Religious and Social Reform Movement

Factors which gave Rise to Reform Movements

• Presence of colonial government on Indian soil and its impact
• Various ills plaguing Indian society
  • Brahminical obscurantism - monopoly of scriptural knowledge deliberately prevented facts & details
  • superstition, polytheism, idolatry - reinforced their position
  • degraded position of women - child marriage, sati, polygamy under kulinism
  • exploitative caste hierarchy - social mobility was checked, social divisions grew and individual initiative thwarted
• Intrusion of colonial culture and ideology lead to reinvigoration of traditional institution
• Spread of education and increased awareness of the world
• Impact of modern Western culture and consciousness of defeat by a foreign power.
• Rising tide of nationalism and democracy during the late 19th century.

Social Base

• Emerging middle class
• Western-educated intellectuals

Ideological Base / Unity

• Rationalism - to judge social relevance
  • Swami Vivekananda - Same method of investigation which applies to sciences should be the basis on which religion must justify itself
• religious universalism
  • Raja Ram Mohan Roy - Defended monotheism of Vedas & Unitarianism of Christianity, while attacking polytheism of Hinduism and trinitarianism of Christianity
  • Syed Ahmed Khan - All prophets had the same 'din' (faith) and every country had different prophets
• humanism
  • social equality and worth
• secularism

Two streams

1. Reformist
2. Revivalist
3. Depended on varying degrees, on a appeal to lost purity of the religion they sought to reform

Social Reform Components

Betterment of Position of Women Degraded position due to

• Purdah system
• Early marriage
• Denial of education
• Unequal rights in marriage, divorce, inheritance
• Polygamy
• Female infanticide
• Restrictions on widow remarriage
• Sati

Fight to remove disabilities arising out of untouchability

• Temple Entry restrictions
• Access to education
• Access to public goods like wells, roads

Major Contributors to Reforms

• Social reform movements
• freedom struggle
• movements led by enlightened people
• free India's Constitution

Legislative Measures for Women

• Bengal Regulation (1829) banning sati
  • Reform lead by Raja Ram Mohan Roy
• Bengal Regulations (1795, 1804) - declaring infanticide illegal
  • Esp among upper-class Bengalis & Rajputs
• Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act, 1856
  • Efforts by Pandit Iswar Chandra Vidya Sagar, principal of Sanskrit College, Calcutta
  • Vishnu Shastri Pandit founded Widow Remarriage Association
    • Professor D.K Karve marrier a widow and became its secretary
• Age of Consent Act, 1891 - forbade marriage of girls below 12
  • Efforts by B.M. Malabari
• Sarda Act, 1930 - further pushed marriage age to 18 for boys and 14 for girls
• Special Marriage Act, 1954
• Hindu Marriage Act, 1955
• Hindu Succession Act, 1956
• Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act
• Maternity Benefits Act, 1961
• Equal Remuneration Act, 1976
• Child Marriage Restraint (Amendment) Act, 1978
  • 18 for girls and 21 for boys
• Suppression of Immoral Traffic Act in Women and Girls, 1956(amended in 1986)
• Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 (amended in 1986)

Struggle Against Caste-based Exploitation

• Factors Undermining Caste Rigidities
• Forces unleashed by colonial administration
• Social reform movements
• National movement
• Gandhi's campaign against untouchability
• Stirrings among lower castes due to better education and
• employment
• Free India's Constitution

Reform Movements: Among Hindus

Bengal

• Raja Rammohan Roy and Brahmo Samaj
• Debendranath Tagore and Tattvabodhini Sabha
• Keshub Chandra Sen and Brahmo Samaj of India
• Prarthana Samaj
• Derozio and Young Bengal Movement
• Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar

Western India

• Bal Shastri Jambekar
• Students' Literary and Scientific Societies
• Paramhansa Mandalis
• Jyotiba Phule and Satyashodhak Samaj
• Gopalhari Deshmukh 'Lokahitawadi'
• Gopal Ganesh Agarkar
• Servants of India Society

Southern India

• Sri Narayana Dharma Paripalana Movement
• Vokkaliga Sangha
• Justice Movement
• Self-respect Movement
• Temple Entry Movement

All India

• Ramakrishna Movement and Vivekananda
• Dayananda Saraswati and Arya Samaj

Among Muslims

• Wahabi/Walliullah Movement
• Ahmadiyya Movement
• Syed Ahmed Khan and Aligarh Movement
• Deoband Movement

Among Parsis

• Rahnumai Mazdayasnan Sabha

Among Sikhs

• Singh Sabha Movement
• Akali Movement

Positive Aspects

• Liberation of individual from conformity out of fear psychosis.
• Worship made a more personal affair
• Cultural roots to the middle classes - thus mitigating the sense of humiliation; much needed self-respect gained
• Fostered secular outlook
• Encouraged social climate for modernisation
• Ended India's cultural, intellectual isolation from rest of the world
• Evolution of national consciousness

Negative Aspects

• Narrow social base
• Indirectly encouraged mysticism
• Overemphasis on religious, philosophical aspects of culture while underemphasising secular and moral aspects
• Hindus confined their praise to ancient Indian history and
• Muslims to medieval history - created a notion of two separate peoples and increased communal consciousness
• Historical process of evolution of composite culture arrested to some extent