Social-Religious Reforms, Personalities, and Organizations:

Movements for social and religious reforms in India up to the 20^th century played a vital role in the upliftment of India. The list of some important social and religious reforms in our society is provided below:

Brahmo Samaj – Founded in August 1828

Raja Ram Mohan Roy and the Brahmo Movement

Raja Ram Mohan Roy founded the Atmiya Sabha in Calcutta. The primary objective of the Atmiya Sabha was to promote monotheism and criticize the superstitions and social evils prevalent in Hindu society.

In August 1828, he established the Brahmo Sabha, which was later renamed the Brahmo Samaj in 1830 in Calcutta.

Later, Debendranath Tagore founded the Adi Brahmo Samaj, while Keshub Chandra Sen became associated with the Brahmo Samaj of India.

The Brahmo Samaj played a significant role in promoting religious, social, and cultural reforms. It opposed practices such as idol worship, belief in incarnations (avatars), animal sacrifices, priestly dominance, and Sati, while advocating rationalism and ethical spirituality.

Publications Associated with the Brahmo Movement

Raja Ram Mohan Roy published:

• Sambad Kaumudi (1821)
• Mirat-ul-Akbar
• The Precepts of Jesus (1820)

Debendranath Tagore published:

• Tattvabodhini Patrika

Keshub Chandra Sen published:

• Indian Mirror

Publications of the Sadharan Brahmo Samaj included:

• Tattva Kaumudi
• The Indian Messenger
• Sanjibani
• Nayabharat
• Prabasi

Objectives of the Brahmo Samaj

• Rejected polytheism and idol worship.
• Opposed the belief in avatars (incarnations).
• Denied that any scripture possessed absolute authority beyond human reason and conscience.
• Criticized the caste system and social discrimination.
• Promoted monotheism, rational thought, social equality, and religious reform.

Tattvabodhini Sabha (1839)

The Tattvabodhini Sabha was established in 1839 in Kolkata (then Calcutta) to promote the study and dissemination of religious and philosophical ideas.

• It was led by Debendranath Tagore (1817–1905), who played a key role in revitalizing the Brahmo movement.
• The Sabha published the Tattvabodhini Patrika in Bengali. The journal was dedicated to the systematic and rational study of India’s history, philosophy, culture, and religious traditions, encouraging intellectual inquiry and social reform.

Paramhans Mandali (1849)

The Paramhans Mandali was a secret socio-religious reform organization founded in 1849 in Mumbai (then Bombay) by Durgaram Mehta, Dadoba Pandurang, and their associates.

It is considered the first socio-religious reform movement in Maharashtra and served as a precursor to later reform organizations such as the Prarthana Samaj.

Features and Objectives

• Promoted monotheism and rejected superstition and ritualism.
• Encouraged the use of reason and rational thinking in religious matters.
• Opposed idol worship and meaningless religious ceremonies.
• Supported women’s education and the improvement of women’s social status.
• Advocated widow remarriage and opposed restrictions imposed on widows.
• Criticized the caste system and worked for social equality.
• Encouraged inter-caste dining and social interaction to break caste barriers.
• Emphasized the ideals of human brotherhood, equality, and social justice.
• Sought to reform Hindu society from within rather than create a separate religion.

Significance

• It laid the foundation for the socio-religious reform movement in western India.
• The organization inspired later reformers who worked for social equality, women’s rights, and religious reform.
• Though its membership remained limited and many meetings were held secretly due to conservative opposition, its ideas had a lasting impact on reform movements in Maharashtra.

Historical Importance

The Paramhans Mandali represented one of the earliest organized efforts in India to challenge caste discrimination and social orthodoxy. Its emphasis on monotheism, social equality, and women’s welfare contributed significantly to the broader nineteenth-century reform movement in India.

Young Bengal Movement (1826–1831)

The Young Bengal Movement was a radical intellectual and social reform movement founded by Henry Louis Vivian Derozio, an Anglo-Indian teacher at Hindu College (now Presidency University), during the period 1826–1831.

Derozio inspired a group of young students known as the Derozians, who sought to challenge social orthodoxy and promote rational thinking, individual freedom, and social reform.

Prominent Members

Some notable followers of the movement included:

• Rasik Krishna Mallick
• Tarachand Chakrabarti
• Krishna Mohan Banerjee
• Ramgopal Ghosh
• Ramtanu Lahiri

Ideas and Objectives

• Promoted the ideals of liberty, equality, and freedom.
• Encouraged rationalism, free thought, and scientific inquiry.
• Opposed social evils, superstition, and blind adherence to tradition.
• Advocated women’s rights and supported female education.
• Criticized the caste system and social discrimination.
• Encouraged freedom of expression and independent thinking.
• Drew inspiration from the ideals of the French Revolution, especially liberty, equality, and fraternity.

Significance

• It was one of the earliest movements to introduce modern, liberal, and secular ideas in India.
• The movement played an important role in the growth of intellectual awakening in Bengal.
• Although it did not become a mass movement, it influenced later social and political reform movements in India.

Limitations

• The movement remained largely confined to a small group of educated urban youth.
• Its ideas were often considered too radical for contemporary Indian society.
• After Derozio’s dismissal from Hindu College and his early death in 1831, the movement gradually declined.

Contribution: The Young Bengal Movement marked an important phase in the Indian Renaissance by promoting critical thinking, social reform, and individual freedom among the educated classes of Bengal.

Wahabi Movement- 1820

• Wahabi Movement – Founded by Syed Ahmed.
• Other people associated with the movement – were Vilayat Ali, Shah Muhhamad Hussain, Farhat Hussain, and Inayat Ali.
• Started from Rohilakhand and spread in Bengal, central provinces
• This was opposed British and they also fought against Sikhs.

Namdhari (Kuka) Movement (1849–1871)

The Namdhari Movement, popularly known as the Kuka Movement, was a socio-religious reform movement among the Sikhs. It was founded by Balak Singh and later organized and expanded by Baba Ram Singh.

The movement was active mainly between 1849 and 1871 in Punjab and the North-West Frontier Province (present-day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan).

Objectives and Reforms

• Promoted the purification and revival of Sikh religious practices.
• Emphasized strict adherence to the teachings of the Sikh Gurus.
• Opposed social evils such as caste discrimination, female infanticide, and dowry.
• Encouraged simple living, moral discipline, and spiritual devotion.
• Advocated women’s upliftment and supported widow remarriage.
• Condemned the use of intoxicants, meat consumption, and extravagant ceremonies.
• Worked for social, cultural, and religious reforms within Sikh society.

Political Significance

• The movement developed strong anti-British sentiments and encouraged non-cooperation with colonial authorities.
• Followers boycotted British institutions, courts, schools, and goods.
• It is considered one of the earliest movements to adopt methods similar to later nationalist strategies of swadeshi and non-cooperation.
• The movement gained the support of many peasants and rural Sikhs.

Kuka Revolt (1871–72)

The movement became militant when some followers attacked slaughterhouses to protest cow slaughter. The British government responded with severe repression. In 1872, many Kuka followers were executed, and Baba Ram Singh was arrested and exiled to Rangoon.

Significance

• The Namdhari Movement played a crucial role in the religious and social reform of Sikh society.
• It helped preserve Sikh identity during the colonial period.

Its anti-colonial activities made it an important precursor to later nationalist movements in India

Rahnumai Mazdayasanan Sabha (Religious reform association for Parsis)- 1851

• Rahnumai Mazdayasanan was founded by S.S Bengali, Naoroji Furdonji, Dada Bhai Nauroji
• For improving the social conditions of Parsis.
• The journal Rast Goftar is associated with this organization.

Prarthana Samaj- 1867

The Prarthana Samaj was founded by Atmaram Pandurang, and Keshab Chandra Sen was also associated.

• The Prarthana Samaj was founded in Bombay in 1867.
• The chief mentor was Govind Ranade, he joined the Prarthana Samaj in 1870. Other leaders like R.G. Bhandarkar and N.G. Chandavarkar were also associated with the Samaj.
• They worked for the upliftment of women, the abolition of caste discrimination, and religious reforms from orthodoxy.
• widow remarriage and for raising the age of marriage for both males and females.

The four points of the Social agenda of Prarthana Samaj:

1. Disapproval of the caste system
2. Women’s education
3. for widow remarriage
4. raises the age of marriage for both males and females.

Indian reform association – 1870

• The Indian reform association was founded by Keshub Chandra Sen in Calcutta.
• Against child marriage, for the uplift of women’s status in society, to legalize the Brahmo Type marriage.

Satyasodhak Samaj- 1873

• Satyasodhak Samaj was founded by Jyotiba Fule, in Maharashtra.
• This was against the domination of Brahman and for the upliftment of the lower caste.
• They also worked for untouchables and widows.

Arya Samaj -1875

• Arya Samaj was founded by Dayanand Saraswati (Mulshankar) -1824-1883- in Bombay.
• He took inspiration from the Vedas.
• The slogan of Dayanand Saraswati was- “Back to Vedas”
• Satyarth Prakash was associated with his views.
• Arya Samaj fixed age of – 25 yrs. and 16 yrs. for boys and girls respectively.
• They asserted that the Veda is the book of true knowledge.
• Dayanand Anglo Vedic (DAV) schools were established.

The Theosophical Society- 1875

• The Theosophical Society was founded by Madam H.P Blavatsky (1831-91) a Russian and Col. H.S. Olcott (1832-1907) an American.
• Annie Besant was one of its presidents.
• Founded in New York but its headquarters shifted to Adyar near Madras.
• Worked for social and religious reforms.

Seva Sadan- 1885

• Seva Sadan was founded by Behramji M.Malabari in Bombay
• They worked for various reforms in the social and cultural fields.
• This was against child marriage, forced widowhood, and helping women who were socially suppressed.

Indian National Social Conference – 1887

• Founded by M.G.Ranade and Raghunath Rao in Bombay
• Worked for social reforms.

Deva Samaj- 1887

• Deva Samaj was founded by Shiv Narayan Agnihotri in Lahore.
• They followed The Ides of Brahmo Samaj in religious reforms.
• Social code Against bribes, gambling, alcohol consumption, and non-vegetarian food.

Ramakrishna Mission- 1897

• Founded by Vivekanand (Narendra Nath Dutta)- (1863-1902) in Bengal.
• His guru was Ramkrishna Paramhansa (1834- 1886)
• worked to revive Hinduism on the basis of Ancient India’s religious Text and concept of Vedanta and Gita and other books.
• They were against cast discrimination and superstitions in Hinduism.
• They aimed to uplift women’s status and education system.
• Swami Vivekananda made a great impression at the Chicago Parliament of Religion in 1893.

The Servants of India Society- 1905

• Founded by Gopal Krishna Gokhale in Bombay
• for Women uplift.
• For improvement of the condition of tribals.

The Indian Women’s Association- 1917

• Founded by Annie Besant in Madras
• for the upliftment of Indian Women
• All India women’s conferences were held for women’s betterment.

Bahishkrit Hitakarini Sabha – 1924

• Dr. Ambedkar established the Bahishkrit Hitakarni Sabha in 1924
• Ambedkar established it to highlight the difficulties and grievances of the Dalits before the government.
• The motto of Bahishkrit Sabha was ‘Educate, Agitate, and Organise’.

The steps to improve Women’s position/Women’s Reforms

A number of administrative measures were adopted by the government as well to improve the conditions of women in society.  Some important are discussed below:

Abolition of Sati

The abolition of Sati was launched by Raja Rammohan Roy. The government declared the practice of Sati illegal and punishable as a homicide.

The Regulation of 1829- Regulation XVII, A.D 1829 of the Bengal Code, as applicable to Bengal province, later was simply modified and applicable to Madras and Bombay Presidencies in 1830.

Preventing Female Infanticide

Preventing female Infanticide was introduced to stop the practice of Murdering female infants immediately after their birth, which was a common practice among upper-class Bengalis and Rajputs.

• They considered females as an economic burden. The step taken by the government against it was- The Bengal Regulation of 1795 and 1804 which declared infanticide as equivalent to murder.
• The Act of 1870 made it compulsory to register the birth of all babies and provided for female child verification after some years of birth.

Widow Remarriage

Associated People and their actions for Widow Remarriage:

• The Hindu Widows’ Remarriage Act 1856, was passed due to the efforts of Pandit Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar. Pandit Vidya Sagar cited Vedic text to prove that the Hindu religion sanctioned widow remarriage.
• Vishnu Shastri Pandit founded the Widow Remarriage Association in the 1850s.
• Karsondas Mulji started the “Satya Prakash” in Gujarati in 1852, to advocate widow remarriage.
• Professor D. K Karve in western India married himself a widow in 1893. He dedicated his life to the upliftment of Hindu widows. He became the secretary of the Widows Remarriage Association.

Steps for Controlling Child Marriage

To prohibit Child Marriage – The Native Marriage Act (or Civil Marriage Act) of 1872 signified the legislative actions against child marriage. The Act was not applicable to Hindus, Muslims, and others where religious faith was recognized so it had limited impact.

Some major stapes for controlling child marriage:

• Due to the efforts of B.M Malabari, the enactment of the Age of Consent Act (1891) forbade the marriage of girls below the age of 12 years.
• The Sharda Act, of 1930 stated the new age bar of marriage as 18 for boys and 14 for girls. 
• The Child Marriage Restraint (Amendment) Act 1978 raised the age of marriage for girls and boys. The age of girls for marriage is 18, and for boys, it is 21.

Some other administrative steps for the upliftment of the condition of women were-

• Hindu Women’s Right to Property Act (1937),
• Hindu Marriage and Divorce Act (1954)
• Special Marriage Act (1954)
• Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act (1956)
• Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act (1956)
• The Suppression of Immoral Traffic in Women Act (1958)
• Maternity Benefits Act (1961)
• Dowry Prohibition Act (1961)
• Equal Remuneration Act (1958, 1976)

 

Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paramahansa_Mandali

You can also read:

• The Revolt of 1857
• Uprising before 1857
• peasant movements
• Constitutional Development of India

Thank you 🙂