Renaissance and reform organisations
When the window of a closed room is opened, fresh air comes in. English education opened a window in Indian minds and fresh ideas came in.
Indians who had English education began to question the wrong customs in their own society. This led to reform organisations. This awakening of thought is called the ‘Renaissance’.
Key idea 1 : Brahmo Samaj and Prarthana Samaj — Raja Rammohan Roy founded the Brahmo Samaj in 1828. He opposed sati, child marriage and the purdah system, ran the newspaper ‘Samvad Kaumudi’ and supported the Hindu College for modern education. In Maharashtra, Atmaram Pandurang started the Prarthana Samaj; Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade and R. G. Bhandarkar were its leading workers.
Key idea 2 : Satyashodhak Samaj and Arya Samaj — Mahatma Jotirao Phule founded the Satyashodhak Samaj in 1873. Against caste discrimination and exploitation he wrote ‘Gulamgiri’, ‘Shetkaryacha Asud’, ‘Sarvajanik Satya Dharma’ and ‘Brahmananche Kasab’. Swami Dayanand Saraswati founded the Arya Samaj in 1875; his book was ‘Satyarth Prakash’ and his message was ‘Go back to the Vedas’.
Key idea 3 : Ramakrishna Mission and Singh Sabha — Swami Vivekananda spoke for India at the Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893 and started the Ramakrishna Mission in 1897; the Mission works in education, health and service. For education and religious reform among Sikhs, the Singh Sabha began at Amritsar; the Akali movement later worked to reform gurudwaras.
- Easy : Who founded the Brahmo Samaj, and when? — Raja Rammohan Roy, in 1828.
- Medium : Who founded the Satyashodhak Samaj? — Mahatma Jotirao Phule, in 1873.
- Exam-type : Who said ‘Go back to the Vedas’? — Swami Dayanand Saraswati (Arya Samaj).
In the figure: In the seventy years from 1828 to 1897, reform organisations arose in Bengal, Maharashtra and Punjab.
What happened before? Rammohan Roy’s sister-in-law was made to commit sati and he saw it himself (the year is given as 1811–12). From then on he wrote and spoke against the custom. He argued that the ancient scriptures do not require sati.
What happened next? On 4 December 1829 Governor General Bentinck made sati illegal by law; in 1830 it was extended to the Madras and Bombay presidencies. In January 1830 orthodox people of Calcutta sent a petition against the law; it went to the Privy Council in London and was rejected in 1832. Rammohan Roy went to England in 1830.
Brahmo 1828, Satyashodhak 1873, Arya 1875, Ramakrishna Mission 1897; sati ban 1829.
It is wrong to say Rammohan Roy alone made the sati law. Bentinck made the law; Roy built public opinion for it.
Memory clue: Say ‘Bra-Pra-Sa-A-Ra’ = Brahmo, Prarthana, Satyashodhak, Arya, Ramakrishna — years in rising order.
Spot the difference
| Organisation | Founder | Main message |
|---|---|---|
| Brahmo Samaj | Raja Rammohan Roy | End sati and child marriage |
| Satyashodhak Samaj | Mahatma Phule | No caste bias, give education |
| Arya Samaj | Swami Dayanand Saraswati | Go back to the Vedas |
| Ramakrishna Mission | Swami Vivekananda | Serving people is serving God |
Practice questions
- 1Who founded the Brahmo Samaj?
- 2Name two leading workers of the Prarthana Samaj.
- 3When was the Satyashodhak Samaj founded?
- 4Name any two books of Jotirao Phule.
- 5What are the book and the message of the Arya Samaj?
- 6In which conference did Swami Vivekananda take part, and which organisation did he found?
- 7What stand had Rammohan Roy taken before the sati law was made?
- 8What did orthodox people do after Bentinck’s law, and what was the result?
Show answers (try them yourself first)
- 1Raja Rammohan Roy (1828).
- 2Mahadev Govind Ranade and R. G. Bhandarkar.
- 3In 1873.
- 4Gulamgiri, Shetkaryacha Asud, Sarvajanik Satya Dharma, Brahmananche Kasab — any two.
- 5Book: ‘Satyarth Prakash’; message: ‘Go back to the Vedas’.
- 6The Parliament of Religions in Chicago (1893); the Ramakrishna Mission (1897).
- 7He wrote and spoke against sati and argued that the scriptures do not require it.
- 8They petitioned against the law; the Privy Council rejected the petition in 1832.
Reforms for women, widows and the oppressed
When one girl in a home learns, she goes on to teach everyone at home. That is why girls’ education was seen as the biggest step in social reform.
In the nineteenth century girls had no schooling, and child marriage, the suffering of widows, the devadasi custom and untouchability were big problems. Reformers tried to solve them through schools, homes, laws and writing.
Key idea 1 : Efforts for education — Gopal Hari Deshmukh (Lokhitwadi) advised society on reform through his ‘Shatapatre’. In 1848 Jotirao and Savitribai Phule started a girls’ school in Pune at Bhide Wada; Savitribai was the first teacher. Despite opposition from society they kept the schools going.
Key idea 2 : Work for widows and orphans — Through the efforts of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, widow remarriage got legal recognition in 1856. In 1863 Phule started a ‘home to prevent infanticide’. Dhondo Keshav Karve ran a widows’ home and an orphan girls’ home at Hingne. Pandita Ramabai set up ‘Sharada Sadan’ and Ramabai Ranade set up ‘Seva Sadan’. Barbers went on strike against shaving the heads of widows.
Key idea 3 : Ideas and writing — Gopal Ganesh Agarkar criticised superstition and bad customs through his newspaper ‘Sudharak’. In her book ‘Stri Purush Tulana’ Tarabai Shinde questioned the unequal treatment in society. Vitthal Ramji Shinde held a conference against the devadasi custom and ran the ‘Depressed Classes Mission’.
- Easy : Where and when did the girls’ school start in Pune? — At Bhide Wada, in 1848.
- Medium : Who ran the widows’ home at Hingne? — Maharshi Dhondo Keshav Karve.
- Exam-type : Who ran the newspaper ‘Sudharak’? — Gopal Ganesh Agarkar.
In the figure: The journey of women’s education from a school to a university took about 70 years.
What happened before? Savitribai Phule first trained as a teacher herself: at an institution run by the American missionary Cynthia Farrar in Ahmednagar and at the Normal School in Pune. A place for the school was hard to find; then Jotirao’s friend Tatyasaheb Bhide gave rooms in his wada.
What happened next? The school began in January 1848 (1 January is the day marked in Pune). Mathematics, science and social studies were taught there. Society opposed it strongly, yet by the end of 1851 the Phules were running three girls’ schools in Pune.
What happened before? In 1896 Karve started a home for widows and a school for girls at Hingne. Later he read about a women’s university in Japan and felt India should have one too.
What happened next? In 1916 India’s first women’s university began with only five students. In 1920 the industrialist Sir Vithaldas Thackersey gave a large donation and the university was named ‘Shreemati Nathibai Damodar Thackersey (SNDT)’ after his mother.
1848 Phule school; 1856 widow remarriage law; 1896 Hingne home; 1916 women’s university.
It is wrong to think the women’s university was big from the start. It began with only five students.
Memory clue: Three steps: ‘school, widows, university’ = 48, 56, 16.
Spot the difference
| Reformer | Work | Place |
|---|---|---|
| Jotirao and Savitribai Phule | Girls’ school | Pune |
| Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar | Efforts for widow remarriage | Bengal |
| Dhondo Keshav Karve | Widows’ home, women’s university | Hingne, Pune |
| Pandita Ramabai | Sharada Sadan | Maharashtra |
Practice questions
- 1Who was known as Lokhitwadi and what did he write?
- 2Who was the first teacher of the first girls’ school?
- 3In which year did widow remarriage get legal recognition?
- 4Which two institutions did Karve run?
- 5What did Tarabai Shinde present in which book?
- 6What two works did Vitthal Ramji Shinde do?
- 7What did Savitribai do before the Phule girls’ school began?
- 8Four years after the women’s university began, what name did it get and why?
Show answers (try them yourself first)
- 1Gopal Hari Deshmukh; ‘Shatapatre’.
- 2Savitribai Phule.
- 3In 1856.
- 4A widows’ home and an orphan girls’ home (Hingne).
- 5In ‘Stri Purush Tulana’ she questioned the unequal treatment of women and men.
- 6A conference against the devadasi custom and the ‘Depressed Classes Mission’.
- 7She took teacher training at Ahmednagar and Pune.
- 8‘SNDT’ in 1920; Thackersey gave a donation and the name came from his mother.
Reforms among other communities and cultural awakening
In a village all festivals are celebrated together, yet each home decorates in its own way. In the same way awakening came to every community, each in its own manner.
The wave of education and awakening reached Muslim, Sikh and Hindu communities too. In art, literature and science also, Indians drew the attention of the world.
Key idea 1 : Reform among Muslims — Abdul Latif started the ‘Mohammedan Literary Society’ and spread modern education. Sir Syed Ahmad Khan started the Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College at Aligarh; the Aligarh Muslim University grew out of it later.
Key idea 2 : Hindu organisations — The Hindu Mahasabha was founded in 1915. Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya started the Banaras Hindu University. Dr. Hedgewar founded the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh at Nagpur in 1925. V. D. Savarkar built the ‘Patit Pavan Mandir’ at Ratnagiri, open to all castes.
Key idea 3 : Art, literature and science — Rabindranath Tagore won the Nobel Prize in literature in 1913; he was the first Indian to win a Nobel Prize. C. V. Raman won the Nobel Prize in physics in 1930. A wave of new experiments also came in painting, drama and literature.
- Easy : From which institution did Aligarh University begin? — From Sir Syed Ahmad Khan’s Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College.
- Medium : Who started the Banaras Hindu University? — Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya.
- Exam-type : Who was the first Indian Nobel winner and in which field? — Rabindranath Tagore, literature (1913).
In the figure: A new awakening was seen in Indian society in four fields: education, organisation, and art and science.
What happened before the founding of the Satyashodhak Samaj? In 1873 Jotirao Phule dedicated his book ‘Gulamgiri’ to the American people who had ended slavery, comparing the condition of the low castes in India to that of slaves.
What happened after the founding of the Satyashodhak Samaj? On 24 September 1873 Phule founded the Satyashodhak Samaj in Pune. After his death (1890) the work continued, and in 1902 Shahu Maharaj of Kolhapur reserved 50 per cent of jobs in his state for backward classes.
Aligarh = Sir Syed; Banaras = Malaviya; Nobel 1913 = Tagore; Nobel 1930 = Raman.
It is wrong to think reforms were only in Hindu society. Efforts for education and reform were made among Muslims and Sikhs too.
Memory clue: Pair them: ‘Aligarh–Syed, Banaras–Malaviya’ and Nobel ‘13 Tagore, 30 Raman’.
Spot the difference
| Person or body | Field | What was done |
|---|---|---|
| Sir Syed Ahmad Khan | Muslim education | College at Aligarh |
| Madan Mohan Malaviya | Hindu education | Banaras Hindu University |
| Rabindranath Tagore | Literature | Nobel Prize (1913) |
| C. V. Raman | Science | Nobel Prize (1930) |
Reforms among other communities and cultural awakening
In the app you can move this figure with your finger.
Open in the appPractice questions
- 1Which society did Abdul Latif start?
- 2What did Sir Syed Ahmad Khan start at Aligarh?
- 3Who started the Banaras Hindu University?
- 4Who founded the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, where and when?
- 5What was special about the Patit Pavan Mandir at Ratnagiri?
- 6When and in which subject did Tagore and Raman win the Nobel Prize?
- 7Explain with examples why the reform movement was not limited to one community.
- 8What is the ‘Renaissance’ and what started it?
Show answers (try them yourself first)
- 1The Mohammedan Literary Society.
- 2The Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College.
- 3Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya.
- 4Dr. Hedgewar; Nagpur; 1925.
- 5It was open to all castes.
- 6Tagore — 1913, literature; Raman — 1930, physics.
- 7Aligarh College among Muslims, the Singh Sabha among Sikhs, Malaviya and other bodies among Hindus — efforts were made in all communities.
- 8The awakening of new ideas; it began because of English education.