Socio-Religious Reform Movements and Leaders

Nineteenth-century reform laid the groundwork for the nationalist movement. CDS-OTA tests founder-organisation pairings, legislative milestones (Sati abolition, Widow Remarriage, Age of Consent, Sarda Act), and the contrast between reformist and revivalist responses to colonial modernity.

Bengal Renaissance

• Raja Rammohan Roy (1772-1833):
  • Founded Atmiya Sabha (1815), Brahmo Sabha (1828, later Brahmo Samaj).
  • Translated Vedanta and Upanishads. Wrote Precepts of Jesus, Tuhfat-ul-Muwahhidin.
  • Campaign for abolition of Sati succeeded in Regulation XVII of 1829 by William Bentinck.
  • Founded Hindu College (1817) with David Hare.
  • Title Raja given by Akbar II; died at Bristol 1833.
• Debendranath Tagore (Maharshi, father of Rabindranath) - revitalised Brahmo Samaj from 1843. Keshub Chandra Sen (1866) — Brahmo Samaj of India (radical wing).
• Henry Louis Vivian Derozio (1809-1831): Anglo-Indian poet-teacher at Hindu College. Young Bengal movement (1820s-1830s).
• Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar (1820-1891):
  • Sanskrit College Principal.
  • Campaigned for Widow Remarriage Act 1856 (Lord Canning).
  • Opposed Kulin polygamy. Pioneered female education.
  • Wrote Barnaparichay — Bengali primer still in use.
• Ramakrishna Paramahamsa (1836-1886) and Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902):
  • Founded Ramakrishna Mission in 1897 at Belur.
  • Chicago Parliament of Religions speech (11 Sept 1893).

Arya Samaj and Hindu Revivalism

• Swami Dayanand Saraswati (1824-1883): Born Gujarat. Disciple of Virajanand of Mathura. Founded Arya Samaj at Bombay in 1875 (later headquarters at Lahore).
• Doctrine: "Back to the Vedas". Rejected idol worship, polytheism, child marriage, caste by birth, untouchability. Wrote Satyarth Prakash (1875).
• Shuddhi movement: Reconversion of converts back to Hinduism.
• DAV (Dayanand Anglo-Vedic) College — Lahore 1886. Gurukul Kangri (Hardwar 1902) by Shraddhananda — alternative orthodox stream.
• Theosophical Society: Founded 1875 in New York by Madame Blavatsky and Colonel Olcott. Headquarters moved to Adyar (Madras) in 1882. Annie Besant (from 1893) - led Home Rule League (1916); first woman president of INC (1917).

Prarthana Samaj and Western India

• Prarthana Samaj: Founded 1867 in Bombay by Atmaram Pandurang (with Keshub Sen's influence). Western Indian analogue of Brahmo Samaj. Members - R.G. Bhandarkar, M.G. Ranade, R.G. Bhandarkar. Focus on widow remarriage, women's education, abolition of caste discrimination, intercaste marriage.
• Justice M.G. Ranade (1842-1901): Cofounder Deccan Education Society (1884 - Fergusson College). Indian National Social Conference (1887). Mentor of Gokhale.
• Servants of India Society: Founded 1905 by Gopal Krishna Gokhale (Pune). Trained social workers for political and social work.

South Indian and Anti-Caste Movements

• Jyotirao Phule (1827-1890): Maharashtra. Founded Satyashodhak Samaj (1873). Wrote Gulamgiri (1873), Sarvajanik Satya Dharma. Started first girls' school in Pune (1848) with wife Savitribai Phule. Title Mahatma bestowed at a public meeting in 1888.
• Periyar E.V. Ramaswamy (1879-1973): Tamil Nadu. Founded Self-Respect Movement (1925). Vaikom Satyagraha (1924). Later founded Dravidar Kazhagam (1944). Anti-caste, anti-religion, Dravidian identity.
• Narayana Guru (1856-1928): Kerala, Ezhava community. "One caste, one religion, one God for man". Founded Sri Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (SNDP, 1903). Aruvippuram pratishtha (1888) — Ezhava priest consecrating Shiva.
• Sree Narayana's disciple K. Ayyappan: Sahodara Sangam (1917). Inter-dining campaigns.
• Justice (Non-Brahmin) Party (1916) in Madras: Founded by Pitti Theagaraya Chetty, T.M. Nair, C.N. Mudaliar.
• B.R. Ambedkar (1891-1956):
  • Bahishkrit Hitkarini Sabha (1924).
  • Mahad Satyagraha (1927) — for water rights from Chavdar tank.
  • Kalaram Temple entry (1930) — Nashik.
  • Poona Pact (1932) with Gandhi.
  • Independent Labour Party (1936), Scheduled Castes Federation (1942).
  • Conversion to Buddhism (14 October 1956, Nagpur — with ~500,000 followers).

Muslim and Sikh Reform Movements

• Sir Syed Ahmad Khan (1817-1898):
  • Wrote Asbab-i-Baghawat-i-Hind (1859) explaining the causes of 1857 from Muslim perspective.
  • Founded Mohammadan Anglo-Oriental College, Aligarh (1875) — became Aligarh Muslim University (1920).
  • Loyalist; opposed Congress (1888 Allahabad speech).
  • Wrote Tahzib-ul-Akhlaq journal.
• Deoband (1867): Darul Uloom Deoband - orthodox Sunni alternative to Aligarh's modernism. Founders Maulana Muhammad Qasim Nanautavi and Rashid Ahmad Gangohi.
• Ahmadiyya: Founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian (1889). Considered heterodox by mainstream Sunnis.
• Singh Sabha (1873, Amritsar): Sikh reform; revival against Christian and Arya Samaj proselytisation.
• Akali movement (1920s): Liberated gurdwaras from Mahant control - led to Sikh Gurdwaras Act 1925.
• Brahmo Samaj of Andhra (1879): Veeresalingam Pantulu - widow remarriage, women's education in coastal Andhra.

Key Legislative Reforms

Year	Act	Substance
1829	Regulation XVII (Sati abolition)	Lord Bentinck. Roy and Carey campaigned
1843	Indian Slavery Act	Slavery rendered unenforceable in courts
1856	Hindu Widow's Remarriage Act	Vidyasagar; Lord Canning
1872	Native Marriage Act	Civil marriage for those outside Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Parsi communities; minimum ages
1891	Age of Consent Act	Raised age of consent to 12 (intercourse before 12 - rape). Behramji Malabari campaigned
1929	Sarda Act (Child Marriage Restraint Act)	Boys 18, girls 14. Harbilas Sarda
1937	Hindu Women's Right to Property Act	Limited inheritance to widows
1955-56	Hindu Code Bills	Hindu Marriage, Succession, Minority, Adoption Acts (post-independence; Ambedkar drafted, Nehru piloted)

CDS/OTA PYQ Examples

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between reformist and revivalist movements?

Reformist (Brahmo Samaj, Prarthana Samaj, Aligarh) accepted modern Western institutions and sought to internally modernise their tradition. Revivalist (Arya Samaj, Deoband, Theosophical Society) sought to return to an idealised earlier purity and rejected aspects of modernity.

Why is Raja Rammohan Roy called the 'father of modern India'?

He combined three roles - religious reformer (Brahmo Samaj, Vedanta translations), social reformer (Sati abolition, women's education), and political modernist (English education, free press, civil rights). His synthesis became the model for 19th-century Bengal Renaissance.

What was the Vaikom Satyagraha?

A 1924-25 satyagraha in Travancore (Kerala) for the right of avarna castes to use roads around the Vaikom Mahadeva temple. Led by T.K. Madhavan, K.P. Kesava Menon, Periyar (visiting from Tamil Nadu - hence title 'Vaikom Vir'). Roads opened in 1925; full temple entry came in 1936 (Travancore Temple Entry Proclamation).

What did Ambedkar do at Mahad and Kalaram?

Mahad (March 1927) - led 3,000 untouchables to drink water from the Chavdar tank in Mahad, Maharashtra. Burned the Manusmriti in December 1927. Kalaram (1930) - led temple-entry satyagraha at the Kalaram temple in Nashik. These were the first major direct-action assertions of Dalit dignity.

What was the influence of the Theosophical Society?

Founded in New York (1875), it relocated to Adyar (1882). Helped Indian elites take pride in indigenous religion (especially Hinduism and Buddhism), encouraged Sanskrit and Pali scholarship, and through Annie Besant supplied the Home Rule League (1916) and the Congress presidency (1917).

Related Topics

CDS/OTA HistoryEarly Phase National Movement CDS/OTA HistoryGandhian Phase CDS/OTA HistoryConstitutional Acts CDS/OTA HistoryPeasant Tribal Uprisings CDS/OTAHistory — Full Syllabus