Socio Religious Reform Movements | Indian Modern History | Lecture 18 | UPSC

Friends, during the 19th century, some such movements started in India. I had to reform society and religion. Their focus area is social issues like the truth, There were female infanticide, women's education, widow remarriage, casteism and untouchability. Sathi, religious issues such as idolatry i.e. idol worship, polytheism, religious superstitions and being done by priests, The exploitation was also condemned by them. These are known as social religious reform movements. Today we will understand why they start, What reforms are they talking about and what impact they have. Sati, we will also discuss some of their limitations. First of all they know what conditions such in the 19th century are formed that social religious reform movements begin. Causes Behind Social Religious Reform Movements Friends, the first and the biggest reason was British rule And it has had a profound impact on India's political, economic, social and cultural life. Along with the British, modern Western ideas such as equality, freedom, fraternity and justice were also introduced. Modern education spreads all these ideas And gradually an educated middle class is formed Which begins to see the Indian society through the lens of modern rationality. The second reason for the beginning of the reform movements was the efforts of European orientalists. The glorious past of India comes into the limelight through the work of orientalists like Sir William Jones, James Prinsep, Charles Wilkins, Max Muller. It gives confidence to Indians and also inspires them to reform. One reason for this was the influence of Christian missionaries. These people were critical of Indian customs and religion and were trying to convert people to Christianity. In such a situation, Indian scholars feel that they need to reform their religion and society first to combat them. For all these reasons, social religious reform movements begin. It is also important to understand the reasons for these movements and the methods used for reform. Friends, the social and religious reform movement is divided into two categories. Within the reformist there were movements aimed at reforming society and religion. These people wanted to bring about change in society on the basis of modern ideas, such as reason and rationality. Examples of this are, Brahmo Samaj, Prayer Samaj, and Aligarh movement. The same revivalist has been called, who believed in India's past glory. And instead of adopting Western ideas, they wanted to revive ancient Indian traditions and thoughts. This includes the example of the Arya Samaj, Ramakrishna Mission, and the Deoband movement. Reform movements were inspired by the ideology of rationalism and religious universalism. Different methods are adopted for introducing reforms. Like publishing newspapers and magazines. Rajram Mohan Roy, his newspaper Samvad Komudi is out. At the same time, Dayananda Saraswati, through the medium of Satyaartha Prakash, spreads his ideas. The second method was to call meetings and put pressure on the government. With the help of which these people are able to pass social legislation like the Sati Practice Abolition Act, Widow Remarriage Act. Apart from this, reform movements also adopt a method of persuasion. That's what we try to convince people of, For this reason, examples from scriptures are also cited. the most popular method which is adopted, It was to form associations with like-minded people, Such as Brahmo society, Arya society etc. Let us now discuss some of the major social religious reform associations. Brahmo society Friends, The Brahmo Samaj was started by Rajaram Mohan Roy in Calcutta in 1828. He is also called the father of modern India, Because these were people before, Who try to form society in India on the basis of modern ideas. Brahmo society fights against idle years, polytheism, caste oppression and unnecessary rituals. Apart from this, the evil of social evils like Sati, Polygamy, Parda system, Child Marriage Good Attra also raises its voice. He also supported widows' and widowers' education. In 1829, after the efforts of Rajaram Mohan Roy, the British Governor General Bentink introduced a law on the practice of Sati and banned it. Now let us talk about such association whose effect is more to be seen in Western India. The Aryan society Friends Arya Samaj was founded in Bombay in 1875. Later its headquarters was established in Lahore. Its founder was Swami Dayanand Saraswati. His original name was मूल शंकर. They had returned to the Vedas. The Aryan society opposed idolatry, polytheism, orthodox rituals, priesthood, animal sacrifice, child marriage and the caste system. It is most commonly seen in the northern and western parts of India. Dayanand Saraswati Ji wrote his thoughts in the book of Sathyaartha Prakash Nam. He had the vision of making India a classless and casteless society. He also wanted to see a free and united India. Friends, as we have already mentioned, the Arya Samaj was an association that came in the revivalist category. I now speak of the revivalist type and other associations. The Ramakrishna Mission was started by Swami Vivekananda. It was established in 1892 at the place of Belur Nam near Calcutta. Its purpose was to propagate the teachings of Vivekananda ji's Guru Ramakrishna Paramahansa ji. He opposed the caste system and untouchability. They focus on the universality of all religions and propagate Vedanta. Swami Vivekananda popularized the concept of the poor Narayan. According to it, there is a God in every home and therefore their service is similar to the service of God. In addition to attending the World Religious Conference organized in Chicago in 1893, Swamiji also promoted Hindu philosophy on the world stage. Friends, this is the story of reform associations related to Hinduism. Now some Muslim religious reform associations also discuss. Let us first talk about the Aligarh Movement. Friends, it was started by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan in 1860s in Aligarh district of Uttar Pradesh. Its purpose was to promote Western scientific education among Muslims. Under this, in 1875 Syed Ahmed Khan had established the Muhammadan Anglo Oriental College, It became the Aligarh Muslim University in 1920. To spread their ideas, these Tahdhib published a magazine under the name of Akhlaq. He condemned the narrow view of traditional interpreters in his book Commentaries on the Quran. And shared their own views on the basis of rationalism and scientific knowledge. His emphasis is on studying the Quran. He also condemned Sufism. Slavery was also declared un-Islamic. After the Aligarh Movement, now the Muslim Revivalist Movement, which runs parallel to this, is being talked about. Deoband movement The Deoband Movement was started in 1867 from Deoband Nam in Saharanpur district of UP. Deoband was a revivalist movement. It was an anti-British movement which had to raise the Muslims to the level of educational efforts. It had twin objectives. First, to propagate the pure teachings of the Quran and Hadith among Muslims. And second, keeping alive the spirit of Jihad against foreign rulers. But like the Aligarh Movement, it does not promote Western education. But it focuses on traditional Islamic teachings. Besides this, friends, many more association forms were made. Such as the Prayer Society, the Vedas Society, the Widow Remarriage Association, etc. Everyone had to reform society in some form or another. Friends, after learning the principles of the Aamodalan, now we understand their impact. The social religious reform movement has had a very profound impact. Their efforts pass acts to abolish thoughtful developments like Sati Pradha, Vidori Marriage, Female Infantism. Reason and rationality spread in society. Along with this, many schools and colleges were opened by him, which spread modern education more and more in India. In addition, the biggest impact of the reform movements is seen on the national movement. The efforts of the Sikh Religious Reform Movement promote nationalism in India. People are once again proud of their culture and civilization. These people respond to the moody criticism of Indian cultural traditions, This is the reason why the confidence in India develops and the feeling of nationalism is strong. Friends, this is what we talked about. But reform movements are not entirely successful. The limitation and reform movements The biggest limitation of the religious reform movements was that their thinking base was very narrow. I can only associate with them the educated and urban middle classes, While rural masses and urban poor are mostly left out of their influence. Furthermore, the tendency of reformers to appeal to the greatness of the past And relying on scriptural authority also gives rise to pseudo-scientific thinking. It also works to divide Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Parsis into different sections. Many Hindu reformers praise the ancient period and describe the medieval period as an era of decadence. This indirectly makes Muslims feel alienated and also promotes communal tendencies. Conclusion Friends we can say that social religious reform movements cannot make society completely modern or rational But still it was a courageous effort of the leaders of that time Who stand up to their own society and show them the mirror Limited is correct but their impact was on Indian society. By promoting nationalism, he had also worked to strengthen the national movement that was to come. It is because of the social and religious reform movements of the 19th century that India is moving forward to become a modern nation.