Socio-Religious Reforms

The process of Socio-Religious reforms in India started in the late 18^th to early 19^th century. However, reform is a continuous process. There are several practices that are being challenged even today. In this session, we would be looking at some of the social reform movements of the 20^th century. Witnessed at the beginning of the nineteenth century with the efforts of some enlightened sections of society. Along with reforms it gave birth to some undesirable impacts too.

The nature and character of the socio-religious Reforms movement in the 20^th century differed in some ways from those in the 19th century. In this phase, the socio-religious reform movements were strongly influenced by the rising nationalist movement and tended to merge with the anti-imperialist struggle.

Socio-Religious Reforms

India’s rich past meant that the arrival of foreigners to India was a common practice. People came to India for various reasons ranging from trade, literature, religion, and conquest. Each wave of foreigners that came to India impacted Indian society in some way or the other. But this process generally took some time to reflect on the ground. The impact of British rule on Indian society & culture was extensively different from earlier times. Most of the earlier rulers who came to India had settled within the frontiers, were absorbed by the superior culture, and became part of the land and its people. On the other hand, the British conquest was different, and it came at a time when India, in contrast to an enlightened Europe of the 18^th century affected in every aspect by science and scientific outlook, presented the picture of a stagnant civilization.

The social base of the upcoming quest was the newly emerging middle class and traditional as well as western-educated intellectuals.
The important intellectual principles which gave these reform movements an ideological unity were “rationalism”, “religious universalism”, and “humanism”.
The process of re-awakening, however, did not always follow the intended line and gave rise to some undesirable by-products as well.

Important Personalities of The Socio-Religious Reforms Movements

1. Raja Ram Mohan Roy (1772-1833)
   • Father of Indian Renaissance.
   • Maker of Modern India.
   • Believed in scientific temper, human dignity, monotheism, and Upanishads.
   • Opposed idolatry and meaningless rituals.
   • Books: Gift to Monotheism (1809) + Percepts of Jesus (1820).
   • Translated Vedas and Upanishads into Bengali.
   • Atmiya Sabha (Society of Friends) in Calcutta in 1814.
   • Started Brahmo Samaj (1828) [ formerly called Brahmo Sabha]
   • Established Vedanta College (1825).
   • Supported the revolutions of Naples and Spanish America.
   • Supported David Hare in establishing Hindu College (1817).
   • Crusader against Sati.
   • Efforts resulted in Government Regulation against Sati in 1829.
2. Debendranath Tagore (1817-1905)
   • Headed Tattavabodhini Sabha, formed in 1839, and its organ Tattavabodhini Patrika.
   • Joined Brahmo Samaj in 1842.
   • Favored Widow remarriage, Women’s education, and the abolition of Polygamy.
3. Keshab Chandra Sen (1838-1884)
   • Appointed as Acharya of the Brahmo Samaj in 1858.
   • Spread the ideas of the Samaj outside Bengal (in the United Provinces, Bombay, Punjab, etc.).
   • Showed radical views against the caste system, and favored inter-caste marriage.
   • Expelled from Acharya’s position in 1865.
   • Founded Brahmo Samaj of India (1866).
   • Sadharan Brahmo Samaj (Ananda Mohan Bose, Shibchandra Deb, and Umesh Chandra Datta) was founded in opposition to his views.
4. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (1820-1891)
   • Man of high moral standards, a humanist, and a proponent of modern education.
   • Appointed Principal of Sanskrit college in 1850 in Bengal.
   • Opened Sanskrit College to non-Brahmins.
   • An ardent supporter of Widow remarriage. Helped legalized it.
   • One of the pioneers of higher education for women.
   • Appointed as the secretary of Bethune College (est. 1849).
5. Balshastri Jambedkar (1812-1846)
   • Pioneer of social reform through Journalism in Bombay.
   • Against Brahminical domination.
   • Father of Marathi Journalism.
   • Newspaper: Darpan (1832), Digdarshan (1840).
   • Founded Bombay Native General Library.
   • Started the Native Improvement Society.
   • The first professor of Hindi at Elphinstone College.
   • Director of the Colaba Observatory.
6. Gopalhari Deshmukh ‘Lokahitwadi’ (1823-1892)
   • Belonged to Maharashtra.
   • Against Hindu orthodoxy and caste system.
   • Believed in rational, modern, and secular principles.
   • Wrote for weekly Prabhakar under the pen name ‘Lokahitwadi’.
   • Started weekly Hitechu.
   • Helped in founding periodicals like Gyan Prakash, Indu Prakash, and Lokahitwadi.
7. Gopal Krishna Gokhale (1866-1915)
   • A liberal leader of the Indian National Congress.
   • Formed Servants of India society (1905) with the help of M. G. Ranade.
   • Aimed at mobilizing a cadre of selfless workers for the service of the country in a religious spirit.
   • Published Hitavadi (1911).
8. Jyotiba Phule (1827-1890):
   • Born to Mali(gardener) community in Maharashtra.
   • Fought against upper caste and Brahmanical domination, caste system, and socio-economic inequalities.
   • Founded the Satyasodhak Samaj in 1873 to promote social service and education among the lower caste and women.
   • Books: Sarvajanik Satyadharma
   • Gulamgiri
   • Fought for the cause of widow remarriage and opened a home for widows in 1854.
   • Given the title of Mahatma for his social service work.
9. Gopal Ganesh Agarkar (1856-1895)
   • Belonged to Maharashtra.
   • Favored human reason and discarded the false glorification of the past.
   • Co-founder of the New English School, the Deccan Education Society, and the Fergusson College.
   • The first editor of Kesari (a Marathi newspaper started by Lokmanya Tilak).
   • Periodical: Sudharak.
10. Swami Vivekananda (1862-1902)
    • Also known by the name Narendra Dutta.
    • Preached Neo-Hinduism and believed in Vedanta, considering it to be the most rational system of knowledge.
    • Inspired by the lives of Ramakrishna, Buddha, Jesus, and the teachings of the Gita and Upanishads.
    • He was against the religious domination by the Hindus.
    • Participated in the Parliament of Religions held in Chicago in 1893 where he emphasized the balance between materialism and spiritualism.
    • Founded the Ramakrishna Mission in 1897 for promoting social service and humanitarian relief works.
    • He advocated the doctrine of service to all living beings. According to him, the service to mankind is the service to God.
11. Dayananda Saraswati (1824-1883)
    • Also known by the name Moolshanker.
    • Born in old Morvi state (Gujarat) to a Brahmin household.
    • Started Arya Samaj in 1875.
    • Book: Satyarath Prakash.
    • Gave the slogan “Back to the Vedas”.
    • Believed in the theory of Karma, reincarnation, and the Chaturavarna system of the Vedas.
    • He was against the theory of niyati or destiny and criticized the concept of Moksha.
12. Sir Syed Ahmed Khan (1817-1898)
    • British loyalist and a member of the Judicial Service.
    • Member of the Imperial Legislative Council in 1878.
    • Earned Knighthood in 1888.
    • Advocated reconciling modern education with the teachings of the Quran.
    • Founded Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College (now Aligarh Muslim University) in 1875.
    • Fought for the cause of women and education and reform among the Muslims.
    • Magazine- Tahdhib-ul-Akhlaq.

Reformism vs Revivalism

Important Reform Movements

Hindu Reform Movements

Muslims Reforms Movements

Other Religious Reforms Movements

Socio-Religious Reforms of the 20th Century

The process of social reforms in India started in the late 18^th to early 19^th century. However, reform is a continuous process. There are several practices that are being challenged even today. In this session, we would be looking at some of the social reform movements of the 20^th century.

• The nature and character of the socio-religious movements in the 20^th century differed in some ways from those in the 19th century.
• In this phase, the socio-religious reform movements were strongly influenced by the rising nationalist movement and tended to merge with the anti-imperialist struggle.

Gurudwara Reform Movement

• Before 1920 the Sikh Gurudwara was governed by the Udasi Sikh Mahants, who treated the Gurudwara offerings and other income of the Gurudwaras as their personal income.
• The British government supported these Mahants as a counterpoise to the rising tide of nationalism among the Sikhs.
• The Gurudwara Reform Movement launched an agitation for freeing the Gurudwaras from these corrupt Mahants and for handing over the Gurudwaras to a representative body of Sikhs.

Result of the Movement:

• Under the growing pressure of Gurudwara agitators, the Gurudwaras came under the control of an elected committee known as the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) in November 1920.
• At the same time, the Shiromani Akali Dal was also formed as a body to carry on the further struggle for reforms.
• Gradually, the Akali movement came under the strong influence of the ongoing Non- Cooperation Movement and assumed nationalist hues too.
• One of the important milestones in the Akali Movement was the victory of the Akalis in the “Keys Affair” with the climb-down of the Punjab bureaucracy.
• As a result of the Akali movement, the government finally handed over control of all the Punjab Gurudwaras in 1925 to an elected body, SGPC.
• Soon after the Akali Movement got divided into three streams, namely Moderate Nationalist Reformers, Pro-government Loyalists, and Political Organs of Sikh Communalism.

Vaikom Satyagraha (1924-25)

• According to the prevalent caste system in Kerala and the rest of India, low-caste Hindus were not allowed to enter the temples.
• In the Kakinada meeting of the Congress Party in 1923, it was decided that movements against untouchability need to be promoted.
• The beginning was made in Vaikom, a village in Travancore.
• There was a major temple whose approach roads could not be used by the Avarnas.
• The Kerala Provincial Congress Committee (KPCC) launched a satyagraha for temple entry.
• The Vaikom Satyagraha created enthusiasm all over the country and had the blessing of even Gandhiji.
• On 23^rd November 1925, all the gates of the temple were opened to Hindus except the eastern gate.
• In 1928, backward castes got the right to walk on public roads leading to all temples in Travancore.
• In the Vaikom Satyagraha, Periyar’s leadership played a pivotal role.

Self-Respect Movement

• Periyar E.V. Ramaswamy was the leader of the Self-respect Movement. It was a popular movement, which occurred in Tamil Nadu in 1925.
• It was an anti-Brahminism Movement and aimed to grant equal rights to the lower castes in Tamil Nadu.
• He attacked the laws of Manu, which he called the basis of the entire Hindu social fabric of caste.
• He established the idea of Self-Respect Marriages for non-brahmins, marriages conducted without priests or religious vows.
• This movement gained popularity in no time and became a political platform.

Guruvayur Temple Entry

• After the suspension of the Civil Disobedience Movement, the KPCC decided to organize a temple entry satyagraha in Guruvayur in 1931.
• A jatha of 16 volunteers began the march from Cannanore to Guruvayur but had to face resistance from the temple authorities.
• Even though the Guruvayur temple was not opened immediately, it created great excitement and politicization, and anti-caste sentiments.
• However, the main weakness of these movements was that they lacked a cohesive strategy for ending the caste system itself.

Some other organizations that worked for socio-religious reforms in the 20^th century:

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