Modern History Quiz: Socio – Religious movement in the first half of 19th Century | 25th Dec, 2020

The teachings of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa (1836- 1886), a poor priest at the Kali temple in Dakshineshwar, on the outskirts of Calcutta found many followers. Ramakrishna experienced spiritual trances (ecstasy) from a very early age. He is considered to have attained the highest spiritual experience available to Hindus. Two objectives of the Ramakrishna movement were—
(i)to bring into existence a band of monks dedicated to a life of renunciation and practical spirituality, from among whom teachers and workers would be sent out to spread the universal message of Vedanta as illustrated in the life of Ramakrishna, and
(ii)in conjunction with lay disciples to carry on preaching, philanthropic and charitable works, looking upon all men, women and children, irrespective of caste, creed or colour, as veritable manifestations of the Divine.
The Arya Samaj Movement, revivalist in form though not in content, was the result of a reaction to Western influences. Its founder, Dayananda Saraswati or Mulshankar (1824-1883) was born in the old Morvi state in Gujarat in a brahmin family.
A section of Muslims led by Syed Ahmed Khan (1817-1898) was ready to allow the official patronage to stimulate a process of growth among Indian Muslims through better education and employment opportunities. He wanted to reconcile Western scientific education with the teachings of the Quran which were to be interpreted in the light of contemporary rationalism and science even though he also held the Quran to be the ultimate authority.
The Deoband Movement was organised by the orthodox section among the Muslim ulema as a revivalist movement with the twin objectives of propagating pure teachings of the Quran and Hadis among Muslims and keeping alive the spirit of jihad against the foreign rulers.
Source: Spectrum’s A Brief History of Modern India, Page 221-236.

Dharma Sabha: Radhakant Deb founded this sabha in 1830. An orthodox society, it stood for the preservation of the status quo in socio-religious matters, opposing even the abolition of sati. However, it favoured the promotion of Western education, even for girls.
Source: Spectrum’s A Brief History of Modern India, Page 229.

Rammohan Roy believed in the modern scientific approach and principles of human dignity and social equality. He put his faith in monotheism. He wrote Gift to Monotheists (1809) and translated into Bengali the Vedas and the five Upanishads to prove his conviction that ancient Hindu texts support monotheism.
In his Precepts of Jesus (1820), he tried to separate the moral and philosophical message of the New Testament, which he praised, from its miracle stories. He earned the wrath of missionaries over his advocacy to incorporate the message of Christ into Hinduism.
Dayananda’s views were published in his famous work, Satyarth Prakash (The True Exposition). His vision of India included a classless and casteless society, a united India (religiously, socially and nationally), and an India free from foreign rule, with Aryan religion being the common religion of all. He took inspiration from the Vedas and considered them to be ‘India’s Rock of Ages’, the infallible and the true original seed of Hinduism. He gave the slogan “Back to the Vedas”.
Source: Spectrum’s A Brief History of Modern India, Page 210, 211 and 225.

The Arya Samaj Movement, revivalist in form though not in content, was the result of a reaction to Western influences. Its founder, Dayananda Saraswati or Mulshankar (1824-1883) was born in the old Morvi state in Gujarat in a brahmin family. He wandered as an ascetic for fifteen years (1845-60) in search of truth. The first Arya Samaj unit was formally set up by him at Bombay in 1875 and later the headquarters of the Samaj were established at Lahore.
Source: Spectrum’s A Brief History of Modern India, Page 225.

The Brahmo Samaj experienced another phase of energy, when Keshab Chandra Sen (1838-1884) was made the acharya by Debendranath Tagore soon after the former joined the Samaj in 1858. Keshab (also spelt Keshub) was instrumental in popularising the movement, and branches of the Samaj were opened outside Bengal—in the United Provinces, Punjab, Bombay, Madras and other towns.
Unfortunately, Debendranath did not like some of Sen’s ideas which he found too radical, such as cosmopolitanisation of the Samaj’s meetings by inclusion of teachings from all religions and his strong views against the caste system, even open support to inter-caste marriages. Keshab Chandra Sen was dismissed from the office of acharya in 1865.
Keshab and his followers founded the Brahmo Samaj of India in 1866, while Debendranath Tagore’s Samaj came to be known as the Adi Brahmo Samaj.
In 1878, Keshab’s inexplicable act of getting his thirteen-year-old daughter married to the minor Hindu Maharaja of Cooch-Behar with all the orthodox Hindu rituals caused another split in Keshab’s Brahmo Samaj of India. Earlier, Keshab had begun to be considered as an incarnation by some of his followers, much to the dislike of his progressive followers. Further, Keshab had begun to be accused of authoritarianism.
After 1878, the disgusted followers of Keshab set up a new organisation, the Sadharan Brahmo Samaj. The Sadharan Brahmo Samaj was started by Ananda Mohan Bose, Shibchandra Deb and Umesh Chandra Datta. It reiterated the Brahmo doctrines of faith in a Supreme being, one God, the belief that no scripture or man is infallible, belief in the dictates of reason, truth and morality.
Source: Spectrum’s A Brief History of Modern India, Page 214-215.

Jyotiba Phule (1827-1890), born in Satara, Maharashtra, belonged to the mali (gardener) community and organized a powerful movement against upper caste domination and brahminical supremacy. Phule founded the Satyashodhak Samaj (Truth Seekers’ Society) in 1873, with the leadership of the samaj coming from the backward classes, malis, telis, kunbis, saris and dhangars. The main aims of the movement were (i) social service, and (ii) spread of education among women and lower caste people.
The Vokkaliga Sangha in Mysore launched an anti-brahmin movement in 1905.
In 1867, Keshab Chandra Sen helped Atmaram Pandurang found the Prarthana Samaj in Bombay. Earlier, the Brahmo ideas spread in Maharashtra.
Source: Spectrum’s A Brief History of Modern India, Page 219-231.

Balshastri Jambhekar (1812-1846) was a pioneer of social reform through journalism in Bombay; he attacked brahminical orthodoxy and tried to reform popular Hinduism. He started the newspaper Darpan in 1832. Known as the father of Marathi journalism, Jambhekar used the Darpan to awaken the people to awareness of social reforms, such as widow remarriage, and to instil in the masses a scientific approach to life. In 1840, he started Digdarshan which published articles on scientific subjects as well as history.
Gopalhari Deshmukh (1823-1892) was a social reformer and rationalist from Maharashtra. He held the post of a judge under British raj, but wrote for a weekly Prabhakar under the pen name of Lokahitawadi on social reform issues. He started a weekly, Hitechhu, and also played a leading role in founding the periodicals, Gyan Prakash, Indu Prakash and Lokahitawadi.
Gopal Ganesh Agarkar (1856-1895) was an educationist and social reformer from Maharashtra. A strong advocate of the power of human reason, he criticised the blind dependence on tradition and false glorification of the past. He was a cofounder of the New English School, the Deccan Education Society and Fergusson College. He was a principal of Fergusson College. He was also the first editor of Kesari, the journal started by Lokmanya Tilak. Later, he started his own periodical, Sudharak, which spoke against untouchability and the caste system.
Source: Spectrum’s A Brief History of Modern India, Page 218-220.

After the death of Dayananda in 1883, the work of the samaj was carried on by illustrious members. Education was an all-important field for the samaj. The Dayananda Anglo- Vedic (D.A.V.) College was established in 1886 at Lahore. But a difference of opinion between two groups in the samaj arose over the curriculum of the D.A.V. College. One group was known as the College Party (some sources say ‘Culture’ Party), among whose leaders were Lala Hansraj, Lala Lal Chand and Lala Lajpat Rai, and the other was the Mahatma (later Gurukul) Party led by Guru Datta Vidyarthi and Lala Munshi Ram (who later came to be known as Swami Shraddhanand).
While the College Party favoured the government curriculum and English education to meet economic and professional needs, the Mahatma Party was interested in introducing the study of Sanskrit and Vedic philosophy in the tradition of ancient gurukuls.
Later, the issue of vegetarianism also became a point of contention: the College Party had nothing against non-vegetarianism, claiming that diet was a personal choice and it was not mentioned in the principles of the samaj; the Mahatma Party was in favour of all the Aryas being strict vegetarians. In the end the Arya Samaj split in 1893 over these issues.
Source: Spectrum’s A Brief History of Modern India, Page 227-228.

Dev Samaj: Founded in 1887 at Lahore by Shiv Narayan Agnihotri (1850-1927), earlier a Brahmo follower, Dev Sadan is a religious and social reform society. The society emphasised on the eternity of the soul, the supremacy of the guru, and the need for good action. It called for an ideal social behaviour such as not accepting bribes, avoiding intoxicants and non-vegetarian food, and keeping away from violent actions. Its teachings were compiled in a book, Deva Shastra. Agnihotri spoke against child marriage.
Source: Spectrum’s A Brief History of Modern India, Page 229.

Gopalhari Deshmukh (1823-1892) was a social reformer and rationalist from Maharashtra. He held the post of a judge under British raj, but wrote for a weekly Prabhakar under the pen name of Lokahitawadi on social reform issues. He advocated a reorganisation of Indian society on rational principles and modern, humanistic, secular values. He attacked Hindu orthodoxy and supported social and religious equality. He wrote against the evils of the caste system. He said, “If religion does not sanction social reform, then change religion.” He started a weekly, Hitechhu, and also played a leading role in founding the periodicals, Gyan Prakash, Indu Prakash and Lokahitawadi.
Source: Spectrum’s A Brief History of Modern India, Page 220.