Raja Ram Mohan Roy and the Brahmo Samaj

Raja Ram Mohan Roy (1772 to 1833), the "Father of the Indian Renaissance", founded the Brahmo Samaj in 1828 and led the campaign that led to the abolition of sati in 1829.

Raja Ram Mohan Roy (1772 to 1833)

• Born in Radhanagar (Bengal). He knew Sanskrit, Persian, Arabic, English and several other languages.
• Atmiya Sabha (1815) to discuss religion and social evils. He published Tuhfat-ul-Muwahhidin (Persian, a gift to monotheists) and The Precepts of Jesus (1820).
• Brahmo Sabha (20 August 1828), renamed Brahmo Samaj (1830). It believed in one God, opposed idolatry, priest-craft and meaningless rituals, and was open to all castes.
• Journalism: Sambad Kaumudi (Bengali, 1821) and Mirat-ul-Akhbar (Persian, 1822). He opposed Adam's Press Regulation (1823).
• Against sati: his campaign led Bentinck to pass Regulation XVII on 4 December 1829, making sati illegal (first in Bengal and then in Bombay and Madras in 1830).
• Education: he supported English and scientific education, wrote to Amherst in 1823 against a Sanskrit college, and helped David Hare to set up Hindu College (1817). He started the Vedanta College (1825).
• Women's rights: opposed polygamy and child marriage, and demanded property rights for women.
• The Mughal emperor Akbar II gave him the title "Raja" and sent him to England (1831) to plead his case. He died at Bristol in 1833.

The Brahmo Samaj after Roy