60-second revision
- Raja Rammohan Roy: Atmiya Sabha (1815), Brahmo Sabha (1828); sati abolished in 1829 under Lord William Bentinck.
- Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act, 1856: campaign of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar; passed under Lord Canning.
- Dayanand Saraswati founded the Arya Samaj (Bombay, 1875) and wrote Satyarth Prakash.
- Prarthana Samaj (Bombay, 1867): Atmaram Pandurang; M. G. Ranade joined later.
- Jyotiba Phule founded the Satyashodhak Samaj (1873) and wrote Gulamgiri.
- Sayyid Ahmad Khan founded the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College, Aligarh (1875).
- Theosophical Society: founded New York 1875; headquarters at Adyar from 1882; Annie Besant later its president.
- Sree Narayana Guru: SNDP Yogam (1903), "one caste, one religion, one God for man".
Why reform movements arose
In the 19th century, Western education, the printing press, newspapers and contact with Christian missionaries made educated Indians look critically at their own society. Reformers attacked sati, child marriage, the ban on widow remarriage, caste discrimination and superstition, and argued for women's education. Most tried to reform religion from within, often by appealing to its oldest texts. Two broad types are seen: reformist movements (Brahmo Samaj, Prarthana Samaj, Aligarh) and revivalist ones (Arya Samaj, Deoband).
Hindu reform movements
| Organisation | Founder | Year / place | Remember |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atmiya Sabha | Raja Rammohan Roy | 1815, Calcutta | Forerunner of the Brahmo Samaj |
| Brahmo Sabha / Brahmo Samaj | Raja Rammohan Roy | 1828, Calcutta | One formless God; against idolatry and sati |
| Tattvabodhini Sabha | Debendranath Tagore | 1839, Calcutta | Revived the Brahmo Samaj |
| Brahmo Samaj of India | Keshab Chandra Sen | 1866 | Split from Debendranath's Adi Brahmo Samaj |
| Young Bengal | Henry Vivian Derozio | 1820s–30s, Hindu College | Radical free thought |
| Prarthana Samaj | Atmaram Pandurang | 1867, Bombay | M. G. Ranade, R. G. Bhandarkar |
| Satyashodhak Samaj | Jyotiba Phule | 1873, Pune | Against caste and Brahmin dominance; book Gulamgiri |
| Arya Samaj | Dayanand Saraswati | 1875, Bombay | "Go back to the Vedas"; Satyarth Prakash; shuddhi; DAV schools |
| Theosophical Society | H. P. Blavatsky and H. S. Olcott | 1875, New York; Adyar from 1882 | Annie Besant president from 1907 |
| Ramakrishna Mission | Swami Vivekananda | 1897, Calcutta | Social service; Vedanta; Chicago address 1893 |
| SNDP Yogam | Sree Narayana Guru | 1903, Kerala | "One caste, one religion, one God for man" |
| Self-Respect Movement | E. V. Ramasamy (Periyar) | 1925, Tamil Nadu | Against caste and Brahminical ritual |
Raja Rammohan Roy
Often called the father of the Indian Renaissance, Rammohan Roy knew Sanskrit, Persian, Arabic and English. He campaigned against sati, polygamy and idol worship, supported English education and freedom of the press, and published Samvad Kaumudi in Bengali. The Mughal emperor Akbar II gave him the title Raja and sent him to England, where he died at Bristol in 1833.
Swami Vivekananda
Narendranath Datta, a disciple of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, became famous after his address at the Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893. He preached practical Vedanta — that serving the poor is serving God — and founded the Ramakrishna Mission in 1897 to run schools, hospitals and relief work. His birthday, 12 January, is observed as National Youth Day.
Muslim, Sikh and Parsi movements
| Movement | Founder / leader | Year | Remember |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aligarh Movement | Sayyid Ahmad Khan | MAO College 1875 | Modern education; journal Tahzib-ul-Akhlaq; became AMU in 1920 |
| Deoband Movement | Muhammad Qasim Nanautavi and Rashid Ahmad Gangohi | 1866 | Revivalist; traditional Islamic learning |
| Ahmadiyya Movement | Mirza Ghulam Ahmad | 1889 | Founded in Qadian, Punjab |
| Singh Sabha Movement | Sikh leaders at Amritsar | 1873 | Sikh education and reform; led later to the Akali movement |
| Rahnumai Mazdayasnan Sabha | Naoroji Furdonji, Dadabhai Naoroji and others | 1851 | Reform among Parsis |
Women's reform and social laws
| Law | Year | Linked with |
|---|---|---|
| Bengal Sati Regulation | 1829 | Lord William Bentinck; Rammohan Roy |
| Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act | 1856 | Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar; passed under Lord Canning |
| Native Marriage Act (civil marriage) | 1872 | Keshab Chandra Sen and the Brahmos |
| Age of Consent Act | 1891 | Campaign of Behramji Malabari |
| Child Marriage Restraint (Sarda) Act | 1929 | Harbilas Sarda |
- Savitribai and Jyotiba Phule opened a school for girls in Pune in 1848; Savitribai is remembered as one of India's first women teachers.
- Pandita Ramabai founded the Arya Mahila Samaj (1882) and the Sharada Sadan (1889), a home for widows.
- Tarabai Shinde wrote Stri Purush Tulana (1882), comparing the treatment of women and men.
- D. K. Karve worked for widows' education and founded the women's university in Pune (1916), now SNDT University.
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