Raja Ram Mohan Roy, popularly known
as ‘the father of modern India’, was
born in 1774 at Radhanagar ,Bengal .He belonged to an orthodox Brahmin ,but
rich Zamindar family. He mastered in Persian, Arabic and Muslim law at Patna,
and Sanskrit and Hindu Shastra and Benaras. In 1797, he joined the Wood Forde
and laid under Digby. He learned English, Greek, Latin and Hebrew ( the
original language of Bible) and studied Bible and other works of Christian theologians.
He learned Tantricism from
Hariharananda Thirthaswamy at Rangpur (N.Bengal) and also learned Jain and
Bhuddist philosophies. He got the title of Raja from Raja II, the Mughal king, who
sent him to England in 1830. Raja Ram died at Bristol (near London) in 1833.
The eighteenth and early nineteenth
century India was facing many problems. The colonial historians projected it as
the ‘dark era’ of Indian society. It cannot be denied that there were many
social vices and injustices in India- practices of Sati, female infanticide,
polygamy (kulinism in Bengal), problems of window, child marriage, dominance of
priest, costly and meaningless rituals and superstitious beliefs were common in
most part of India. To start a crusade against the prevalent religious and
social vices and injustices, Raja Ram Mohan Roy used four methods.
1. Establishment of religious
associations.
2.
Publication
of books and newspapers.
3.
Holding
discussion and debates, and
4. Setting up educational
institutions.
Tuhfat-ul-Muwahhidin(A
gift to monotheist)was his first book(1803)the influence of Islam and the
influence of Matazilah’s philosophy on him could be clearly seen. He was also
impressed by the philosophy of legendary Persian poets Jalal-ud-din Rumi (1207-73).
From
Islam, he took the concept of monotheism, opposition to idolatry, principle of
social equality, theory of the relation between God and his attributes,
manners, and ways of living.
He
read Bible in Hebrew as he read Quran in Arabic . He admired Jesus Christ
and his teachings , especially his ethical code which is reflected in his book –‘
The Percept of Jesus’ (English).He
tried to highlight the similarities among different religions. He also tried to
move the misconception of the Christian missionaries about Hinduism.
Though,
he gave due importance to holy text of all religion i.e., Rigveda, Upanishads,
Bible and Quran, but he gave more importance to reason. Any idea or beliefs
which were not based on reason and rationality, he had no hesitation in
rejecting it. It was his firm confidence in the utility of ‘reason’ which
forced him to oppose polytheism, idolatry, practise of Sati and other evils of
Hindu society. He applied the same yardstick for Islam and Christianity. He
accepted many ideas and philosophies of Islam and infact, was greatly
influenced by it ,but rejected the Islamic concept of ‘blest’ and ‘cursed’. Similarly,
he rejected the ideas of ‘Trinity’ and ‘Miracles’, the fundamental principles
of Christianity.
The
Atmya Sabha (1814) was set up at
Calcutta by Raja Ram Mohan Roy and friends, mostly middle class liberals and
social aristocrats. Though, Raja Ram tried to balance the two extremes – the radicals
and the conservatives – ye his idea of monotheism, his close association with
Muslims, his admiration of Islam, Christianity and the western liberal thought
shocked the Hindu society in general and Brahmins in particular. The
attendance, therefore, dwindled and after 1819 it ceased to meet.
The
God or Brahma, according to him, is the supreme immortal soul from whom all
human souls originated and will rejoin after the death. To worship Brahma only,
he founded the Brahmo Sabha on August 20, 1828 and renamed it Brahmo Samaj in
1829.
He
believed in the unification of divergent groups of Indian society in order to
bring about national consciousness in India. He initiated public agitation on
political questions like the need for reforms in the British administration,
trade and economic policies etc. He also pioneered Indian journalism in order
to educate the public on current issues and to present public opinion before
the government.
He
led a life-long crusade against the practice of Sati and finally in 1829 he succeeded
in persuading Lord William Bentinck to abolish it. He championed women’s
rights, like right of inheritance and property, and attacked polygamy and the
degraded state of widows. He fought for the introduction of modern education through
the medium of English. He made Bengali the vehicle of intellectual intercourse
n Bengal.
