Socio-Religious Reform Movements

During the 19th century, religious superstitions and orthodoxy were prevalent. Social levels like the killing of girls, child marriage, polygamy, and sati were also in favor. Particularly at that time, the life and position of women were full of sadness and shame.

The trends of renaissance that India was going through in the 19th century are termed “Socio-Religious Reform Movements”. Various institutions and organizations played an important role in establishing scientific and modern ideological trends through religious and social reforms. Today, we will present the important facts about socio-religious reform movements in the 19th century and an overview of the social reforms of India.

The Socio-religious Reform Movements

India has been a religious country since ancient times. But in the beginning, ideal religion was seen in our country, in which there was no place for pomp and superstition. That is why the development of Indian society was also happening according to healthy tradition. But with the arrival of foreigners, gradually, the evils started entering the social and religious sphere. By the time the British rule in India was established, these evils had reached their climax. After establishing the British state, Hinduism became a victim of many evils affecting society. The darkness of superstition and conservatism engulfed the whole country. Many evils like Sati, child marriage, polygamy, caste system, child murder, etc., have become prevalent.

To end these evils, an organized religion and social reform movement was started. During this time, a social and religious reformer appeared in the theater of India, who gave this movement a comprehensive form. Raja Rammohan Roy, Swami Dayanand Saraswati, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, etc., are prominent among the social reformers. There were many reasons behind the religion and social reform movement, such as the influence of European civilization, the rise of the new middle class, social mobility, the influence of reformers, etc. The British government also cooperated with the Indian reformers in removing these evils. As a result, our society became completely free from many superstitions and evils.

The reform movement improved religion and society, but education and literature also progressed; people came in contact with new languages ​​and literature. There was art and science and industrial development. The biggest thing is that the rise of the feeling of nationalism was also due to these reforms, so this socio-religious reform movement in India ultimately proved helpful in making the nation independent.

Reform Movement in South India

The Dharalu Naidu Veda Samaj was established in Madras in the year 1864 due to the influence of the activities of the Brahmo Samaj, the inspiration of Keshav Chandra Sen, and the process of Christian missionaries.

1. It was reorganized in 1871 by Sridharlu Naidu. He gave a new name to the Veda Samaj and Brahmo Samaj of South India.
2. In 1878, Veerashanligam Pantulu founded the Rajahmundry Social Reform Association.

In Kerala, Sree Narayana Guru founded the ” Narayana Dharma Paripalana Sabha ” in 1927 . Along with Advaita Vedanta, Shri Narayan Guru opposed the prevailing untouchability and casteism.

In the 19th century, two Hindu organizations were prominent in the Madras province – the first ” Madras Hindu Social Reform Committee ” founded by Veeresalingam Pantulu in 1892 and the second ” Madras Hindu Samiti ” founded by Annie Besant. The Hindu Samiti of Pantlu started a social purity movement and strongly opposed social superstitions and the Devadasi system. On the other hand, the main objective of Annie Besant’s organization was to do religious and social upliftment of Hindus according to the ideals of Hindu civilization on a national basis.

Reform Movement in Western India

1. Mahatma Jyotiba Phule was one of the first people to start the work of “untouchability” and “women’s education” in Maharashtra. He founded Satyashodhak Samaj on 24 September 1873 to provide justice to the downtrodden and deprived classes. Jyotiba Phule started the marriage rites without a Brahmin priest and got them recognized by the Bombay High Court. Jyotiba Phule was a leading social worker who fought for untouchability, women’s education, and social equality in Maharashtra.
2. Bhimrao Ambedkar formed the Bahishkrit Hitkarini Sabha in 1924 . In 1930, he established the All India Depressed Class Federation / All India Depressed Class Federation.

In the nineteenth century, the social reform movements starting from Bengal at the regional level progressed through the streams of Raja Rammohan Roy, Deregio, Devendranath, Keshav Chandra Sen, etc. Leaving the border of Bengal, it also spread to the provinces like Maharashtra, Madras, and Punjab. This sequence proceeded with the “Ramakrishna Mission”, whose work area was almost all-India. This movement reached different areas and classes. Social reform movements got a lot of spread in North-West India and South India. In South India, the opposition to casteism became a part of the reform movement more vigorously.

Conclusion

The socio-religious reform movements aimed to support social justice in India and curb the social evils and promote women’s education in society. These religious movements were very helpful to the British Empire in enacting the various laws on Sati, widow remarriage, and fixing the minimum age of marriages. The socio-religious reform movement in India has raised the voice for women’s education. As a result of this struggle, diverse educational institutions were opened at that time, and later on, these institutions were transformed into universities. The voice against untouchability was the major contribution to drafting the Indian constitution. At last, these social reforms of India fetched a peace and union among Hindu, Muslim, and Sikh communities and motivated them to achieve social justice.