CHAPTER 6
SOCIO-RELIGIOUS REFORMS AND THE NATIONAL AWAKENING
Arora IAS Short Notes
India Struggle for Independence(1857-1947) Notes
Revision Notes or Short Notes
Part-1
Social and Religious Reforms in 19th Century India
Context (1828):
- Raja Rammohan Roy laments the state of Hinduism:
- Caste divisions hinder national identity.
- Religious rituals impede progress.
- Need for reform driven by:
- British conquest and exposure to Western ideas.
- Introspection about Indian institutions.
Social Base of Reform:
- Newly emerging middle class.
- Traditionally and Western-educated intellectuals.
Colonial Impact:
- Occasioned reform, but didn’t create it.
Spirit of Reform:
- Spread across India:
- Raja Rammohan Roy (Bengal) – Brahmo Samaj (1828)
- Paramahansa Mandali, Prarthana Samaj (Maharashtra)
- Arya Samaj (Punjab, North India)
- Regional and caste movements (Kayasth Sabha, Sarin Sabha)
- Backward castes movements (Satya Sodhak Samaj, Sri Narayana Dharma Paripalana Sabha)
- Muslims (Ahmadiya, Aligarh movements)
- Sikhs (Singh Sabha)
- Parsees (Rehnumai Mazdeyasan Sabha)
Commonalities:
- Regional and religious expressions of a shared consciousness.
- Not just religious – focused on social improvement.
- Humanist in inspiration.
Focus on Worldly Existence:
- Otherworldliness and salvation not a priority.
- Raja Rammohan Roy – possible afterlife for utility, not belief.
- Akshay Kumar Dutt, Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar – agnostics.
- Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, Vivekananda – secular use of religion for material well-being.
Religion and Social Practices:
- Deeply intertwined (e.g., Hindu daily life governed by religious rules).
- Religious reform – a prerequisite for social reform.
Part-2
19th Century Indian Society: A Web of Social Evils
Religious Condition
- Dominated by Superstition:Max Weber observed Hinduism becoming a mix of “magic, animism and superstition.”
- Distorted Practices:Animal sacrifice and physical torture replaced worship.
- Powerful Priesthood:Priests held immense, unhealthy influence over people.
- Idolatry and Polytheism:These practices strengthened the priests’ position.
- Deceptive Religious Systems:Raja Ram Mohan Roy criticized priests’ monopoly on scripture and rituals, calling it misleading.
- Blind Obedience:People obeyed not only God but also the whims of priests.
Social Condition
-
Plight of Women:
- Unwelcome at birth.
- Married young, often against their will.
- Expected to commit Sati upon widowhood (called “murder” by Ram Mohan Roy).
- Shunned as widows, facing lifelong misery.
-
Caste System:
- Enforced segregation based on ritual status.
- Hindered social mobility and individual initiative.
- Perpetuated social divisions.
- Untouchability: The worst humiliation, violating human dignity.
Other Social Evils:
- Numerous practices based on restrictions, blind faith, hierarchy, blind acceptance of authority, and blind belief in fate.
Reform Movements’ Response
- Goal:Eradicate these evils and pave the way for modernization.
- Idealized Past:Reformers believed the 19th century situation was a distortion of a once-ideal past.
- Selective Use of Past:They used the idealized past as a tool, not for blind adherence to tradition.
- Scriptural Basis for Reform:Reformers like Ram Mohan Roy, Vidyasagar, and Dayanand Saraswati used religious texts to challenge social evils.
- Not a Revival:Mahadev Govind Ranade, a leading reformer, argued the past cannot be revived but reformed for a new future.
Part-3
Intellectual Basis of Reform Movements in 19th Century India
Rationalism and Religious Universalism
- Social Relevance Through Reason:Reform movements judged social practices based on rational critique.
- Early Leaders:Raja Rammohan Roy and Akshay Kumar Dutt were leading figures in rationalism.
-
Roy’s Views:
- Rejected supernatural explanations.
- Advocated for causality linking the entire universe.
- Demanded demonstrability as the only truth criterion.
-
Dutt’s Perspective:
- Claimed reason as the sole preceptor for understanding the world.
- Believed all phenomena (natural and social) could be analyzed mechanically.
Impact on Reform:
- Brahmo Samaj:Rejected the infallibility of Vedas based on reason.
- Aligarh Movement:Reconciled Islamic teachings with modern needs through reason.
- Emphasis on Social Utility:Reforms aimed to replace faith with reason for social good.
Secular Approach to Social Practices
-
Akshay Kumar Dutt’s Example:
- Advocated widow remarriage, opposed polygamy and child marriage.
- Based arguments on societal effects, not religious sanction.
- Cited medical opinions against child marriage.
- Held advanced views on marriage: courtship, partnership, equality, and legal/customary divorce.
Maharashtra: A Different Approach
-
Gopal Hari Deshmukh (Lokahitavadi):
- Religion irrelevant for social reform.
- Advocated changing religion if it hindered progress (man-made and potentially outdated).
Religious Universalism in Reform
-
Raja Rammohan Roy:
- Viewed different religions as expressions of universal theism.
- Envisioned Brahmo Samaj as a universalist church.
- Defended core principles across religions (monotheism in Vedas and Christianity).
- Attacked polytheism (Hinduism) and Trinitarianism (Christianity).
Shared Ideas of Universality
-
Syed Ahmed Khan:
- Believed all prophets shared the same “din” (faith).
-
Keshub Chandra Sen:
- All established religions hold truth.
- Universalist perspective led to social implications: recognizing fellow countrymen as brothers, dismantling caste.
Universalism’s Influence
- Political and Social Outlook:Shaped by universalism until religious particularism rose later in the 19th century.
-
Examples:
- Raja Rammohan Roy: Considered Muslim lawyers more honest than Hindu counterparts.
- Vidyasagar: Did not discriminate against Muslims in his social work.
- Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay: Judged superiority based on “dharma” (righteousness), not religion.
Clarifying “Muslim Yoke”
- Not a religious but a political term describing pre-colonial rule’s arbitrary nature.
- Emphasis on “tyranny,” not “Muslim.”
- Syed Ahmed Khan: Pre-colonial rule was neither Hindu nor Muslim, but based on oppression.
Limits of Universalism
- Religious identity still influenced social outlook.
- Challenge of Colonial Culture: Universalism gave way to religious particularism, not secularism.
Part-4
Cultural and Ideological Struggle in 19th Century India
Context:
- 19th century: Struggle against traditional and colonial cultures.
Focus of Reform Movements:
-
Religious Sphere:
- Opposed idolatry, polytheism, and priest control.
- Sought to simplify rituals for a more personal experience.
- Translated religious texts and encouraged individual interpretation (breaking the hold of religious dogmas).
-
Caste System:
- Recognized as a social evil hindering progress and democracy.
- Leaders like Raja Rammohan Roy, Ranade, Dayanand, and Vivekananda criticized it.
- Dayanand offered a utopian view of the four varnas based on virtue.
- Lower caste movements led by Jyotiba Phule and Narayana Guru strongly opposed the system.
- Narayana Guru’s call: “One religion, one caste, one God for mankind” (later changed to “no religion, no caste, no God”).
Women’s Upliftment:
- Crucial for social progress and a reformed society.
- Education and improved status for women were essential.
Modernization vs. Westernization:
- Reformers aimed to modernize, not blindly adopt Western culture.
Challenges of Reform:
- Breaking traditions caused emotional and social tension.
-
Examples:
- First widow marriage in Bengal faced public scrutiny.
- First inter-caste marriage in Maharashtra required police protection.
- Rukmabhai’s defiance of child marriage created a stir.
- Leaders like Ranade and Telang struggled between tradition and modernity.
Outcome:
- Reforms, though limited, paved the way for a new India and its citizens.
- This struggle led to the emergence of “new men” and a “new society.”
Part-5
Response to Colonial Culture in 19th Century India
Context:
- Colonial rule challenged traditional Indian culture.
Response:
-
Defense of Indigenous Culture:
- Cultivation of vernacular languages.
- Creation of an alternate education system.
- Revival of Indian art, literature, dress, and food.
- Defense of religion and traditional medicine.
- Reassessment of pre-colonial technology and knowledge.
-
Examples:
- Raja Rammohan Roy’s debates with Christian missionaries.
- Tattvabodhini Sabha’s activities.
- Memorial on education signed by 70,000 in Madras.
- Resentment against the Lex Loci Act (1845-1850).
Later Movements:
- More assertive defense against colonial cultural dominance.
- Not necessarily retrogressive, aimed at reviving cultural identity.
- Examples (names not mentioned in excerpt).
Challenges:
- Some movements became sectarian and obscurantist.
- Lack of integration between cultural and political struggles.
Significance:
- Cultural-ideological struggle formed national consciousness.
- Intellectual and cultural break for a new vision of India.
- Resistance against colonial cultural hegemony.
- Led to a “modern cultural situation” with “new men, new homes, and a new society.”
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