Bengal Renaissance Raja

Rammohun Roy Brahma Samaj

It is believed that the Nineteenth Century Bengal had
witnessed an intellectual awakening that deserves to be
called a Renaissance in the European style . It is also
believed that under the impact of British Rule the Bengali
intellect learned to raise questions about life and beliefs .
This new outlook is said to have affected contemporary life
very materially.
 Forces behind Renaissance
• English Education through
which Indians came into
contact with such knowledge
as philosophy, history, science
and literature. Although the
new movement initially
affected a small portion of the
upper stratum of Bengal Hindu
Society only, especially in
Kolkata, it eventually spread to
Muslims and others as well as
to other parts of the
subcontinent before the end of
the 19th century.
 Personalities of Renaissance
• The leading member of
this movement was Raja
Rammohun Roy. He was
the greatest Hindu
reformer of his time. He is
also described as the first
modern man of India.
Other leading members
of Renaissance were
Derezio, Vidyasagar,
Debendra Nath tagore,
Rabindra Nath Tagore
etc.
 Rammohun Roy
• Early Life – Born in 1772/74 in Radhanagar,
Hughly, West Bengal.
• Studied in village pathsala
• Went to Patna for learning Persian and Arabic.
He also learnt English, French, Hebrew, Greek,
Latin and many other languages.
• He became well versed in Hindu religious
scriptures
• He also gained considerable knowledge of
Islamic theology and jurisprudence through his
association with Muslim scholars and officials.
PATNA the City of Rammohun’s
Early Education
 Rammohun’s Revolutionary
Attitude
• Through education Rammohun learnt all the
tenets of different religions and acquired a
somewhat revolutionary approach towards the
traditional religion.
• He gradually became convinced that all the
religions have the same view in end that is the
existence of one Universal God.
• He also became convinced that Hindu Idolatory
is the victim of superstitions and hence Hindu
religion must be reformed.
 Rammohun’s Publications
• In order to express his views on religious and other
social issues and to carry out reform activities
Rammohun decided to write books and publish them.
• His first treatise entitled Manazaratul Adyan was devoted
to discourses on various religions.
• His second work written in Persian was titled Tuhfat-ul-
Muwahhiddin. These two books basically aimed at
preaching oneness of God.
• Even before the publication of these books Rammohan
had become critical of Hindu religion and had given up
traditional Hindu worshipping of God.
• He was often critical of the age-old Hindu customs and
rituals.
 Rammohun’s career and arrival in
Kolkata
• Rammohun did many small jobs
before he settled down in Kolkata.
He was the Banian of Collector of
Rangpur, Digby.
• About this time he inherited some
property which prompted him to
give up his job and settle down in
Kolkata to carry out his mission.
• Moved to Kolkatta in 1815 which
heralded the dawn of a new age in
India. Soon he gathered many
likeminded people to discuss his
views . He also had many
European friends through whom
he learned the radical thoughts of
Europe and heard about the
French Revolution
 Contemporary Hindu Society
• By early nineteenth century the Hindu
Religion has become a mere idolatry
devoid of any religious principles and the
Hindu Society had degenerated into a
superstitious entity.
• Rammohun wanted to reform the Hindu
Religion and purify the Hindu Society.
• His religious views were largely
influenced by Islam and Christianity.
 Rammohan’s Reform Actions
• Rammohun placed his
movement entirely upon logic
and purity of work.
• To propagate his ideas he
founded in 1815 Atya Sabha, a
private association of like-
minded people. At this Sabha
people who gathered
discussed the religious and
social problems of the day.
• Two among these were
Zamindars Dwarakanath
Tagore and Prassana Kumar
Tagore who throughout their
life supported Rammohun in
his social and educational
reforms.
 Great Reform Works
• Between 1816 and 1819 Rammohun published
several books in Bengali . These were mostly
against idolatry and evils which idolatry
encouraged.
• He entered into debates with the Hindu Pandits
and Christian Missionaries who opposed
Rammohun’s views.
• Through all these debates and arguments
against and for, criticisms and counter-criticisms
evolved a new question, a new religion and a
new road of emancipation.
 Brahma Sabha
• Finally in order to preach the new mode of
worshiping of one Universal Spirit – God,
he founded in 1828 the Brahmo Sabha or
Society of God. This ushered a new
religious reform movement which
persisted throughout the 19th century
shaking up the entire Hindu World of India.
• A Trust Deed was made outlying the aims
and objectives of Brahmo Sabha.
 Trust Deed of Brahma Sabha
• In addition to being a legal document, the (Banian) Trust Deed of 1830 settles some basic principles of Brahmo Samaj[1]
• a place of public meeting of all sorts and descriptions of people without distinction as shall behave and conduct themselves in an orderly
sober religious and devout manner,
• or,
• the worship and adoration of the Eternal Unsearchable and Immutable Being who is the Author and Preserver of the Universe, but not
under or by any other name designation or title peculiarly used for and applied, to any particular being or beings by any man or set of men
whatsoever,
• and,
• that no graven image statue or sculpture, carving, painting, picture, portrait or the likeness of anything shall be admitted within the said
messages building, land, tenements, hereditaments and premise,
• and,
• that no sacrifice, offering, oblation of any kind or thing shall ever be permitted therein, and that no animal or living creature shall within or
on the said message building, land, tenements, hereditaments and premises be deprived of life either for religious purposes or for food,
• and,
• that no eating or drinking (except such as shall be necessary by any accident for the preservation of life) feasting or rioting be permitted
therein, or thereon,
• and,
• that in conducting the said worship and adoration, no object, animate or inanimate, that has been, or is, or shall hereafter become or be
recognized as an object of worship by any man or set of men shall be reviled or slightingly or contemptuously spoken of or alluded to,
either in preaching, prayer or in the hymns or other mode of worship that may be delivered or used in the said message or building,
• and,
• that no sermon, preaching, discourse, prayer or hymn be delivered, made or used in such worship but such as have a tendency to the
promotion of the contemplation of the Author and Preserver of the Universe, to the promotion of charity, morality, piety, benevolence,
virtue and the strengthening the bonds of union between men of all religious persuasions and creeds,
• and,
• also that a person of good repute and well known for his knowledge, piety and morality be employed by the said Trustees or the survivors
or survivors of them or the heirs of such survivor or their or his assigns as a resident superintendent and for the purpose of superintending
the worship so to be performed as in hereinbefore stated and expressed,
• and,
• that such worship be performed daily or least as often as once in seven days.[2]
• Analysis
• The Trust Deed of 1830 is a complex legal document in archaic legal drafting for transfer of the property at Chitpur Road to the Trustees.
This section will guide you through it.
 Brahmo Mandir
• In 1830 Rammohun founded
the Brahmo Mandir, as a place
of Brahmo worship.Open to all
people but no other than
Universal God would be
worshiped. No one could
criticize any religion and there
will be no image of any God
or any painting of his. The
Hindus reacted and
established their Dharma
Sabha.
• But Brahmo religion gained
popularity in Bengal and
beyond.
 Barbaric Suttee Practice
• Next he turned his attention from religion
to social reforms.
First he picked up the evil practice of Suttee
or the tradition of burning the Hindu widow
on the funeral pyre of the dead husband. .
• Child marriage, sale of girl child, polygamy
among man, and such other superstitious
• beliefs.
 Fight against evils
• In order to abolish the Suttee, Rammohun
Roy worked hard to create a public opinion
and convince the government.
• He wrote publicly that according to
scripture Suttee was not mandatory for a
Hindu widow.
• In 1829 Lord William Bentinck, passed the
law abolishing Suttee throughout India.
Images of Suttee
 Bengal Renaissance 2
• Reforms – 1.WIDOW Remarriage
• 2.Right of women to inherit father’s and husband’s
properties. Rammohun realised that with the
cooperation of women the country could advance fast.
• 3.Fought tooth and nail against polygamy among men.
• 4.In general he struggled to eradicate many other
superistitous practices then in vogue in Hindu Society.
• 5. In order to banish the superstition against sea –
voyages he himself took the journey to England by Sea
 Rammohun’s Other Reforms
He fought against the oppression of the peasants
by the Zamindars and demanded that their rents
should be reduced.
He was resentful that the permanent settlement
causing so much hardships for the peasants and
demanded its modifications.
He also successfully abolished the monopoly of
salt trade by the East India Company.
 Rammohun’s contribution to
Nationalistic Consciousness
• Rammohun published several newspapers
where he depicted the nationalist movement in
Europe
• In fact he was the first man to arouse the
sentiment of nationalism among the Indians
which eventually led to the freedom movement.
• He also fought against the discriminatory law
against the Indians .
• He vehemently fought against the law curtailing
freedom of press in India
 Western Education
• Rammohun preached that in view of the
political changes that have taken place in
India it would be most advantageous to
have Western Education.
• It was because of his relentless efforts
that later on in 1835 Lord Bentinck
introduced English education in India.
 Death of Rammohun
• In 1830 Rammohun Roy left
for England to represent to the
British King and Parliament the
grievances of the titular
Mughal Emperor Akbar II (
1806-37) who invested him
with the title of Raja.
• In England he was widely
acclaimed by leaders of British
Society. He also visited France
in 1832. While visiting Bristol in
1833 he suddenly fell ill and
died on 27 September.
• Thus the eventful career of the
most patriotic Indian came to
an end.