\n\n<\/span>Protests and Movements during the Colonial Period and Social Reforms<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\nUnderstanding Protest and Movement<\/span><\/h3>\n\n- An element of dissatisfaction with the existing system can be found in every society. Dissatisfaction may be caused by poverty, social discrimination or lack of privilege. People may develop a strong desire to change the situation by raising their voices against the existing order. They may start questioning established practices of society. This difference of opinion actually reflects a desire for change. Social movements emerge under this situation. However, a movement does not occur suddenly. It begins with dissent, moves towards protests and finally takes the form of a social movement. This sequence \u2013 dissent, protest and social movements \u2013 represents different phases of social change. But in some cases all these may be in operation at the same time<\/strong>.<\/span><\/li>\n
- The term dissent refers to ideas and activities which are different from those prevailing in a society at a given point of time. Differences of opinion and disagreement on certain issues are bases of dissent. Dissent is thus the beginning of a movement for change.<\/strong>\u00a0For example, the struggle against the inhuman practice of untouchability in India was initiated only when the people who were suffering from this cruel practice raised their voices against it.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Protest is generally specific in nature. When dissent is expressed openly it assumes the form of protest When a dissenting opinion crystallizes further the situation of protest is created. Thus protest, in order to be meaningful has to be supported by dissent in respect of the institutional arrangements prevailing in society at a given point of time.<\/strong>\u00a0In fact, a consciousness of injustice and deprivation takes place at this stage. Accordingly, we may say that the social sharing of discrimination and deprivation is the starting point of protest. Thus, we may say that dissent expresses dissatisfaction with the existing situation and registers disagreement Protest, on the other hand, is a formal declaration of dissent and represents a more crystallized state of opposition and conflict.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Social movements are of great sociological interest because they are a major source of social change. A social movement is a sustained collective effort that focuses on some aspect of social change.<\/strong>\u00a0M.S.A Rao says that a social movement essentially involves sustained collective mobilization through either informal or formal organization and is generally oriented towards bringing about change in the existing system of relationships. Rao considers ideology as an important component of a social movement.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Protests and movements during colonial period mainly aimed at socio-religious reform.<\/strong>\u00a0A reform movement attempts to improve conditions within an existing social system without changing the fundamental structure of the society itself. Reforms are often linked with belief systems, rituals and life styles of the concerned people. There are several examples of reform movements in India. The most well-known reform movement was the Bhakti (devotional) movement of medieval India. It was an all India movement which involved the lower caste people, and the poor. It protested against ritualism and caste barriers. Thus, the primary objective of the movement was to reform world view and social practices of the people. It never tried to transform the social system radically, but advocated partial changes in the value system.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Several reform movements also engendered the socio-cultural regeneration, which occurred in the nineteenth century in India<\/strong>. It started with the formation of the Brahmo Samaj in Bengal in 1828 which had branches in several parts of the country.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
According to K. L. Sharma Socio-religious reforms in British India were felt necessary due to three reasons:<\/mark><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n- The selection of texts from various commentaries on the code of Manu had not always been enlightened;<\/span><\/li>\n
- The reliance on law courts for interpretation had resulted in greater conservatism;<\/span><\/li>\n
- The law, as applied by the law courts and British judges, was a combination of ancient Hindu and Victorian English conservatism, particularly in regard to women, inheritance, marriage and the rights of married women.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
The right to property of individual members in a joint family or the granting of property right to women took many years from their acceptance in letter to their actual acceptance. The joint family, caste and Hinduism have always been the pivoted institutions and have discouraged any legislation which would weaken them manifestly or even latently.<\/span><\/p>\nBesides these reasons, there were several socio-cultural and economic problems which demanded mass mobilization, awakening and action against the British Raj, feudals and upper sections of society. There was a need to attack the institutional mechanisms, which had made society rigid and exploitative.<\/span><\/p>\nAccording to A.R. Desai reform movements during British period were an expression of national awakening due to contradictions between the old value system and new socio-economic realities.<\/mark><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n- The aim of these movements was to revive the old religion in the context of nationalism and democracy as the cardinal principles for the emergence of modern India. Modern society established liberty, freedom of competition, contact and freedom of the individual to own and manipulate property at will Individualism was its keynote in contrast to the pre-capitalist society which was authoritarian in character; maintained social distinctions based on birth and sex, and subordinated the individual to caste and the joint family system.<\/span><\/li>\n
- The new society demanded as the very condition of its development, the abolition of privileges based on birth or sex. The reform movements were against medievalism in socio-cultural realms. They attacked the caste system and its allied institutions, polytheism, superfluous religious rites and dogmas.<\/span><\/li>\n
- These religio-reform movements were national in content but religious in form.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Apart from the Brahmo Samaj in Bengal the Prarthana Samaj in Maharashtra and the Arya Samaj in Punjab and north India were some of the other reform movements among the Hindus. The work of reformation was also undertaken by other organizations which were led by the backward castes and the members of other religious groups. For example, the Satya Sodhak Samaj of Jotiba Phule in Maharashtra and the Sri Narayan Dharma Paripalana Sabha in Kerala were started by the backward castes. Similarly, the Ahmadiya and Aligarh movements represented the spirit of reform among the Muslims. The Sikhs had their Singh Sabha and the Parsees, the Rehnumai Mazdeyan Sabha. The major concerns of these movements and organizations were no doubt religious reform, but the social content was not missing from them. These movements brought about remarkable changes in the life of the people.<\/span><\/p>\nThe Brahmo Samaj<\/span><\/h3>\nRaja Ram Mohan Roy is considered to be the father of modern Indian renaissance. Besides English and Bengali, Ram Mohan Roy acquired knowledge of Sanskrit, Persian and Arabic. He also knew Hebrew, Latin and Greek. He made a deep study of Hindu and Muslim laws, literature and philosophy. He believed in the progressive reform of religion and a society with a liberal outlook. Ram Mohan Roy did not believe in worshipping the images of God.\u00a0Monotheism was his main slogan.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\nOn 20 August 1828, he founded the Brahmo Samaj, the literal meaning of which is\u00a0\u201cOne God Society\u201d.\u00a0<\/strong>The orthodox Hindus did not cherish the ideals of this institution, but generally people welcomed this new organization. Ram Mohan Roy was a secularist as he was inspired by Christianity, Islam and the Upanishads. He had great faith in the uncompromising monotheism of Islam. He learnt about the\u00a0concept of the unity of God as an essence of Hinduism\u00a0<\/strong>from the study of the Upanishads, Brahma Sutras and Gita.<\/span><\/p>\n\n- Ram Mohan Roy thought that without sacrificing or discarding the genuine spiritual and cultural heritage, India could not have a new philosophy, absorbing and assimilating the modernism imported from the west.<\/span><\/li>\n
- He strongly advocated use of modern science and technology in education and also use of the English language. Ram Mohan Roy was, in fact, a rationalist and a pioneer of English education and enlightened journalism.<\/span><\/li>\n
- He championed the cause of the exploited peasantry.<\/span><\/li>\n
- His main aim was to relate religion to all aspects of life \u2013 individual social and national<\/span><\/li>\n
- Universal theism was his message. He, however, used the Vedas and the Upanishads, in worship, sermons and devotional music, with emphasis on the universality of their contents.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Ram Mohan Roy champion of the cause of women. He worked against irrational institutions like sati and child marriage. Through the Brahmo Samaj, he advocated for women. Inheritance of property for women, and inter-caste marriage were special programmes undertaken by the Brahmo Samaj.<\/span><\/li>\n
- He was against the caste system, as it put barriers in the ways of growth of Indian society. Ram Mohan Roy was essentially a democrat and humanist.<\/span><\/li>\n
- He did not hesitate in borrowing well from the British Raj and western culture. The Brahmo Samaj was an institution for all sorts of people, without distinction, for the workship of the some Supreme God, without idolatry.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
However, the historians R.C. Majumdar, H.C. Roychaudhuri and Kalikinker Datta<\/strong>\u00a0are of the view that Ram Mohan Roy never regarded himself as anything but a Hindu. He stoutly denied that he had founded a different sect. He always entertained the recital of the Vedas even by orthodox Brahmans. No non Brahmana was allowed in the Brahmo Sabha room. Ram Mohan Roy himself wore the sacred thread of the Brahmanas up to his death.<\/span><\/p>\n\n- Debendranath Tagore provided a solid organizational set-up to the Brahmo Samaj after the death of Ram Mohan Roy in England.<\/span><\/li>\n
- He decided to make the propagation of \u2018Brahmo Dharma\u2019 the main programme or the Brahmo Samaj. His Tattva Bodhini Sabha, or Truth Teaching Society, preached the Vedas and Vedantism as the basic of the Samaj.<\/span><\/li>\n
- The system of initiation and form of divine service were introduced by the new leader. He maintained and carried the best traditions of the days of Ram Mohan Roy.<\/span><\/li>\n
- He gave a new direction to Brahminism by abandoning belief in the infallibility of scriptures. The Samaj continued to work for ameliorating the condition of women and children and for modernization of education.<\/span><\/li>\n
- A new phase began with the emergence of the dynamic personality of Keshub Chandra Sen. Sen advocated radical reforms with the zeal of a missionary.<\/span><\/li>\n
- His mission was to broaden the activities of the Brahmo movement and to extend it to other parts of the country. In 1867, the Brahmo Samaj started functioning at Bombay under the leadership of Ranade and Bhandarkar.<\/span><\/li>\n
- It organized several programmes in Madras. Keshub fervent devotion, passionate enthusiasm and powerful eloquence gave a new life to the Samaj.<\/span><\/li>\n
- His rationalistic principles reached new heights. The true spirit of repentance and devotional fervour increased the strength of the movement. He toured Madras and Bombay and other places to propagate the ideals of the Samaj.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Debendranath and Keshub soon fell out, as the two cherished different ways of functioning within the Samaj. Debendranath had a radical approach. In 1866, Keshub established the Brahmo Samaj of India. The parent body was known as the Adi Brahmo Samaj. The new organization tried to foster the sense of spiritual and national unity in India. Keshub visit to England in 1869 spread the message of the Samaj in the West.<\/span><\/p>\n\n- The splinter Samaj advocated radical changes, including complete abolition of the caste system.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Female emancipation and female education received top priority.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Due to Christian influence, greater emphasis was put on the sense of sin, the spirit of repentance, and the efficacy of prayer.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Religion was treated as a practical recourse to solve human problems rather than a dogmatic doctrine.<\/span><\/li>\n
- His thesis of \u2018New Dispensation (Nava Vidhan) declared on 25 January1880 promoted a new synthesis of different religions.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
The new phase in the Brahmo Samaj emerged when some followers of Keshub Chandra Sen left him and founded the Sadharan Brahmo Samaj. The new organization was founded for the following reasons:<\/span><\/p>\n\n- The demand for the introduction of a new constitution was not accepted ;<\/span><\/li>\n
- There was disagreement on the question of adesha or Divine Command;<\/span><\/li>\n
- Keshub Chandra Sen\u2019s daughter was married to the prince of Cooch Bihar, in violation of the Native Marriage Act of 1872.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
The founder adopted a new constitution based on universal adult franchise. The old organization went into oblivion. The new Samaj is active even today, with its branches all over the country.<\/span><\/p>\n\n- It has followed the path of constitutionalism and radical reformism.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Its programmes include the removal of the purdah system, introduction of widow remarriage, abolition of polygamy and early marriage and provision of higher education for women.<\/span><\/li>\n
- It has attacked rigidities based on caste system. Inter-caste commensal relations, such as eating and drinking water, have been encouraged by the Samaj.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Emphasis on monotheism continues to be its primary ideal.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
The Prarthana Samaj<\/span><\/h3>\nThe Prarthana Samaj, an offshoot of the Brahmo Samaj, came into existence in1867 under the leadership of Justice Mahadeo Govinda Ranade. Keshub was a source of inspiration for this organization.<\/span><\/p>\n\n- The followers of the Prarthana Samaj never looked upon themselves as adherents of a new religion or of a new sect, outside and alongside the general Hindu body, but saw it simply as a movement within it. They were staunch theists in the Vaishnavite tradition of Maharashtra. The saints, like Namdeo, Tukaram and Ramdas influenced them to a large extent.<\/span><\/li>\n
- They devoted themselves to social reforms such as inter-caste dining and marriages, remarriage of widows, and improvement of the lot of women and depressed classes.<\/span><\/li>\n
- The Samaj founded the following organization and institutions: an asylum and orphanage at Pandharpur; night schools; a widow home; and a depressed classes mission. Justice Ranade devoted his life to the Prarthana Samaj. He contributed to the formation of the Widow Marriage Association in 1861, and the Deccan Education Society in 1884-85. Ranade conveyed two things:<\/span><\/li>\n
- The whole man was his concern; and<\/span><\/li>\n
- There was continuity even in face of radical transformation.<\/span><\/li>\n
- He advocated that these two should become a part of the reformist philosophy.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
The Arya Samaj<\/span><\/h3>\nThe Arya Samaj was founded in 1875 by Swami Dayananda Saraswati. He was a Sanskrit scholar with no English education. He gave the call\u00a0\u201cGo back to the Vedas\u201d<\/strong>. He had no regard for the Puranas. Swami received education on Vedanta. His views were similar to that of Ram Mohan Roy. Disbelief in polytheism and image worship, opposition to caste-based restriction, child marriage, and opposition to the prohibition of sea voyages, and advocating female education and widow remarriage were important programmes common to the followers of Brahmo Samaj and Arya Samaj. Like other reforms of his times, Swami Dayananda Saraswati regarded the Vedas as eternal and infallible. His monumental work \u2013 Satyartha Prakash is an interpretation of the Vedas. Swami considered the epics \u2013 the Ramayana and the Mahabharata -as literary treasures.<\/span><\/p>\n\n- Swami launched the Shuddhi (purification) movement, conversion of non-Hindu to Hinduism. This was begun to realize the ideal of unifying India notionally, socially and religiously.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Direct contact with the masses had immense in the Punjab and the United Provinces.<\/span><\/li>\n
- He advocated that Vedas had all the truth. Every modern thing could be found in them.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Swami strongly attacked the hereditary basis of the caste system, idolatry and the belief in the superiority of Brahmanas over caste groups.<\/span><\/li>\n
- He rejected unsociability and pleaded that the study of the Vedas be made open to all. The work of the Swami after his death was carried forward by Lala Hansraj, Pandit Guru Dutt, Lala Lajpat Raj and Sawami Sradhananda.<\/span><\/li>\n
- The Samaj, to prevent child marriage, fixed the minimum marriageable age at 25 years for boys and 16 for girls.<\/span><\/li>\n
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