Religious Reform Movements in Modern India

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Indian society in the first half of the 19th century was rigid, caste ridden, and full of harmful practices followed in the name of religion. Reform movements were needed to remove superstition, inequ…

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These movements attacked bigotry, superstition, and priestly dominance. They worked against caste, untouchability, purdah, sati, child marriage, and social inequality. Many of them also promoted educa…

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Raja Rammohan Roy founded the Brahmo Sabha in 1828. It later came to be known as the Brahmo Samaj. It became an important organisation for religious reform.

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The Brahmo Samaj opposed idol worship, meaningless rituals, and social evils like sati. It believed in the basic unity of all religions, respected human dignity, and allowed people of different caste,…

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Raja Rammohan Roy campaigned against sati, idol worship, polygamy, and child marriage. He supported widow remarriage, women’s education, and property rights for women. He also opposed caste discrimina…

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He began public campaigning against sati in the early 1818s. He used sacred texts, reason, humanity, and compassion to show that the practice was wrong. He also visited burning ghats in Calcutta to pe…

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Sati was declared illegal in 1829 by law. This was a major step in social reform and in improving the status of women.

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Debendra Nath Tagore succeeded Raja Rammohan Roy as the leader of the Brahmo Samaj. Later, Keshub Chandra Sen took over leadership from Debendra Nath Tagore.