grew into the Aligarh Muslim University. 

(3) The Singh Sabha was set up in Amritsar and Lahore for the religious and social reforms among Sikhs. It set up the Khalsa college in Amritsar and opened many schools and promoted the Gurumukhi script and Punjabi literature.

To introduce social reforms Syed Ahmed Khan focused on the backward condition of the women. He advocated the removal of education for women and opposed polygamy.

The Brahmo Samaj launched a relentless struggle against the following evil social practices: 

1. Sati Practice 

2. Caste distinctions and untouchability 

3. Child Marriage 

4. Poloygamy

1. Raja Ram Mohan Roy propagated widow remarriage. True. 

2. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar supported Lord William Bentinck to banning sati. 

False 

Correct : Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar supported Lord William Bentinck on Hindu widow Remarriage Act. 

3. Dayanand Saraswati believed that the Vedas were the fountainhead of all knowledge and truth. True. 

4. Ramakrishna Paramahansa was a priest in the temple of Goddess Lakshmi at Calcutta. True.

5. Swami Vivekananda believed that the regeneration of the society is the responsibility of every Indian. True. 

6. Jyotiba Phule was a social reformer in Maharashtra. True.

The Singh Sabha was set up in Amritsar and Lahore for religious and social reforms among the Sikhs.

(a) Raja Mohan Roy opened an English medium school which combined traditional Indian learning with Western knowledge. He assisted David Hare, a Scottish watchmaker, to establish the Hindu College in Calcutta. He also founded the Vedanta College which offered courses of study in Indian learning and Western sciences. 

(b) Jyotirao Govindrao Phule and his wife, Savitribai Phule, were dedicated social reformers in Maharashtra. Jyotirao was popularly known as Mahatma Phule. He challenged the superiority of the brahmanas and the authority of the scriptures. He took up the cause of the low-caste members of society. He organized Satyashodhak Samaj in 1873 to mobilize the low-caste members and oppressed sections of society in a movement for equality. He also pressed for the education of girls. 

(c) In reform movement among the Parsees an association was set up and it started a movement against religious orthodoxy. Modem ideas and changes were introduced to elevate the position of the Parsee women. Education of woman, raising the marriageable age of girls and widow remarriage were some of the major concerns of the reforms.

(1) Education in Sanskrit College: Vidyasagar denounced caste discrimination and as the principal of the Sanskrit College he admitted non-brahmana students. He was strongly opposed to the monopoly of the brahmanas on the study of Sanskrit and the ancient Vedic texts. 

(2) Women’s education: Vidyasagar was a staunch supporter of women’s education and helped Drinkwater Bethune to establish the first Indian school for girl in Calcutta in 1849. As inspector of school he opened thirty five schools for girls. 

(3) Widow remarriage: The great misery and sufferings of the Hindu widows in Bengal pained him deeply. He started a bold movement advocating the remarriage of widows. His efforts bore fruit. Lord Dalhousie passed the widow Remarriage Act in 1856. The first legal Hindu Widow remarriage was celebrated in Calcutta in December 1857, with the support of Vidyasagar.

Raja Ram Mohan Roy founded a society’ called the Sabha Brahmo (1828) which later became Brahmo Samaj.

(a) To reform society, it was important to first reform religion. He propagated the following religious ideas based on rationalism and the philosophy of the Vedas. 

1. There is only one God who is the creator and preserver of the universe. 

2. All men are children of the one god of all human beings and therefore equal. 

3. It was not necessary to worship idols and perform rituals and sacrifices. God could be reached through prayer and devotion. 

Raja Ram Mohan Roy condemned the domination of the priests who were responsible for misleading the people and perpetuating ritualism and socio-religious practices like sati. He published Bengali translations of the Vedas and the Upanishads to prove that all the ancient religious texts preached monotheism. 

(b) The Brahmo Samaj launched a relentless struggle against the following evil social practices: 

1. Sati Practice 

2. Caste distinctions and untouchability 

3. Child Marriage 

4. Poloygamy

The Brahmo Samaj supported: 

1. Education of women 

2. Widow remarriage 

(c) Raja Mohan Roy was a great champion of Modem Western education. He believed it would serve as an instrument for the spread of progressive ideas and accelerate the pace of social change. He believed that the salvation of India lay in adopting western principles of reason and humanism and acquiring the knowledge of Modem science.

Brahmo Samaj launched a relentless struggle against the following social practices Sati. Caste distinctions and untouchability. Child marriage Polygamy

A comparative study of the Vedas, the Koran and the Bible (the old Testament and New Testament) convinced Raja Ram Mohan Roy about the basic unity in the fundamental truths of ail religions. According to him religion was central to an individual’s life. Every aspect of social life revolved around religious beliefs. 

He propagated the religious ideas based on the philosophy of the Vedas. 

1. There is only one God who is the creater and preserver of the universe/monotheism) 

2. All men are children of the ‘one God of all human beings’ and therefore equal (brotherhood of man) 

3. It was not necessary to worship, idols and perform rituals and sacrifices. God could be reached through prayer and devotion.