Raja Ram Mohan Roy (November 2007)
Raja Ram Mohan Roy was the founder of Brahmo Samaj. He was the foremost of modern social reformers. He was born in1774 A.D in Bengal. His remarkable influence was apparent in the field of politics, public administration and education as well as religion. He is most known for his efforts to abolish the practice of sati, a Hindu funeral custom in which the widow sacrifices herself on her husband’s funeral pyre. He supported the remarriage of child widows. Some of his contributions are
- Religious Reformer
- Advocated the worship of one God.
- Published Bengali translations of Vedas.
- Fought against rituals he deemed meaningless and giving rise to superstitions.
- Educationist:
- In 1817, he set up Hindu college at Calcutta.
- Supported induction of western learning into Indian education
- He set up a Vedanta College, offering courses as a synthesis of western and Indian learning.
- He was well versed in many world languages.
- Social Reformer:
- Demanded property inheritance rights for woman
- Fought against social evils like “sati Pratha”.
- Due to his efforts, “Sati pratha” was made illegal in 1829.
- Journalist:
- Published Journals in English, Hindi, Persian & Bengali.
- His most popular journal was “ Samvad Kaumudi”. It covered topics like freedom of press.