Table of Contents

Socio-Religious Reform Movements - I ............................................................................................. 3

Causes of Socio-Religious Reforms ............................................................................................................................. 3
Evolution of the Reform Movement in 19th Century India .......................................................................................... 3
Methods of Reform.................................................................................................................................................... 4
Scope of Reforms ....................................................................................................................................................... 4

Reforms in Eastern India (Bengal) ............................................................................................................. 5

Raja Rammohun Roy (1772-1833) ............................................................................................................................. 5
Brahmo Samaj ......................................................................................................................................................... 12
Young Bengal movement ......................................................................................................................................... 15
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (1820-1891) ................................................................................................................. 15
Ramakrishna Mission .............................................................................................................................................. 16

Reforms in Western India........................................................................................................................ 17

Manav Dharma Sabha (1844) .................................................................................................................................. 17
Student's Literary and Scientific Society (1848) ........................................................................................................ 18
Paramahansa Mandali (1849) ................................................................................................................................. 19
Prarthana Samaj (1867) .......................................................................................................................................... 19
Intellectual Resistance to Colonial Rule ................................................................................................................... 20

Reforms in North India ........................................................................................................................... 27

Swami Dayanand Saraswati (1824-1883) and Arya Samaj ...................................................................................... 27

Reforms in South India ........................................................................................................................... 29

Veda Samaj (1864) .................................................................................................................................................. 29
Theosophical Society (1875) .................................................................................................................................... 29

Religious Reform among the Parsis ......................................................................................................... 31

Rehnumai Mazadayasan Sabha (1851) .................................................................................................................... 31

Religious Reforms Among Muslims ......................................................................................................... 32

Sir Syed Ahmad Khan (1817-1898) and Aligarh Movement ...................................................................................... 32
Deobandi School (Darul Uloom) .............................................................................................................................. 34

Emancipation of Women ........................................................................................................................ 34

Sati Practice............................................................................................................................................................. 35
Female education .................................................................................................................................................... 35
Widow Remarriage ................................................................................................................................................. 36
Child Marriage ........................................................................................................................................................ 37
 Author: Vishwajeet Kawar
Protégé of PMF IAS

Suggestions / Feedback: vishwjeethistory@gmail.com | t.me/vishwjeetkawar | t.me/pmfiashistory

 Socio-Religious Reform Movements - I

• During the 19th century, India witnessed the emergence of many intellectual currents for national
regeneration in all its aspects: religious, social, cultural, economic, and political. Although these
efforts were intended to bring about overall progress, the primary emphasis was on the social and
religious domains.

Primacy to social and religious reforms

• The liberals of the 19th century believed that social and religious reformation was an essential
condition for the all-round development of the country. Thus, they focused primarily on religious
reform with the hope that it would eventually lead to political and economic freedom.

Causes of Socio-Religious Reforms

Western education
• The English-educated Indians were exposed to modern Western ideas and culture. Western
education also introduced Indians to the works of great Western thinkers.
• The English-educated Indians used the newly acquired Western knowledge and started to analyse
their socio-religious conditions. They realised that their original religions had been corrupted by
meaningless traditions, customs, practices, and superstitions. As a result, they refused to accept the
prevailing societal conditions and began to work towards reforming their society.

Impact of modern Western culture

• Western conquest exposed the weakness and decay of Indian society. While many Indians still put
their faith in their traditional beliefs and institutions, some began to look for the defects of their society
and for ways and means of removing them.
 Since the Western impact was first felt in Bengal, the western educated Bengalis were the first to
raise the banner of reform.

Christian Missionary Activities

• Christian missionaries such as Alexander Duff, William Carey, and Wilson spread their religion
through educational institutions. They portrayed Hinduism as a collection of superstitious and cruel
practices while presenting Christianity as the superior faith.
• The actions of these missionaries sparked a new wave of intellectual curiosity among the newly
educated Indians. They began to recognise the shortcomings of their society and initiated reforms
to address them.

Evolution of the Reform Movement in 19th Century India

• During the first decades of the 19th century, the reform movement was a very small affair of a limited
number of individuals whose passion for fighting social obscurantism could not pose a major challenge
to the advocates of orthodoxy.
• During the second half of the 19th century, The growth of nationalist sentiments, the emergence of
new economic forces, the spread of education, the impact of modern Western ideas and culture, and
increased awareness of the world not only heightened the consciousness of Indian society's
backwardness and degeneration but further strengthened the resolve to reform. Thus, after 1858, the
earlier reforming tendency was broadened.

Methods of Reform
• Reforms in socio-religious practices were pursued through four major methods:
1. Reform from Within: This approach focused on generating awareness within society itself.
❖ Reformers tried to raise people's awareness by publishing tracts and organising debates and
discussions on various social problems.
❖ Rammohun's campaign against sati, Vidyasagar's pamphlets on widow marriage and B.M.
Malabari's efforts to increase the age of consent are examples of this.
2. Reform through Legislation: Advocates of this method, Keshub Chandra Sen in Bengal, Mahadev
Govind Ranade in Maharashtra and Viresalingam in Andhra, believed in the power of legislative
intervention.
❖ They believed that reform efforts could not be effective unless supported by the state. Therefore,
they appealed to the government to give legislative sanction for reforms like widow marriage,
civil marriage and an increase in the age of consent.
❖ However, they failed to realise that the role of the legislation as an instrument of change in a
colonial society was limited because of the lack of sanction of the people.
3. Reform through Symbol of Change: Represented by radicals such as the 'Young Bengal' group, this
approach rejected tradition and challenged social norms. This trend attempted to create symbols of
change through non-conformist individual activity.
❖ However, this approach was limited to the Derozians' or 'Young Bengal', who represented a radical
stream within the reform movement. Prominent members of this group, including Dakshinaranjan
Mukherjee, Ram Gopal Ghose, and Krishna Mohan Banerji, stood for a rejection of tradition and a
revolt against accepted social norms.
4. Reform through Social Work: Reform through social work was evident in the activities of Ishwar
Chandra Vidyasagar, Arya Samaj, and Ramakrishna Mission. They engaged in practical social work
alongside intellectual effort.

Scope of Reforms
• The reform movements of the 19th century were not purely religious movements. They were socio-
religious movements.
• The leaders of these movements recognised the link between religious and social issues and sought
to use religious ideas to bring about changes in social institutions and practices.
• The major social problems which came within the purview of the reform movements were:
❖ Emancipation of women in which sati, infanticide, child and widow marriage were taken up
❖ Removal of Casteism and untouchability
❖ Spread of education for bringing about enlightenment in society
• In the religious sphere, the main issues against which the reform movements were directed were as
follows:
❖ Idolatry
❖ Polytheism
❖ Religious superstitions
❖ Exploitation by priests

Reforms in Eastern India (Bengal)

• In Eastern India, Rammohun Roy initiated efforts to eradicate social evils. His work continued in the
19th century with the efforts of Derozio, Debendranath Tagore, Vidyasagar, Keshab Chandra Sen, and
others.

Raja Rammohun Roy (1772-1833)

• Rammohun Roy was born on May 22, 1772, in an orthodox Brahmin family at Radhanagar in
the Hooghly District of Bengal.
• Raja Rammohun Roy is regarded as the first great leader of modern India. He was moved by a deep
love for his people and country and worked hard all his life for their social, religious, intellectual, and
political regeneration.
• Roy fought against social injustice and inequality all his life, even at great personal loss and hardship.
By reforming Hindu religion from within, Roy laid the foundations for reforming Indian society. He
hardly left any aspect of nation-building untouched.
• Rammohun Roy criticised:
➢ Idolatry (worship of idols), polytheism (worship of more than one god), meaningless rituals and
superstitions and exploitation by corrupt priests
➢ The subjugation of women (Inferior treatment to women), polygamy (marriage to more than one
spouse at a time), the practice of sati, child marriage
➢ Blind reliance on the past (without reason)
➢ Rigidity of caste
• Rammohun Roy argued for:
 ✓ Monotheism (worship of one god)
✓ Abolition of sati, widow remarriage, right of inheritance and property to women
✓ Rational and scientific approach
✓ Modern education for both men and women
✓ Unity among Indians

Linguist
• Rammohun Roy was a linguist who knew more than a dozen languages, including Sanskrit, Persian,
Arabic, English, French, Latin, Greek and Hebrew. He had studied:
❖ Sanskrit literature and Hindu philosophy at Varanasi
❖ The Quran and Persian and Arabic literature at Patna.
❖ To study the Bible in the original, he learnt Greek and Hebrew.

Reinterpreting Hinduism
• Rammohun Roy carried on a persistent struggle against the religious and social evils which were
widely prevalent among the Hindus in Bengal.
• Roy vigorously opposed the worship of idols, the rigidity of caste, and the prevalence of meaningless
religious rituals. He condemned the priestly class for encouraging and inculcating these practices.
• Roy firmly believed in the Advaita philosophy (one of the schools of Vedanta), which rejected caste,
idolatry and superstitious rites and rituals.
• Roy believed in monotheism. He argued that the main ancient Hindu texts advocated monotheism (the
worship of a single god). To prove his point, he published the Bengali translation of the Vedas and
five of the principal Upanishads.
• Roy wanted to present the concept of universal religion by combining the best features of all leading
religions of the world. The Quranic concept of Tauhid or Unity of God fascinated Roy. He admired the
Bible as much as the Vedanta and the Quran.
 According to orthodox Hindus, travelling across the ocean was considered a sin. However, Roy
broke this superstition by undertaking overseas travel.

Vision for Unity and Political Upliftment

• According to Roy, religious backwardness and social decadence were responsible for the subjugation
of a country. He believed that social and religious reforms were essential for the political liberation.
According to Roy, one of the aims of religious reform was political upliftment.
• Roy was the first person to awaken the consciousness of his fellow countrymen. He represented the
first glimmerings of the rise of national consciousness in India. His every effort of social and religious
reform was aimed at nation-building.
• Roy thought that he could unite the divided Indian society by:
❖ Removing corrupt elements from Indian religions and society
 ❖ Teaching the Vedantic message of worshipping one God
• Roy was against the rigidity of the caste system, which he believed prevented unity among Indians.
He thought the caste system was harmful in two ways:
❖ It created inequality
❖ It divided people and deprived them of patriotic feelings.

Focus on Reasoning
• Roy opposed the blind reliance on the past. He ultimately relied on the power of human reason. He
wanted his countrymen to accept the rational and scientific approach.
• Roy declared that one should not hesitate to depart from holy books, scriptures, and inherited
traditions if human reason demands it.
• He believed that the philosophy of Vedanta was based on this principle of reason.

Rational Approach to All Religions

• Roy applied rationalism not only to Indian religions and traditions but also to Christianity, which
disappointed his many missionary friends.

The Blend of East and West

• Rammohun Roy represented a synthesis of the thoughts of the East and West. He greatly respected
the traditional philosophic systems of the East, but he also believed that modern culture alone would
help regenerate Indian society.
• Roy proposed that a new India, guided by reason, should acquire and treasure all that is best in the
East and the West. He wanted India to learn from the West but without imposing Western culture.
This learning was to be an intellectual through which Indian culture and thoughts were to be renovated.
Therefore, Roy stood for the reform of Hinduism and opposed its supersession by Christianity.

Women's Rights
• Roy was a champion of women's rights in India. He laid the foundations of the women's liberation
movement in this country.
• Roy condemned polygamy, the practice of Sati, and child marriage. He opposed the subjugation of
women and their inferior status in society. He related their problems to the root cause of the absence
of property rights.
• Roy demanded widow remarriage, the right of inheritance and property to women, women's
education and the Abolition of sati.

Organisations
Atmiya Sabha
• In 1815, Rammohun established the 'Atmiya Sabha' (Society of Friends), a private association of like-
minded individuals at Calcutta. Its members met regularly at his residence to discuss religious and
social problems of the day.

Brahmo Samaj

• In 1828, Roy established a new society, the Brahma Sabha, later known as the Brahma Samaj. Its
primary purpose was to rid Hinduism of its evils and to preach monotheism.

Abolition of Sati
• In 1818, Rammohun Roy started a campaign against the practice of sati (the burning of a widow on
her husband's funeral pyre). He showed that ancient scriptures did not sanction this practice. He
urged the people to apply rationality, humanity, and compassion.
• Roy fought against the practice of sati on three fronts:
1. Public opinion: Roy used writings, speeches, agitation, and discussions to prepare people's minds
to abolish the practice of sati. He explained that this practice had no support in any religious texts,
and therefore, governmental action in this matter could not be considered an interference in
religious affairs.
2. Roy tried to convince the officials that it was their responsibility as civilised rulers to end the cruel
custom.
3. The inquiry into the causes that led a Hindu widow to commit Sati and to make arrangements to
eliminate those causes.
❖ Roy found that ignorance of the women about their legitimate rights, their illiteracy, and
customary denial of the property rights to the widow were some of the causes behind this
practice.
❖ Roy pleaded strongly for the restoration of women's property rights as well as for the provision
of facilities for women's education.
• Roy’s agitation bore fruit in 1829 when Lord William Bentinck, the Governor-General of India, passed
a law against the practice of Sati.

Dharma Sabha

• Dharma Sabha was an association of orthodox Hindus led by Raja Radhakanta Deb. It was formed
in Calcutta in January 1830, opposing the government regulation to abolish the practice of sati.
• It was established mainly to counter social reform movements led by Raja Rammohun Roy and
Henry Derozio.
• It published the Bengali newspaper Samachar Chandrika whose editor Bhawani Charan Banerji
was the Secretary of the Dharma Sabha.
 • The Dharma Sabha filed an appeal in the Privy Council against Lord William Bentinck's ban on Sati,
which, according to them, went against George III's assurance of non-interference in Hindu
religious affairs; however, their appeal was rejected, and the ban on Sati was upheld in 1832.
• The Dharma Sabha campaigned against the Hindu Widow Remarriage Act of 1856 and submitted
a petition against the proposal. However, Lord Dalhousie personally finalised the bill despite the
opposition, and Lord Canning passed it.

Modern education
• Roy mastered the English language and acquainted himself with political developments and ideas like
rationalism and liberation in England and Europe. His knowledge of English opened up a whole new
world for him, and as a result, he became a vocal advocate of English education.
• Roy helped the David hare in establishing a Hindu college in 1817.
• Roy started an English school in Calcutta in 1817, where, among other subjects, mechanics and
Voltaire's philosophy were taught.
• In 1825, Roy established Vedanta College, which offered courses in Indian learning and Western
social and physical sciences.
• In education, Rammohun Roy greatly helped David Hare and Alexander Duff.

David Hare

• David Hare came to India in 1800 as a watchmaker but spent his entire life promoting modern
education. He founded the Hindu College in 1817.

Alexander Duff (1806-1878)

• Alexander Duff was the first overseas missionary of the Committee of the General Assembly of the
Church of Scotland to India. He played a significant role in introducing Western education in India
through the medium of English.
• Alexander Duff arrived in Calcutta in 1830 and immediately joined the ongoing debate on education
policy. He supported those civilians who wanted public instructions to be imparted in the English
language.
• Alexander Duff:
❖ Founded the General Assembly's Institution in Calcutta in 1830, now known as the Scottish
Church College.
❖ Played an important role in establishing the University of Calcutta
❖ Was the president of the Bethune Society until 1863.
 In 1835, the government resolved to impart education in the English language and promote
European science and literature. Duff played a crucial role in shifting the mood of the administration
from oriental to Western education.
Public agitations
• Rammohun Roy was the initiator of public agitation on political questions in the country.
• Roy condemned the oppressive practices of the Bengal zamindars. He demanded that the maximum
rents paid by the actual cultivators of land should be permanently fixed so that cultivators would
enjoy the benefits of the Permanent Settlement of 1793.
• Roy demanded:
❖ The abolition of the Company's trading rights
❖ The removal of heavy export duties on Indian goods.
❖ Indianisation of superior services
❖ Separation of the executive and the judiciary
❖ Trial by jury, and judicial equality between Indians and Europeans.

Industrialisation
• Rammohun Roy wanted the introduction of modern capitalism and industry in the country.

Internationalism
• Rammohun Roy was a firm believer in internationalism and free cooperation between nations. He
took a keen interest in international events, and everywhere, he supported the cause of liberty,
democracy, and nationalism and opposed injustice, oppression, and tyranny in every form.
• Roy condemned the miserable condition of Ireland under the oppressive regime of absentee English
landlordism.

Bengali language
• Rammohun Roy compiled a Bengali grammar. Through his translations, pamphlets and journals, he
helped evolve a modern and elegant prose style for that language.

Books
• Tuhfat-ul Muwahhiddin: In 1803, Roy wrote "Tuhfat-ul Muwahhiddin", a short treatise written in
Persian with an Arabic title and preface. It was Roy's first work.
• Gift to Monotheists: In 1809, Rammohun Roy wrote a Persian work titled Gift to Monotheists, in
which Roy argued for worshipping a single God instead of many gods.
• Percept of Jesus: In 1820, Rammohun Roy published his book "Precepts of Jesus." In it, he aimed to
distinguish the moral and philosophical message of the New Testament, which he praised, from its
miracle stories. He deeply appreciated Christ's high moral message and wanted it integrated into
Hinduism. However, this earned him the criticism and hostility of the missionaries, who disagreed with
his views.
• Rammohun Roy published the Bengali translation of the Vedas and of five of the principal
Upanishads to prove that ancient texts of the Hindus preached monotheism or worship of one God.
Journals
• Rammohun Roy was a pioneer of Indian journalism. He published journals in Bengali, Persian, Hindi,
and English to educate the public and represent popular demands and grievances before the
Government.
• Sambad Kaumudi: Rammohun started Sambad Kaumudi, a Bangla newspaper, in 1821 to spread his
reformist and liberal views.
• Mirat-ul-Akhbar: As a significant portion of the Bengali population was not well-versed in Bengali
but had proficiency in Persian, Rammohun started Mirat-ul-Akhbar, a Persian newspaper, in 1822.

Protest Against Restrictions on Press Freedom

• Several articles published in Roy's Mirat-ul-Akhbar incurred the displeasure of the British rulers. In
1823, John Adams, the acting Governor General of India, issued an ordinance imposing various
restrictions on newspapers. The ordinance allowed the government to cancel a newspaper’s licence
without explanation.
• After the Supreme Court rejected Rammohan Roy's protest against the ordinance, he sent a petition
to the government, but it, too, was rejected. Consequently, Rammohan ceased publishing Mirat-ul-
Akhbar.

Associates, Followers, and Successors of Rammohun Roy

• Rammohun Roy had many distinguished associates, followers and successors. Dwarkanath Tagore
was the foremost of his Indian associates.
• Rammohun’s prominent followers were:
1. Prasanna Kumar Tagore
2. Chandrashekhar Deb
3. Tarachand Chakravarti (the first secretary of the Brahma Sabha)
4. Dwarkanath Tagore

Dwarkanath Tagore

• Dwarkanath Tagore was the scion of the Tagore Family of Calcutta, father of Debendranath Tagore
and grandfather of Rabindranath Tagore.
• Dwarkanath Tagore was one of the first Bengali entrepreneurs. In partnership with British traders,
he pioneered the establishment of a string of commercial ventures, including banking, insurance, and
shipping companies. He also purchased the first Indian coal mine in Raniganj, which eventually
became the Bengal Coal Company.
• Dwarkanath Tagore became the first Indian bank director in 1828 and founded the Union Bank of
Calcutta in 1829.

Diplomatic Mission to England

• In 1830, Rammohun Roy left for England to represent the grievances of the titular Mughal Emperor
Akbar II (1806-1837) to the British king and parliament. Akbar II gave Rammohun the title of Raja.
• In 1833, while visiting Bristol, Roy fell ill and died on 27 September.

Rembrandt Peale

• Rembrandt Peale was an American painter famous for his portraits of important people like George
Washington and Thomas Jefferson. In August 1833, he painted the portrait of Rammohun Roy.

Brahmo Samaj
• On 20th August 1828, Rammohun Roy founded the Brahma Sabha, later known as the Brahmo Samaj,
to purify Hinduism and preach monotheism, or belief in one God.
• The Brahmo Samaj was based on the twin pillars of:
1. Reason
2. The Vedas and the Upanishads
• The Brahmo Samaj also incorporated the best teachings of other religions and acted as a powerful
platform for advocating humanism, monotheism, and social regeneration.
• The Brahmo Samaj attempted to reform the Hindu religion by eliminating wrong practices and
establishing it on the worship of one God and the teachings of the Vedas and Upanishads. However, it
rejected the doctrine of the infallibility of the Vedas.
• The Brahmo Samaj relied on human reason as the ultimate criterion for determining the value of
past and present religious principles and practices.
• The Brahmo Samaj movement suffered a setback after Roy's death in 1833. However, Debendranath
Tagore (1817-1905), the son of Dwarkanath Tagore (1794-1846), took on the unfinished work in 1843.
Under his leadership, the Brahma Samaj movement assumed a new height and character.
• The Brahmo tradition was carried forward after 1866 by Keshub Chandra Sen.

Debendranath Tagore (1817-1905)

• In 1839, Debendranath Tagore, the father of Rabindranath Tagore, founded the Tatvabodhini Sabha
and started its organ, the Tatvabodhini Patrika, to propagate Rammohun Roy's ideas and to promote
a systematic study of India's past in the Bengali language.
• The Tatvabodhini Sabha came to include:
❖ Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
❖ Akshay Kumar Dutt
❖ Most of the prominent followers of Rammohun and Derozio
• In 1843, Debendranath Tagore joined, reorganised the Brahmo Samaj and revitalised it.

Keshab Chandra Sen (1838-1884)

• Keshab Chandra Sen joined the Brahmo Samaj in 1857. Debendranath Tagore made him Acharya
in 1858. The Brahmo Samaj movement became much more broad-based under the dynamic
leadership of Keshab Chandra Sen.
• As the Acharya of the Samaj, Keshab insisted on giving up some Hindu customs and practices, such
as the caste system, untouchability, child marriage, and polygamy. He argued for girls' education,
widow remarriage, and inter-caste marriage.
• However, differences arose between Debendranath and Keshab regarding observations of caste rules
and social reforms. While Debendranath's approach was somewhat conservative, Keshab Sen
advocated the complete abolition of caste distinction and actively promoted the cause of social
reform, particularly the movement for female education and emancipation.
• Debendranath, unwilling to hurt national sentiment and alienate the greater Hindu Samaj on
social issues, did not approve of any radical change.
• Finally, in 1868, Keshab Chandra Sen formed a new organisation called Bharatbarsiya Brahma Samaj
(The Brahma Samaj of India). The other organisation led by Debendranath Tagore came to be known
as Adi Brahma Samaj (the original or Early Brahma Samaj).
• Keshab Sen, through his lecture tours of Bombay, Madras, and other places, spread the message of
the Brahma Samaj throughout the greater part of India.
• In 1868, Keshub Chandra Sen petitioned the Government of India on behalf of the Brahmo Samaj for
a law that would secure the legality of Brahmo marriages (unorthodox marriages). As a result, the
government passed the Native Marriage Act of 1872.

Brahmo Marriages

 Marriages between men and women of different castes, and in some cases, involving widowed
women.
 Marriages without orthodox rituals.
• However, certain ideas and actions of Keshab Sen caused misgivings among his followers, particularly
the young and radical elements.
• The young followers resented Sen’s conduct relating to the marriage of his daughter to Raja of
Cooch Behar in 1878. Both the bride and the bridegroom were minor, and Brahmin priests
performed the marriage ceremony according to orthodox Hindu rites. This was a violation of the
profession and practice of the Brahma Samaj.
• Eventually, led by Shibchandra Deb, Umesh Chandra Datta, and Ananda Mohan Bose broke away
from Keshab Sen's Samaj and founded the Sadharan Brahma Samaj in 1878.

Indian Reform Association

• The Indian Reform Association was formed in 1870 with Keshub Chandra Sen as president.
• It represented the secular side of the Brahmo Samaj and included many who did not belong to the
Brahmo Samaj. The objective was to put into practice some of the ideas Sen was exposed to during his
visit to Great Britain.

Naba Bidhan (New Dispensation)

• In 1881, Keshub Chandra Sen founded a new universal religion - Naba Bidhan (New Dispensation),
continuing to preach a mixture of Hindu philosophy and Christian theology.

Native Marriage Act of 1872 (Special Marriage Act 1872/ Act III of 1872)

• The Act provided for secular marriage without religious rites.

• It fixed the minimum age of bride and bridegroom at 14 and 18, respectively.
• The Act sanctioned most of the reforms proposed by liberals. However, the older generation viewed
this as undue state intervention in religious and social matters.

The Self-excommunication Clause

• The Act was available only to those who did not profess any of India's various faith traditions:
Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain or Parsi. The couples marrying under this law had to
declare that they did not profess these religions.

[UPSC 2016] Consider the following:

1. Calcutta Unitarian Committee
2. Tabernacle of New Dispensation
3. Indian Reform Association
Keshab Chandra Sen is associated with the establishment of which of the above?
a) 1 and 3 only
b) 2 and 3 only
c) 3 only
d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer: B

[UPSC 2012] Which of the following statements is/are correct regarding Brahmo Samaj?
(2012)
1. It opposed idolatry.
2. It denied the need for a priestly class for interpreting the religious texts.
3. It popularised the doctrine that the Vedas are infallible.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
a) 1 only
b) 1 and 2 only
c) 3 only
 d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer: B

Young Bengal movement

• Anglo-Indian Henry Vivian Derozio started the Young Bengal movement, which was more modern
and radical than Rammohun Roy's Brahmo Samaj.
• Derozio and his followers were known as the Derozians or Young Bengal. They carried forward
Rammohun's tradition of educating the people through newspapers, pamphlets and public
associations.
• The Derozians attacked old and decadent customs, rites and traditions. They were advocates of
women's rights and demanded education for them.
• Derozians carried on public agitation on public questions such as the revision of the Company's
Charter, the freedom of the Press, better treatment for Indian labour in British colonies abroad, trial
by jury, protection of the ryots from oppressive zamindars, and employment of Indians in the
higher grades of government services.
• However, Derozians did not succeed in creating a movement because:
➢ Social conditions were not yet ripe for their ideas (which were too advanced) to flourish.
➢ Their radicalism was bookish.
➢ They failed to grasp Indian reality, did not support the peasant cause, and forgot to maintain their
links with the people.

Henry Vivian Derozio (1809-1831)

• Henry Vivian Derozio, a poet and rationalist thinker, was appointed a teacher at the Calcutta Hindu
College in May 1826 when he was only seventeen. He was the first nationalist poet of modern India.
• Derozio inspired his students to think rationally and freely, question all authority, love liberty,
equality, and freedom, and worship truth. He was inspired by the French Revolution and followed the
most radical views of that time.
• Derozio was removed from the Hindu College in 1831 because of his radicalism and died of cholera
soon after at the young age of 22.
 In his poem "To India - My Native Land," Derozio laments the downfall of India from a country
once "worshipped as a deity" to one currently chained to the lowest depths.

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (1820-1891)

• Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was a great scholar and social reformer. He was a great humanist with
immense sympathy for the poor, the unfortunate and the oppressed.
• Vidyasagar represented a happy blend of Indian and Western culture. He campaigned:
❖ Against polygamy and child marriage
❖ For widow remarriage and women's education
Women’s Education
• In 1850, Vidyasagar became the secretary of the Bethune School and contributed to the higher
education for women.
• As a Government Inspector of Schools, Vidyasagar organised thirty-five girls' schools, many of which
he ran at his own expense.

Reforms at Sanskrit College

• In 1851, Vidyasagar became the principal of the Sanskrit College.
✓ He opened the gates of the Sanskrit college to non-brahmin students and broke the monopoly
of priestly caste for Sanskrit study.
✓ He introduced the study of Western thought at Sanskrit College and freed Sanskrit studies from
the harmful effects of self-imposed isolation.

Widow Remarriage
• Vidyasagar waged a long struggle in favour of widow remarriage. He used the ancient texts to
suggest that widows could remarry. Finally, a law was passed in 1856 permitting widow remarriage.
• The first lawful Hindu widow remarriage among the upper castes in our country was celebrated in
Calcutta on 7 December 1856, under the inspiration and supervision of Vidyasagar.
 Widows of many other castes in different parts of the country already enjoyed this right under
customary law.
• Though the Widow Remarriage Act was passed in 1856, it never received society's approval, and as
a result, women's conditions did not change.

Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act 1856

• The Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act of 1856 legalised the remarriage of widows in all of India
under East India Company rule. It was drafted by Lord Dalhousie and passed by Lord Canning.
• Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was the most prominent campaigner for widow remarriage. He petitioned
the Legislative Council, but Radhakanta Deb and the Dharma Sabha counter-petitioned against the
proposal with nearly four times more signatures.

Bengali primer
• Vidyasagar wrote a Bengali primer, Barnaparichay, which is still used today. His writings helped
evolve a modern prose style in Bengali.

Ramakrishna Mission
Ramakrishna Paramhansa (1834-1886)
• Ramakrishna Paramahansa was an Indian Hindu mystic and a devotee of the goddess Kali.
• Ramakrishna stressed universalism in religions and denounced religious particularism.
• Universalism in religions: After studying many spiritual traditions, including Islam, Hinduism, and
Christianity, Ramakrishna realised that various world religions were different paths to reach the same
goal, validating the fundamental unity of religions.
• Ramakrishna emphasised that there were many roads to God and salvation and that the service of
man was the service of God.

Swamy Vivekananda (1863-1902)

• Swamy Vivekananda (Narendra Nath Datta) was a disciple of Sri Ramakrishna. He propagated the
message of Ramakrishna inside and outside India.
• Vivekananda condemned the caste system and the current Hindu emphasis on rituals, ceremonies,
and superstitions and urged the people to imbibe the spirit of liberty, equality, and free thinking.
• Vivekananda criticised Indians for losing touch with the rest of the world and becoming stagnant and
mummified.
• Vivekananda proclaimed the essential oneness of all religions and condemned any narrowness in
religious matters. However, he was convinced of the superior approach of the Indian philosophical
tradition and personally followed Vedanta, which he considered a fully rational system.
• Vivekananda emphasised the importance of social action, stating that knowledge without action is
worthless in our daily lives.
• During the World’s Parliament of Religions in September 1893, Vivekananda delivered speeches which
made him famous. In these speeches, he referred to Hinduism as the mother of all religions.

Ramakrishna Mission
• In 1897, Vivekananda founded the Ramakrishna Mission to carry on humanitarian relief and social
work.
• The mission's main motto was to provide social service to the people, and it carried on its mission
by opening schools, hospitals, orphanages, libraries, etc., in different parts of the country. Thus it laid
emphasis on social good or social service and not on personal salvation.
• Ramakrishna Mission’s main objectives were:
✓ To spread the teachings of Ramakrishna and Vedanta
✓ To improve the social conditions of the people
• In early 1898, Swami Vivekananda purchased a large plot of land in Belur to establish a permanent
monastery. A couple of years later, he registered it as Ramakrishna Math.
• Although Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission are legally and financially separate, they are
closely interrelated in several ways and are regarded as twin organisations.

Reforms in Western India

Manav Dharma Sabha (1844)

• Manav Dharma Sabha was the first socio-religious reform association in Gujarat. It was founded on
22nd June 1844 in Surat by Durgaram Mehtaji (Durgaram Manchharam Dave), Dadoba Pandurang
and others.
• The main objective of Manav Dharma Sabha was to highlight the positive side of true religion based
on truth and morality.
• The organisation accepted monotheism. Its main activity was to abolish superstitious beliefs from
society and to ensure that people do not practice black magic, witchcraft and other malpractices.
• The organisation used to hold public meetings every Sunday. The speakers would encourage people
to give up casteism, promote widow remarriages, and discourage idol worship.
• The Manav Dharma Sabha took a similar approach to the Brahmo Samaj of Calcutta, but it wasn't
influenced by the Brahmo Samaj's activities.
• Manav Dharma Sabha had a short life span and ceased to exist as Dadoba left for Bombay in 1846
and Durgaram left for Rajkot in 1852.

Student's Literary and Scientific Society (1848)

• In 1848, some of the members of the Native Literary Society, such as Naoroji Furdunji, Dadabhai
Naoroji, Bhau Daji, Jagannath Shankar Shet, Vishwanath Mandlik and Sorabji Shapurji Bengali, were
gathered in the hall of the Elphinstone Institution and formed ‘Students Literary and Scientific
Society.’
• The aim of the Society was to develop an interest in literary and scientific knowledge.
• The society held the meeting fortnightly. In every meeting, two members used to read the paper
on scientific or social subjects. Those who failed to read a paper in the first instance were fined a
rupee. The fine for the second failure was two rupees, and if the member failed to read his paper on
the subject offered by him the third time, he was expelled.
• All the political and religious subjects were strictly excluded from Society, and social reform was
given supreme importance.
• The society had two vernacular branches:
1. Gujarati Dnyan Prasarak mandali
2. Marathi Dnyan Prasarak mandali
• The Society took the lead in organising schools to promote female education in Bombay. Many Parsi,
Marathi, and Gujarati schools were set up. Jagannath Shankarshet, Dadoba Pandurang, Bhau Daji,
and many others extended their support.
✓ Jagannath Shankar Sheth: He gave a cottage house to be used as the school of the society.
✓ Bhau Daji: He provided financial support to some of the girls' schools started by the Students'
Literary And Scientific Society.
✓ Khershedji Nasanwanji Cama: He gave a substantial donation to the Society.
  Female education was incorporated into the Government agenda for the first time in the Woods
Despatch of 1854.
 The Hunter Commission Report of 1882 stated that the facilities for female education were
inadequate.

Paramahansa Mandali (1849)

• In 1849, Dadoba Pandurang, Durgaram Mehtaji, and his friends founded the Paramahansa Mandali
in Maharashtra.
• Paramahansa Mandali was the first socio-religious organisation in Maharashtra and was closely
related to Manav Dharma Sabha of Surat.
• The founders of Paramahansa Mandali believed in one god and were primarily interested in breaking
caste rules and fighting idolatry. At its meetings, members ate food cooked by low-caste people.
They fought for widow remarriage and women’s education.
• The society was secret to avoid the wrath of the powerful and orthodox elements. It is believed that
the revelation of its existence in 1860 hastened its demise.
• The Paramhansa Sabha was reorganised in 1867 under the name Prarthana Samaj.

Prarthana Samaj (1867)

• Keshub Chunder Sen visited Bombay twice, in 1864 and 1867. His socio-religious ideas inspired the
educated people of Maharashtra to form the Prarthana Samaj.
• The Prarthana Samaj was founded by Dr. Atmaram Pandurang in 1867 in Mumbai. M. G. Ranade, R.
G. Bhandarkar, and N. G. Chandavarkar were prominent members of this Samaj.
• Though Prarthana Samaj was inspired by the Brahmo Samaj, it did not try to establish a separate
sect. Instead, it attempted to reform the religion from within. Due to the efforts of the Telugu reformer
Viresalingam, its activities also spread to South India.
• The Prarthana Samaj preached monotheism (worship of one God) and tried to free religion of caste
orthodoxy and priestly domination.

Prarthana Samaj: The Practical Samaj

• The Prarthana Samajists were practical-minded people, and the Parathna Samaj was a practical Samaj.
They knew that the people in Maharashtra were staunch devotees of Vithoba. Hence, they did not
upset people's feelings; instead, they explained that whatever they worshipped was the worship of
one true god.
• The Prarthana Samajists were staunch followers of the Vaishnava tradition in Maharashtra. They used
the thoughts of the old Marathi saints and poets in their services.
• The Prarthana Samaj believed that God is one and without any form; therefore, one must worship him
with spirituality. They believed that God was the creator of the universe and that all men were his
children. Therefore, they should behave brotherly towards each other.
• The Prarthana Samajists observed Hindu ceremonies without believing in their religious
significance. They declared all customs and traditions meaningless but continued with rational and
undamaging traditions to avoid people's discontent. They also allowed the image worship but did
not profess it.

Social Reforms
• The Prarthana Samajists prioritized social reforms over religion, such as interdining and
intermarriage between different castes and creeds, widow remarriage, and female education. They also
criticized child marriage.
• The Subodha Patrika was the weekly periodical of the Prarthana Samaj.
• The Prarthana Samaj established:
✓ Night School: To educate the workers, labourers and their children.
✓ Depressed Class Mission: To abolish untouchability.
✓ Asylums and Orphanages: To help orphan children, asylums and Orphanages were established
at holy places like Pandharpur, Dehu, and Alandi.

Intellectual Resistance to Colonial Rule

• The establishment of British rule affected every section of society. Some people suffered silently,
while others rebelled against the exploitation.
• In the early 19th century, the Western-educated Indians of Maharashtra used their newly acquired
knowledge to expose the true nature of British rule. Balshastri Jambhekar, Dadoba Pandurang,
and Bhau Mahajan, educated at Elphinston Institute, were among the first individuals to resist British
rule on an intellectual level.

Balshastri Jambhekar (1812- 1846)

• Balshastri Jambhekar was a journalist and social reformer from Maharashtra. He tried to reform the
society through journalism.
• From 1832 to 1840, Balshastri Jambhekar published a bilingual newspaper, Bombay Durpun
(Darpan), in Marathi and English. It was the first Marathi newspaper. Thus, Jambhekar is known as the
Father of Marathi journalism.
• In his newspaper, Jambhekar attacked Brahminical orthodoxy, addressed social issues such as widow
remarriage and tried to educate people and develop a scientific mindset.
• In 1840, Jambhekar published the first Marathi monthly magazine - ‘Digdarshan’, which published
articles on various subjects, including physics, chemistry, geography, history, etc.
• Jambhekar was a great admirer of Mountstuart Elphinstone. He was the first professor of Hindi at
Elphinstone College, Mumbai. He also worked as Director of the Colaba Observatory.

Bhaskar Pandurang Tarkhadkar (1816-1847)

• Bhaskar Pandurang Tarkhadkar was an intellectual from Maharashtra and a significant figure among
the early critics of colonial rule in India. He was one of the pioneers of the economic drain theory.
• Using the pseudonym ‘A Hindoo’, Tarkhadkar presented a critical analysis of British rule in eight
letters published in the Bombay Gazette between July and October 1841.
• He criticised British Rule for its economic drain and ruin on India, as well as its education policy, racial
discrimination, and injustice towards native princes. He also criticised them for falsifying Indian
History (by historians such as James Mill) and for waging imperial wars in Afghanistan and China.
• Tarkhadkar debunked the concept of "Divine Providence" that the British had used to validate their
colonisation. He was among the first in the country to call out concepts such as the notion of selfless
and benevolent colonial rule as false.

Bhau Mahajan (1815-90)

• Govind Vitthal Kunte, also known as Bhau Mahajan, was the first full-time professional editor and
journalist in the Marathi vernacular.
• Bhau Mahajan started and edited two weekly papers—Prabhakar (1841) and Dhumketu (1853)—
and the periodical Dnyan Darshan. He also wrote for Digdarshan Magazine.
• Bhau Mahajan pointed out that the Industrial Revolution in England and improved transport and
communication in India had affected indigenous industry and trade. He criticised British Rule for
exploiting and draining the country, which fueled Britain's prosperity.

Jagannath Shankarshet (1803-1865)

• Jagannath Shankarshet (Nana Shankarsheth) was a social reformer, educationist, and philanthropist.
• Shankarshet made significant contributions, both in terms of ideas and money, to multiple sectors,
laying a strong foundation for Mumbai. Hence, he is often referred to as the architect of Modern
Bombay.
• Shankarseth assumed responsibility for the family business at an early age after his father's death in
1822. He was greatly inspired by Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy, a legendary merchant and philanthropist.

Education
• Shankarshet was one of the founders of the Native School of Mumbai. The school went through a
series of name changes:
❖ 1824: Bombay Native Institution
❖ 1840: Board of Education
❖ 1856: Elphinstone Educational Institution
• Jagannath Shankarsheth gave funds and his residence for the girls' schools established by the
Students' Literary and Scientific Society.
• Jagannath Shankarseth also played an important role in establishing:
✓ The Elphinstone College in 1835
 ✓ The Grant Medical College in 1845 (in memory of Robert Grant, the Governor of Bombay)
✓ The Government Law College in 1855
✓ The Bombay University in 1857

Museum

• A famous London architect designed the Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum in Mumbai. The construction
was funded by wealthy Indian businessmen and philanthropists, including Jagannath, David Sassoon,
and Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy.

Railway

• With Jeejeebhoy, Shankarsheth helped set up the Indian Railway Association, which was later
incorporated into the Great Indian Peninsula Railway, now the Central Railway.
• The first train in India ran between Boribunder and Thane on April 16, 1853. The Great Indian
Peninsular Railway Company undertook the 34-km project. Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy and Nana
Shankarseth were among the committee members who gave the project impetus.

Bombay Association

• Jagannath Shankarshet was one of the founders of the Bombay Association, the first political
organisation of the Bombay Presidency, founded on August 26, 1852.

Bombay Legislative Council

• Jagannath Shankarshet was the first Indian to be nominated to the Bombay Legislative Council under
the Act of 1861 and became a member of the Bombay Board of Education.
 Vinayak Shankarsheth, son of Jagannath Shankarsheth, launched the 'Jagannath Shankarsheth
Sanskrit Scholarship' in 1866 in the name of his father.

Gopal Hari Deshmukh (1823-1892)

• Gopal Hari Deshmukh was a prominent social reformer and political thinker of Western India in the
19thcentury.
• Deshmukh wrote several open letters in the Marathi weekly newspaper Prabhakar under the pen
name Lokhitawadi between 1848 and 1850. These letters comprehensively touch every aspect of
society.
• Lokahitawadi wrote against child marriages, the dowry system, polygamy, and the caste system. He
condemned harmful Hindu religious orthodoxy and attacked the monopoly of Brahmin priests in
religious matters. He promoted the education of women and widow remarriage.
• Deshmukh started a weekly Hitechhu. He played a major role in founding Gyan Prakash or Dnyan
Prakash (by Krishnaji Trimbak Ranade), Indu Prakash (by Vishnu Shastri Pandit), and Lokahitawadi (by
Bhau Mahajan) periodicals.
• To Lokahitawadi, the sanction of religion for social reforms was immaterial. He advocated that religion
itself be changed if it did not sanction them.

Shatapatre (Hundred Letters)

• Shatapatre is a collection of a hundred letters written by Gopal Hari Deshmukh in Prabhakar between
1848 and 1850.
 Prabhakar was a Marathi newspaper founded by Govind Vitthal Kunte, also known as Bhau
Mahajan. It was published from 1841 to 1861.

Vishnu Parashuram Shastri Pandit (1827-1876)

• Vishnu Shastri Pandit Advocated widow marriage.
• He established the Vidhva Vivaha Uttejak Mandal (Society for the Encouragement of widows
remarriage) in 1866.
• He translated Pandit Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar's "Vidhavavivaha" in 1865.
• In his weekly journal, Indu Prakash, Vishnu Shastri Pandit advocated widow remarriage.
 Aurobindo Ghosh wrote fiery articles in Indu Prakash titled "New Lamps for Old," in which he
strongly criticised the Congress for its moderate policy.

Mahadev Govind Ranade (1842–1901)

• Mahadev Govind Ranade, popularly known as Justice Ranade, was an Indian scholar, social reformer,
judge, economist, and historian.
• M. G. Ranade was born in 1842 in the Nashik District, Maharashtra. He was a professor at Elphinstone
College, Bombay and finally became the Judge of the Bombay High Court.
• M. G. Ranade was a leading member of Prarthana Samaj (1867), Pune Sarvajanik Sabha (1870), the
Indian National Congress (1885), and the Indian Social Conference (1887).
• Ranade's work inspired other Indian social reformers, including Gopal Krishna Gokhale, who continued
his efforts after his death.

Hindu Religious Practices

• Though Ranade greatly admired Indian culture and religion, he was highly critical of some Hindu
religious beliefs and practices. He wanted to reform the religion from within.

Philosophy of Theism

• Ranade believed in the existence of one God and was, therefore, a monotheist. In his book,
Philosophy of Indian Theism, he expounded the theistic interpretation of the Universe.
• Ranade did not believe in the Advaita philosophy (non-dualism) of Adi Shankaracharya because he
held that God and man were not the same thing.

Social Reforms
• Ranade believed in society's overall development and held that social, religious, political, and
economic reforms were interdependent. According to Ranade, reform had to be gradual and
undertaken in a manner that did not break the continuity of traditions.
• Lokmanya Tilak and his followers believed that political reforms were more important than social
reforms, as they believed securing political power would make it possible to achieve social reforms.
• However, Ranade disagreed with Tilak’s view and believed that social reforms were of greater
importance. He believed that social reforms were the foundation of modern society and would pave
the way for the struggle for political power.
• Ranade criticised the caste system, untouchability, child marriage, polytheism, idol worship and
subjugation of women. He worked for widow remarriage, inter-caste marriage, and the education of
women and backward communities.
• Ranade established the Vidhva Vivaha Uttejak Mandal (Widows Remarriage Association) in 1865.

Views on the Rise of Maratha Power

• Ranade was a passionate student of Maratha history. He was particularly impressed by Shivaji's
personality. He wrote his famous essay "The Rise of Maratha Power" to show that the Maratha
movement had its own philosophy and purpose.

Industrialisation
• Ranade argued that the poverty of the Indian masses could only be eliminated through
industrialisation, as excessive reliance on agriculture was the root cause of poverty.

Nationalism

• Ranade was a moderate and did not believe in revolutionary methods. He believed in constitutional
methods and sought change through constituted authority, rather than breaking it.
• Ranade wanted to establish a free democratic society in India based on justice, equality, and liberty.

Sir Ramakrishna Gopal Bhandarkar (1837-1925)

• R. G. Bhandarkar was an Indian scholar, orientalist, and social reformer.
• After early schooling in Ratnagiri, Bhandarkar studied at Elphinstone College in Bombay.
• Along with M. G. Ranade, Bhandarkar was among the first graduates in 1862 from Bombay University.
• Bhandarkar taught oriental languages first at Elphinstone College (Mumbai) and then at Deccan
College (Pune).
• Bhandarkar was the first Indian Vice-Chancellor of Bombay University (1893-95) and the first Indian
to be awarded an LLD degree by the university in 1904.
• As an educationist, Bhandarkar was elected a non-official member of the Imperial Legislative Council
in 1903. Gopal Krishna Gokhale was also a member of the council.

Social Reformer
• R. G. Bhandarkar was associated with the Paramahamsa Sabha and the Prarthana Samaj.
• Bhandarkar worked for the cause of Depressed Classes and women. He strongly opposed social evils
like child marriage, castism and alcoholism. He stood for women's education and remarriages of
widows.
• Bhandarkar cited evidence from Atharvaveda and Aitareya Brahman in support of a widow marriage.
In 1891, he arranged the widow remarriage of his daughter.

Orientalist

• Bhandarkar participated in international conferences on Oriental Studies.

• Bhandarkar reconstructed the political history of the Deccans and wrote the history of the
Satavahanas, Vaishnavism, Shaivism, and other sects.
• On July 6, 1917, his 80th birthday, the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute was founded in Pune
in his presence and honour by his disciples. It was formally inaugurated by Lord Willingdon, the
Governor of Bombay.

Pandita Ramabai Sarasvati (1858 – 1922)

• Pandita Ramabai Sarasvati was an Indian social reformer. She was the first woman to be awarded the
title of Pandita for her extraordinary command over Sanskrit and Sarasvati after being examined by
the faculty of the University of Calcutta.
• Ramabai was criticised for marrying Bipin Behari Medhvi, a non-Brahmin Bengali lawyer. After her
husband's early demise in 1882, Ramabai moved to Pune to work for the emancipation of women.
Bhandarkar and Justice Ranade supported her efforts in Pune.
• She wrote about the miserable lives of upper-caste Hindu women in her book 'High Caste Hindu
Woman.' She converted to Christianity because of the opposition from the Orthodox people.

Emancipation of Women
• Ramabai established Arya Mahila Samaj in Pune on November 30, 1882, to empower and educate
women to lead dignified lives.
• In 1889, she established 'Sharada Sadan,' a home for widows in Mumbai. The home offered
educational facilities to destitute women and widows. Later, Sharada Sadan was shifted to Pune. Now
it became Pandita Ramabai Mukti Mission.
• In 1919, the British monarchy awarded her with the Kaiser-i-Hind Award.

Maharshi Dhondo Keshav Karve (1858–1962)

• D. K. Karve was a social reformer from Maharashtra. He advocated women's education and widow
remarriage.

Widow Remarriage
• In 1883, after the death of his first wife, Karve married Godubai, a widow who was his friend's sister
and set an example for others.
• In 1893, Karve founded "Vidhwa Vivahattejak Mandali" (Widow Remarriage Association).
• Inspired by Pandita Ramabai's Sharada Sadan, Karve started the Widow Home Association in
1896. The association aimed to make the widows self-supporting by training them as teachers,
midwives, or nurses.
• In 1896, Karve established a 'Mahilashram', a school for widows in Hingane village outside Pune. He
also started ‘Anath Balikashram’, a shelter for destitute/orphan girls.

Women's education

• Maharishi Karve founded many educational institutions for girls.

• In 1916, Karve established the Women's University in Pune, the first university for women in India.
In 1919, Sir Vithaldas D. Thackersey, an industrialist, provided funds for the university, which was
then renamed SNDT Women's University after Shrimati Nathibai Damodar Thakersey.

Gopal Ganesh Agarkar (1856-1895)

• Gopal Ganesh Agarkar was an educationist, freedom fighter, and social reformer from Maharashtra.
In his early years, Agarkar developed a close relationship with Tilak.
• Agarkar was deeply influenced by the Age of Enlightenment in Europe and the works of philosophers
such as John Stuart Mill, Herbert Spencer, Auguste Comte, Voltaire, and Rousseau.
• Agarkar believed in the power of human reason and criticised blind dependence on tradition or false
glorification of India's past.
• Agarkar was an active campaigner for social reforms. He believed India could not be free until casteism
and religious superstitions were eradicated. Agarkar saw social reforms as necessary for political
reforms.
• Agarkar advocated for women's liberation, the elimination of superstitions, the abolition of caste
discrimination, and the promotion of scientific thinking. He advocated reforms, such as the ban on
child marriage, education of women, and remarriage of women.
• Agarkar believed in rationalism, equality, and humanism. He believed that education and the press
could play critical roles in spreading these ideas. To this end, he edited a journal, Kesari, and started
educational institutions with Tilak.
✓ Agarkar was the first editor of Kesari, a Marathi journal started by Tilak.
✓ Along with Tilak, Agarkar was associated with the New English School (1880), the Deccan
Education Society (1884), and Fergusson College (1885).

Differences with Tilak

Tilak Agarkar
 Social conservative and proud of Hindu Social reformer, influenced by Western
Brahmanical tradition. intellectual tradition and critical of orthodox
practices in Hinduism.
Believed that social reform should come from Supportive of British reforms in Indian society
within and opposed any British interference in
Indian society
Opposed the Age of Consent Act Supported the Age of Consent Act
Believed India should first fight against British Believed social reform should be a priority
rule and later focus on social reform alongside or even before the struggle against
British rule
• Agarkar resigned from Kesari due to his differences with Tilak and started Sudharak, his own
newspaper, in 1887. Through Sudharak, he promoted social reforms.

Reforms in North India

Swami Dayanand Saraswati (1824-1883) and Arya Samaj

• Swamy Dayanand Saraswati spearheaded social and religious reform in North India. In 1875, he
founded the Arya Samaj in Bombay to reform Hinduism. Later, its branches were established in
different places, including Lahore, in 1877.

Attack on Puranas
• Swami Dayanand believed that selfish and ignorant priests had perverted the Hindu religion with the
aid of the Puranas, which he said were full of false teachings.

Infallibility of Vedas
• Swami Dayanand regarded the Vedas as infallible, which meant that human reason was not the final
deciding factor. He rejected all religious thought if it conflicted with the Vedas. This total
dependence on the Vedas gave his teachings an orthodox colouring.
• However, Swami took a rationalist approach to interpreting the Vedas. He believed that the Vedas
were open to interpretation by any human being. This meant that individual reason was a decisive
factor. The teachings he derived from his interpretation of the Vedas were very similar to the religious
and social reforms that other Indian reformers were advocating.
• Swami Dayanand met and discussed this with Keshub Chandra Sen, Vidyasagar, Justice Ranade,
Gopal Hari Deshmukh, and other modern religious and social reformers.

Back to Vedas
• Swami Dayanand believed that the Vedic religion was the true religion and that Vedic society was
free from all social evils. In a Vedic society, there was no caste system or untouchability, and women
held an equal status in the community. Hence, he gave a call to "Go back to the Vedas."

Social Reforms
• Swami attacked idolatry, polytheism, priesthood, the prevalent caste practices, child marriage and
Brahmin-sponsored religious rites and superstitious practices.
• He supported inter-caste marriages, female education, and widow remarriage and also favoured the
study of Western sciences.
• Although the Vedas were venerated as infallible, the reforms advocated were the product of modern
rational thinking.

Progressive Role of Arya Samajists

• The Arya Samajists played a progressive role in furthering social reform in North India. They worked
for the improvement of women's conditions, advocated social equality, and denounced untouchability
and caste rigidities. They also inculcated a spirit of self-respect and self-reliance among the people.
• Some of Swami Dayanand's followers later started a network of schools and colleges in the country.
❖ Lala Hansraj started the first Dayanand Anglo-Vedic College in Lahore in 1886. It offered
education on Western lines.
❖ In 1902, Swami Shradhananda started the Gurukul near Hardwar to propagate the more
traditional ideals of education.

Swaraj and Swadeshi

• Swami Dayanand Saraswati advocated for Swadeshi and Swaraj, encouraging the use of indigenous
goods. Several prominent Arya Samajists, including Lala Lajpat Rai, Bipin Chandra Pal and Swami
Shradhanand, played an important role in the Indian independence movement.

Shuddhi Movement
• One of the objectives of Arya Samaj was to prevent Hindus from converting to other religions. To
this end, it started the Shuddhi movement, aimed at bringing back to the Hindu fold those who had
recently converted to Islam.
• This Shuddhi movement led to the start of a crusade against other religions, which became a
contributory factor in the growth of communalism in India in the 20th century.
• While the Arya Samaj's reformist work tended to unite people, its religious work tended, though
perhaps unconsciously, to divide the growing national unity among Hindus, Muslims, Parsis, Sikhs,
and Christians.

Arya Samaj and Brahmo Samaj

• India's Vedic Age inspired the Arya Samaj, while the Brahmo Samaj and the Prathana Samaj were
influenced by Western religions and learning. The Arya Samaj was more conservative and
aggressive than the Brahmo Samaj.
• The idea of the Arya Samaj, with its Sunday meeting, resembled the practices of the Brahmo Samaj
and the Prarthana Samaj.

Satyarth Prakash
• Satyarth Prakash is an 1875 book written originally in Hindi by Dayanand Saraswati. Swami Dayanand
Saraswati subsequently revised the book in 1882, and it has been translated into more than 20
languages.
• In the book, Swami interpreted the Vedas using a rational approach.

Reforms in South India

Veda Samaj (1864)

• In 1864, Keshub Chandra Sen delivered a lecture on Brahmo Samaj in Madras, which inspired the
establishment of the Veda Samaj in Chennai.
• The Veda Samaj criticised the rituals of orthodox Hinduism, worked to abolish caste distinctions,
and promoted widow remarriage and women's education. Its members believed in one God.
• Chembeti Sridharalu Naidu made the Veda Samaj popular in South India. He translated
Debendranath Tagore's 'Brahmo Dharma’ and books of the Veda Samaj in Telugu and Tamil.

Theosophical Society (1875)

• The Theosophical Society was founded in New York (USA) in November 1875 by Madam H. P.
Blavatsky, a Russian lady, and H. S. Olcott, an American colonel.
• Blavatsky and Olcott came to India in 1879 and established the society's headquarters at Adyar, near
Madras. Gradually, they established branches in different parts of India.
• Ms Annie Besant, an Irish lady, renounced Christianity and joined the Theosophical Society in 1889.
She arrived in India in 1893, where the movement quickly gained popularity under her guidance.
• As religious revivalists, the Theosophists advocated the revival and strengthening of the ancient
religions of Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, and Buddhism. They recognised the doctrine of the
transmigration of the soul and preached the universal brotherhood of man.
• Their main objectives were to form a universal brotherhood of man without distinction of race, colour
or creed and to encourage the study of ancient religions and philosophies.
• The Theosophists believed in the theory of Karma and Reincarnation and drew ideas from the
philosophy of Upanishads, Samkhya, Yoga, and the Vedanta school of thought.
• The Theosophists, who were religious revivalists, did not achieve much success in their mission.
However, they made a distinct contribution to modern India.
• Being led by Westerners, they held Indian religions and philosophical traditions in high esteem.
This helped the Indians regain their confidence, but it also led to a sense of false pride in their past
greatness.

Annie Besant
• Annie Besant, an Irish lady, was a theosophist, educationist, home rule activist, champion of human
freedom and Indian nationalism. She was an ardent supporter of both Irish and Indian self-rule.
• Theosophical Society: Besant joined the Theosophical Society in May 1889 and came to India in
1893. After H.S. Olcott's death in February 1907, Annie Besant became the President of the
Theosophical Society and held the position until her death on 21 September 1933.
• Benaras Hindu University: Annie Besant founded the Central Hindu School in Benaras in 1898. Later,
in 1916, it developed into the Benaras Hindu University under the leadership of Madan Mohan
Malaviya.
• Journals: Besant founded a weekly newspaper, 'Commonweal', in January 1914 for her political work.
❖ In June 1914, she purchased the Madras Standard and renamed it 'New India' in August 1914.
• Home Rule League: The Home Rule League was started on 1 September 1916. In June 1917, she was
detained by the Government of Madras along with G. S. Arundale and B. P. Wadia, two of her principal
workers.
❖ Upon her release, she was elected President of the Calcutta session of the Indian National
Congress (1917) due to a surge in popularity. This made her the first female president of the
Indian National Congress in 1917.
• Hindu revivalism: Besant translated the Bhagavad Gita into English and opposed early marriage and
forced widowhood.
• Left the Congress: A special session of the Congress was held in Calcutta in September 1920 to give a
call for Non-Cooperation under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. The Non-Cooperation resolution
was ratified at the Nagpur session held in December 1920. Anne Besant, who believed in a
constitutional and lawful struggle, opposed the law-breaking and left Congress.
• Theosophical College: Besant founded the Besant Theosophical College on July 19, 1915, at
Madanapalle (Andhra Pradesh).

Madanapalle and National Anthem

• Rabindranath Tagore authored the national anthem ‘Jana Gana Mana’ in 1911.
• In 1919, during his South India tour, Rabindranath Tagore, exhausted from travel, stayed at the
Theosophical College in Madanapalle in Andhra Pradesh from 25th February to 2nd March 1919.
• During his stay at Madanapalle, Tagore translated 'Jana Gana Mana' into English as ‘Morning Song
of India’ on February 28, 1919
• Margaret Cousins (Irish woman), the wife of James Cousins, then principal of the Theosophical College
gave a tune to 'Jana Gana Mana' and it became a song. Until then, ‘Jana Gana Mana’ was just a lyric.
• Tagore called the Madanapalle Theosophical College the "Shantiniketan of South India."
• 'Jana Gana Mana' was declared the national anthem on January 24, 1950.

Women's Indian Association (WIA)

• The Women's Indian Association (WIA) was founded on 7 May 1917 at Adayar, Madras, by Annie
Besant, Margaret Cousins, Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy, Sister Subbalaskmi and Sarojini Naidu.
• WIA's main objective was to fight for the empowerment of women who had been suffering from poor
socio-economic and political conditions. The Association later developed into a potent force to fight
against illiteracy, child marriage, the Devadasi system and other social ills.
• The WIA also published a monthly English journal named 'Stri-Dharma.'
• In 1918, the Southborough Committee visited India to review the question of women's franchise.
Women's organisations, including WIA, passed resolutions demanding franchise for women and
submitted them to the Committee.

[UPSC 2013] Annie Besant was:

1. Responsible for starting the Home Rule Movement.
2. The founder of the Theosophical Society.
3. Once the President of the Indian National Congress.
Select the correct statement/statements using the code given below:
a) 1 only
b) 2 and 3 only
c) 1 and 3 only
d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer: C

[UPSC 2021] With reference to Madanapalle of Andhra Pradesh, which one of the
following
statements is correct?
a) Pingali Venkayya designed the tricolour Indian National Flag here.
b) Pattabhi Sitaramaiah led the Quit India Movement of the Andhra region from here.
c) Rabindranath Tagore translated the National Anthem from Bengali to English here.
d) Madame Blavatsky and Colonel Olcott set up headquarters of Theosophical Society first here.
Answer: C

Religious Reform among the Parsis

Rehnumai Mazadayasan Sabha (1851)

• Naoroji Furdonji, Dadabhai Naoroji and S.S. Bengalee started Rehnumai Mazadayasan Sabha
(Religious Reform Association) in 1851.
• It initiated the modernisation of Parsi social customs. It campaigned for the introduction and spread
of education among women, the grant of legal status to women, and uniform laws of inheritance
and marriage for the Parsi community. Over time, the Parsis became socially the most Westernised
section of Indian society.

Religious Reforms Among Muslims

• The Muslim upper classes had tended to avoid contact with Western education and culture. Hence,
the movements for religious reform were late among the Muslims.
• The religious reform movement among Muslims started with the establishment of the Mohammedan
Literary Society in 1863 in Kolkata. It was founded by Nawab Abdul Latif to educate Muslims in
Western learning through the English medium .
• This Society promoted discussion of religious, social, and political questions in light of modern ideas
and encouraged upper and middle-class Muslims to pursue Western education.

Sir Syed Ahmad Khan (1817-1898) and Aligarh Movement

• Syed Ahmad Khan was the most important reformer among Muslims. He was impressed by modern
scientific thought and worked throughout his life to spread modern education among Muslims.
• He interpreted the Quran in the light of contemporary rationalism and science. In his view, any
interpretation of the Quran that conflicted with human reason, science or nature was, in reality, a
misinterpretation.
• Sir Syed was against fanaticism, narrow-mindedness, and exclusiveness and urged students and
others to be broadminded and tolerant. He urged the people to develop a critical approach and
freedom of thought.
• He believed in religious tolerance and considered religion to be a private matter. He opposed
communal friction and appealed to Hindus and Muslims to unite.
• He believed that the religious and social life of Muslims could be improved only by imbibing modern
Western scientific knowledge and culture. Therefore, he founded schools in many towns and
translated many Western books into Urdu.
• In 1875, he founded the Muhammedan Anglo-Oriental College at Aligarh as a centre for spreading
Western sciences and culture. It was open to all Indians. Later, this College grew into the Aligarh
Muslim University, the first Muslim university in South Asia.
• Sir Syed criticised the social evils such as purdah and polygamy. He favoured raising women's status
and advocated spreading education among women. Syed used his magazine Tahdhib-ul-Akhlaq to
propagate the ideas.

Sir Syed Ahmad Khan and Communalism

• Towards the end of his life, Sir Syed began to talk of Hindu domination and prevented his followers
from joining the national movement. This was unfortunate, though basically, he was not a
communalist.
• Sir Syed advised all Indians, particularly the educationally backward Muslims, to remain aloof from
politics for some time to come. He prevented his followers from joining the Indian National Congress
because he believed that:
❖ The spread of Western education among the Muslims was necessary, and any opposition to
British rule could be dangerous to this effort.
❖ Indians could hope to successfully challenge foreign rule only when they became as modern in
their thinking and actions as the English.
❖ Immediate political progress was not possible because the British Government could not be easily
dislodged.
• Sir Syed had become so committed to his college and the cause of education that he was willing to
sacrifice all other interests for them. As a result:
❖ He virtually gave up his agitation in favour of religious reform to prevent the orthodox Muslims
from opposing his college
❖ He refrained from doing anything that might offend the government
 The British awarded Sir Syed Ahmad Khan knighthood in 1888.
• Though Sir Syed and his Aligarh movement raised the Muslim community, they were responsible
for encouraging communalism and separatism.

Communalism and the Role of British

• After 1870, when the British realised that the challenge to British rule would come from the rising
nationalist movement and not the Muslim orthodox, they supported Sir Syed to win over the
Muslims.
• The British made an attempt to turn upper-class and middle-class Muslims against the nationalist
movement. They encouraged the foundation of the Indian Patriotic Association which opposed
the national movement.
Indian Patriotic Association
• The Indian Patriotic Association was founded in 1888 by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan and Raja Shiv Prasad
Singh of Benaras.
• It aimed to:
➢ Oppose the Indian National Congress
➢ Develop close ties between the Muslim community and the British Raj.

Aligarh Movement
• The reform movement initiated by Syed Ahmad Khan in the Muslim community is known as Aligarh
Movement. It was based on the liberal interpretation of the Quran. It aimed:
✓ To remove backwardness among Muslims
✓ To spread Western education among Muslims
✓ Initiate social reforms among Muslims, such as female education, widow remarriage, and the
abolition of purdah and polygamy.

Deobandi School (Darul Uloom)

• The Deobandi movement was a revivalist movement initiated by Muslim orthodox individuals. It
opposed the influence of non-Muslim cultures on Muslims and aimed to preserve traditional
Islamic teachings from the influx of modernist and secular ideas during British colonial rule.
• The Deobandi movement began in 1867, around the Darul Uloom Madrassa in Deoband, Uttar
Pradesh, and was founded by Muhammad Qasim Nanautavi, Rashid Ahmad Gangohi, and other
prominent figures.
• At its inception, the Deoband movement
❖ Opposed the British rule in India.
❖ Opposed the Aligarh movement, which was loyal to the British.
❖ Supported the Indian National Congress and National Movement.
• Critics claim that Deoband's backing of nationalists was primarily driven by their strong dislike for
Syed Ahmed Khan rather than having their own clear political beliefs.

Emancipation of Women

• For centuries, women in India were socially oppressed and subordinated to men due to various
religious practices and laws that deemed women inferior to men. Social customs and laws related to
marriage, inheritance, women's position in society, etc., were against women.
• During the 18th century, Indian women suffered from many problems, including female infanticide,
child marriage, denial of education, sati practice, restrictions on widow remarriage, polygamy,
restriction on divorce, purdah system, and absence of right to property.
• The condition of upper-class women was worse than that of peasant women. Since the latter worked
actively in the fields alongside men, they enjoyed relatively greater freedom of movement and, in some
respects, a better status in the family than upper-class women. For example, peasant women seldom
observed purdah, and many had the right to remarry.
• When the British started administering the country, they enacted several regulations and laws to
prohibit female infanticide, abolish the practice of sati, enable women to remarry, etc. However,
the orthodox Indians considered this to be an interference in the religious affairs by the foreign
government.
• These social reforms (religious interference for orthodox people) were one of the reasons for the
Revolt of 1857. Hence, after 1858, the government abandoned the reform policy. However, now,
the enlightened people (educated Indians), moved by the humanitarian and egalitarian impulses of the
19th century, started the movements for social change.
• When social reformers initiated their movement to improve women's status, some appealed to the
doctrines of individualism and equality. Others argued that true Hinduism, Islam, or Zoroastrianism
did not sanction women's inferior status.
 Pandita Ramabai wrote about the miserable lives of upper-caste Hindu women in her book 'High
Caste Hindu Woman.'
 Tarabai Shinde, a woman educated in Poona, published a book, Stripurushtulna (A Comparison
between Women and Men), criticising the social differences between men and women.

Sati Practice
• The practice of sati (widow burning) was widespread in India. The widows were praised if they chose
death by burning themselves on the funeral pyre of their husbands. Women who died in this manner,
whether willingly or otherwise, were called "sati", meaning virtuous women.
• Raja Rammohun Roy, pained by the problems of widows, started a campaign against sati. Roy
translated the ancient texts and showed that widow burning had no sanction in ancient texts.
• Finally, Roy's struggle against sati succeeded when Lord William Bentinck declared the practice of sati
illegal in 1829.

Female education
• In the 18th century, in India, most girls did not receive an education.
• Apart from the general backwardness of society, superstitions, religious customs and laws were
responsible for the illiteracy among the women. In many parts of the country people believed that if a
woman was educated, she would become a widow.
• With the arrival of Christian missionaries, the doors of education were opened for girls. However,
the suspicion that missionary schools would convert girls to Christianity limited the girls' access to
those missionary schools.

Bengal Presidency
• Raja Rammohun Roy and Brahmo Samaj advocated female education.
• Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was appointed as secretary of Bethune School, which encouraged many
Hindu families to send their girls to Bethune's school. He also opened many schools for female
education.
• Arya Samajists established the schools for girls in Punjab.

Bombay Presidency
• Due to the spread of English education (Many early reformers of Maharashtra graduated from
Elphinston College) and the efforts of social reformers:
✓ Bombay was ahead of Bengal in female education and in the freedom of social intercourse.
✓ The Purdah system was not prevalent in Bombay.
• On January 1, 1848, Mahatma Jyotiba Phule and Savitribai Phule started India’s first school for girls
at Bhide Wada in Pune. Along with Fatima Sheikh, they spread education among the downtrodden
communities.
• Student's Literary and Scientific Society (1848) promoted the female education in Bombay.
• Jagannath Shankarshet, Dadoba Pandurang, Bhau Daji, the Cama family, and other businessmen
supported female education.
• Social reformers like Dadabhai Naoroji, B. M. Malbari, M. G. Ranade, D. K. Karve, Pandita Ramabai,
G. K. Gokhale, Agarkar and Tilak played an important role in the spread of female education.

Widow Remarriage
• In the 18th century, women in India possessed little individuality. They were seen as adjuncts to men
and praised for their roles as wives and mothers.
• Although a man was permitted to have more than one wife, a woman could only marry once, and
even widows could not remarry.
• Pandit Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar led an extended campaign in favour of allowing widows to
remarry. Vidyasagar used ancient texts to suggest that widows could remarry. British officials
adopted his suggestion, and a law permitting widow remarriage was passed in 1856.
• By the second half of the 19th century, the movement favouring widow remarriage spread to other
parts of the country.

Bombay Presidency
• Many social reformers, including Phule, M. G. Ranade, Vishnu Shastri Pandit, D. K. Karve and Pandita
Ramabai, encouraged widow remarriages.
• Journals like Indu Prakash, Satya Prakash and Lokhitwadi advocated widow remarriage.
• Widow Remarriage Associations were established by Vishnu Shastri Pandit, M. G. Ranade and Karve
in 1866, 1865 and 1893, respectively.

Madras Presidency
• In the Telugu-speaking areas of the Madras Presidency, Veerasalingam Pantulu formed an
association for widow remarriage.

North India
• In the north, Swami Dayanand Saraswati, who founded the reform association called Arya Samaj,
supported widow remarriage.
Child Marriage
• Child marriage, a cruel custom which generated other social evils such as sati, polygamy and problems
of widows, was prevalent in India.
• Initially, there was no minimum age for marriage, and people used to marry their children at a very
young age. The Hindu Marriage Act of 1860 fixed the minimum marriage age for girls at ten.
• Enlightened men (educated Indians) challenged the custom of child marriage and forced the British
to pass the Civil Marriage Act of 1872 (Act III of 1872).
• Act III of 1872 abolished early marriage, declared polygamy a legal offence and allowed intercaste
marriages for parties not professing any of the current faiths of India.

Age of Consent Act (1891)

• B. M. Malabari, editor of Indian Spectator, wrote articles on widowhood, child marriage and
polygamy.
• In 1884, Malabari wrote two pamphlets on Infant Marriage and Compulsory Widowhood, known
as Malabari's notes, to raise awareness of child marriage.
• Malabari proposed raising the Age of Consent to 12. He was supported by M.G. Ranade, Agarkar,
Narayan Lokhande, K.T. Telang, Vidyasagar, and Bhandarkar.
• Tilak and the orthodox people opposed Malabari. Tilak was not against social reform, but he
opposed foreign government interference in the Hindu Society's social reform.
• Finally, due to the pressure of social reformers led by the Malabari and Rukhmabai case, the
government passed the Age of Consent Act of 1891, which raised the age of consent for all girls,
married or unmarried, from ten to twelve. It made sexual intercourse illegal with a girl below the age
of twelve and also forbade child marriage below the age of twelve.

Seva Sadan

• Shri Behramji Malabari and his friend Diwan Dayaram Gidumal established the Seva Sadan Society
in 1908 in Mumbai. The organization aimed to offer shelter to impoverished and oppressed women
from all communities. Additionally, it provided education, medical, and welfare services to them.

Rukhmabai Case (1887)

• Rukhmabai Raut, one of the first female doctors to practice medicine in British India, staunchly
opposed child marriage.
• Rukhmabai was married off at the age of 11 to Dadaji Bhikaji, who was 19. She refused to stay with
Bhikaji and his family at his house. This led to the Dadaji Bhikaji vs Rukhmabai case, 1885.
• When Bhikaji filed for "restitution of conjugal rights," Rukhmabai argued that the marriage was not
binding since she had not consented to it at the age of 11.
• After many hearings, the court affirmed the marriage, and in March 1887, Rukhmabai was ordered to
live with her husband or face a six-month jail term.
• Rukhmabai wrote to Queen Victoria about her situation. The Queen overruled the court’s verdict and
dissolved the marriage. In July 1888, Dadaji accepted monetary compensation of two thousand rupees
to dissolve the marriage.
• The Rukhmabai case led to the enactment of the Age of Consent Act in 1891.

Child Marriage Restraint Act (1929)

• In 1929, the Child Marriage Restraint Act was enacted, setting the minimum age of marriage for
girls and boys at 16 and 18, respectively. This law is commonly called the Sarda Act, named after its
sponsor, Harbilas Sarda, a judge and member of Arya Samaj.

[UPSC 2020] In the context of Indian history, the Rakhmabai case of 1884 revolved around:
1. Women’s right to gain education
2. Age of consent
3. Restitution of conjugal rights
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
a) 1 and 2 only
b) 2 and 3 only
c) 1 and 3 only
d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer: B