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Quick recap: Socio-religious reform movements on one page

Socio-religious reform movements · Quick recap · Fact-checked on · how we check

Written with AI from the sources listed at the bottom of this page, then fact-checked by a separate AI.

Both parts of the chapter condensed for quick revision: Rammohun Roy, the Brahmo Samaj and the abolition of sati, Vidyasagar and the reform laws, the Prarthana Samaj and women's education, the Arya Samaj, the Ramakrishna Mission and the Theosophical Society, the Aligarh and Deoband movements, Sikh and Parsi reform, the anti-caste movements, and the limits and gains of reform.

The socio-religious reform movements were India's first organised attempt to test inherited custom against reason, conscience and a fresh reading of scripture. Part 1 followed the reformers of Bengal and western India and the laws they won; Part 2 followed the revivalists, the reform movements among Muslims, Sikhs and Parsis, and the anti-caste movements led from below. One thread joins them: English education, the press and missionary criticism made educated Indians ask why a practice should continue, and their answers ranged from purifying religion by reason to returning to an ideal past.

In Bengal, Rammohun Roy founded the Atmiya Sabha (1815) and the Brahmo Samaj (as the Brahmo Sabha, 1828) and campaigned until Bentinck's Regulation XVII of 1829 banned Sati; the orthodox Dharma Sabha (1830) appealed against the ban and lost. Debendranath Tagore revived the Samaj through the Tattvabodhini Sabha (1839); under Keshub Chandra Sen it split in 1866 and again in 1878, and Keshub's campaign produced the Native Marriage Act of 1872. Derozio's Young Bengal was radical but small. Vidyasagar used the shastras to win the Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act of 1856 for widow remarriage.

In western India the secret Paramahansa Mandali (1849) was followed by the Prarthana Samaj (1867), founded by Atmaram Pandurang and led by M. G. Ranade and R. G. Bhandarkar, and by Ranade's Indian National Social Conference (1887). Women's education grew through the Bethune School (1849) and Pandita Ramabai's Arya Mahila Samaj (1882) and Sharada Sadan (1889). The Female Infanticide Prevention Act (1870) and the Age of Consent Act (1891), passed after Behramji Malabari's campaign, completed the main reform laws of the century.

The revivalist stream began with Dayanand Saraswati, who founded the Arya Samaj at Bombay in 1875 and called for a return to the Vedas; after him the Samaj divided into the DAV school (Lahore, 1886) and the Gurukul (Kangri, 1902) and took up Shuddhi. Vivekananda, disciple of Ramakrishna, spoke at Chicago in 1893 and founded the Ramakrishna Mission in 1897 for social service. The Theosophical Society, founded in New York in 1875 and based at Adyar from 1882, praised Indian thought, and Annie Besant's Central Hindu College (1898) became the core of the Banaras Hindu University.

Among Muslims, Syed Ahmad Khan's Aligarh movement (Scientific Society 1864, MAO College 1875, Aligarh Muslim University 1920) joined Islam with modern learning and kept away from the Congress, while the orthodox Deoband seminary (1866) was sympathetic to it; the Ahmadiyya arose at Qadian in 1889. Sikh reform began with the Singh Sabhas (Amritsar 1873, Lahore 1879) and led on to the Sikh Gurdwaras Act of 1925. Parsi reform ran through the Rahnumai Mazdayasnan Sabha of 1851.

The anti-caste movements were led by those who suffered most. Jyotirao Phule opened a girls' school in 1848 and founded the Satyashodhak Samaj in 1873; Sree Narayana Guru, from the Ezhava community that faced untouchability, consecrated a Shiva idol at Aruvippuram in 1888 and inspired the SNDP Yogam (1903); E. V. Ramasamy launched the Self-Respect Movement in 1925. Taken together, the movements reached mainly the urban educated and sometimes hardened community lines, but they won reform laws, spread schools, gave Indians self-respect and trained a public that the early nationalist associations would draw on.

Socio-religious reform movements at a glance
ItemKey facts
Rammohun RoyAtmiya Sabha 1815, Brahmo Sabha 1828; campaign against sati (Regulation XVII, 1829)
Brahmo splits1866 (Adi Brahmo Samaj and Keshub's Brahmo Samaj of India); 1878 (Sadharan Brahmo Samaj)
Reform lawsWidows' Remarriage 1856 (Vidyasagar); Native Marriage 1872; Age of Consent 1891 (Malabari)
Western IndiaParamahansa Mandali 1849; Prarthana Samaj 1867; Social Conference 1887 (Ranade)
RevivalistsArya Samaj 1875 (Bombay); Ramakrishna Mission 1897; Theosophical Society 1875, Adyar 1882
Muslim reformScientific Society 1864; MAO College 1875; Deoband 1866; Ahmadiyya 1889
Sikh and Parsi reformSingh Sabha 1873 (Amritsar); Rahnumai Mazdayasnan Sabha 1851
Anti-casteSatyashodhak Samaj 1873 (Phule); SNDP Yogam 1903; Self-Respect Movement 1925 (Periyar)

Exam traps

Recap

Practice questions

Q1. Which one of the following was founded by Raja Rammohun Roy in 1815?

  1. Tattvabodhini Sabha
  2. Atmiya Sabha
  3. Dharma Sabha
  4. Paramahansa Mandali
Show answer

Answer: B. Atmiya Sabha

Rammohun Roy founded the Atmiya Sabha in 1815. The Tattvabodhini Sabha (1839) was Debendranath Tagore's, so (a) is wrong; the Dharma Sabha (1830) was formed by the orthodox to oppose the sati ban, so (c) is wrong; the Paramahansa Mandali (1849) was a secret society of western India, so (d) is wrong.

Q2. Consider the following statements:
1. The Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act of 1856 is linked with Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar.
2. The Age of Consent Act of 1891 followed a campaign by Behramji Malabari.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 only
  3. Both 1 and 2
  4. Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer

Answer: C. Both 1 and 2

Both statements are correct: Vidyasagar led the campaign for the 1856 Act, and Malabari's campaign preceded the 1891 Act. Options (a) and (b) leave out one true statement and (d) rejects both, so they are wrong.

Q3. The Prarthana Samaj, founded at Bombay in 1867, is associated with which of the following?
1. Atmaram Pandurang
2. M. G. Ranade
3. Keshub Chandra Sen as its founder
Select the correct answer using the code given below:

  1. 1 and 2 only
  2. 2 and 3 only
  3. 1 and 3 only
  4. 1, 2 and 3
Show answer

Answer: A. 1 and 2 only

Atmaram Pandurang founded the Prarthana Samaj and Ranade was a leading member, so 1 and 2 are correct. Keshub Chandra Sen led the Brahmo Samaj of India in Bengal and did not found the Prarthana Samaj, so every option that includes 3, namely (b), (c) and (d), is wrong.

Q4. Which of the following pairs is correctly matched?

  1. Satyarth Prakash : Swami Vivekananda
  2. Gulamgiri : Jyotirao Phule
  3. Tuhfat-ul-Muwahhidin : Syed Ahmad Khan
  4. Rast Goftar : Keshub Chandra Sen
Show answer

Answer: B. Gulamgiri : Jyotirao Phule

Gulamgiri (1873) was written by Phule. Satyarth Prakash is Dayanand Saraswati's, so (a) is wrong; Tuhfat-ul-Muwahhidin is Rammohun Roy's, so (c) is wrong; Rast Goftar was the journal of the Parsi reformers, so (d) is wrong.

Q5. Consider the following statements:
1. The Ramakrishna Mission was founded in 1897.
2. The Theosophical Society made Adyar its headquarters in 1882.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 only
  3. Both 1 and 2
  4. Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer

Answer: C. Both 1 and 2

Both are correct: Vivekananda founded the Mission in 1897 and the Society moved to Adyar in 1882. Options (a) and (b) each drop a true statement and (d) rejects both, so they are wrong.

Q6. Which Muslim movement of the nineteenth century advised Muslims to keep away from the Indian National Congress?

  1. The Deoband movement
  2. The Aligarh movement
  3. The Brahmo Samaj
  4. The Singh Sabha movement
Show answer

Answer: B. The Aligarh movement

Syed Ahmad Khan, leader of the Aligarh movement, advised Muslims to keep away from the Congress. Deoband was sympathetic to the Congress, so (a) is wrong; the Brahmo Samaj was a Hindu reform body of Bengal, so (c) is wrong; the Singh Sabha was a Sikh movement, so (d) is wrong.

Q7. Match List I with List II:
List I (Organisation)
A. Arya Samaj
B. Satyashodhak Samaj
C. SNDP Yogam
D. Rahnumai Mazdayasnan Sabha
List II (Year)
1. 1851
2. 1873
3. 1875
4. 1903
Select the correct answer using the code given below:

  1. A-3, B-2, C-4, D-1
  2. A-2, B-3, C-4, D-1
  3. A-3, B-2, C-1, D-4
  4. A-4, B-2, C-3, D-1
Show answer

Answer: A. A-3, B-2, C-4, D-1

Arya Samaj 1875 (A-3), Satyashodhak Samaj 1873 (B-2), SNDP Yogam 1903 (C-4), Rahnumai Mazdayasnan Sabha 1851 (D-1). (b) swaps the Arya Samaj and the Satyashodhak Samaj, (c) swaps the SNDP and the Parsi Sabha, and (d) dates the Arya Samaj to 1903, so they are wrong.

Q8. Consider the following statements:
1. The Native Marriage Act of 1872 followed the campaign of Keshub Chandra Sen.
2. The Self-Respect Movement was launched by Sree Narayana Guru.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 only
  3. Both 1 and 2
  4. Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer

Answer: A. 1 only

Only 1 is correct. The Self-Respect Movement (1925) was launched by E. V. Ramasamy; Sree Narayana Guru's followers founded the SNDP Yogam. So statement 2 is wrong, and (b), (c) and (d) are wrong.

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