The New India and Raja Rammohan Roy
IN SPITE of political convulsions and economic retrogression the first century of British rule in India (1757-1858) is in certain respects a memorable epoch in her history. The period witnessed a remarkable outburst of intellectual activity in India and a radical transformation in her social and religious ideas.
The impetus to these changes came from the introduction of English education. Through this channel came the liberal ideas of the West, which stirred the people and roused them from the slumber of ages. A critical outlook on the past and new aspirations for the future marked the new awakening. Reason and judgment took the place of faith and belief; superstition yielded to science; immobility was replaced by progress, and a zeal for reform of proved abuses overpowered age-long apathy and inertia, and a complacent acquiescence in whatever was current in society. The traditional meaning of the Sastras was subjected to critical examination and new conceptions of morality and religion remodelled the orthodox beliefs and habits.
This great change affected at first only a small group of persons, but gradually the ideas spread among larger sections of the people, and ultimately their influence reached, in greater or less degree, even the masses.
The new spirit of this age is strikingly illustrated by the life and career of Raja Rammohan Roy, a remarkable personality, the centenary of whose death (1833) was celebrated some years back all over India.
The Raja began his reforming activity by preaching the unity of God, and assailing the prevalent HinduRaja Ram Mohan Roy belief in many gods and the worship of their images with elaborate rituals. He tried to demonstrate that his views were in accordance with the old and true scriptures of the Hindus, and that the modern deviations from them are due to superstitions of a later age without any moral and religious sanction behind them. Rammohan’s views stirred Hindu society to its depths, and bitter controversies followed. Rammohan published Bengali translations of ancient scriptures in order to defend his thesis, and carried on the contest, almost single-handed, by the publication of a large number of Bengali tracts. Towards the close of his life he founded, in 1828, an organisation for furthering his religious views. This organisation ultimately developed into the Brahma Samaj and will be dealt with in a later section. An indirect result of his campaign was the impetus given to the development of Bengali prose literature and Bengali journalism.
Rammohan was a great pioneer of English education. Not only did he himself found institutions for that purpose, but he always lent a helping hand to others who endeavoured to do so.’
Rammohan’s reforming activity was also directed against the social abuses of Hindu society, notably the rigours of caste and the, degrading position of women. The part he played in abolishing the self-immolation of widows will be described later on. He also endeavoured to ameliorate the condition of helpless widows in various ways, notably by changing the Hindu laws of inheritance about women and giving them proper education. He was opposed to polygamy and various other abuses in the social system of Bengal. He also advocated re-marriage of widows under specified circumstances. His ideals of womanhood and of man’s duty towards them, preached in forceful language in various tracts, were far ahead of his age and were inspired by the memories of the golden age of India. On the whole he struck the true keynote of social reform in India by upholding the cause of women and denouncing the rigours of caste rules, the two main lines on which all social reforms have proceeded since.
In the field of Indian politics also, Raja Rammohan was the prophet of the new age. He laid down the lines for political agitation in a constitutional manner, which ultimately led to the birth of the Indian National Congress half a century later. His views on political problems are surprisingly modern, and in essential features represent the high-water mark of Indian political though of the nineteenth century.
The basic principles of Rammohan’s politics were ” love of freedom, amounting to the strongest passion of his soul “, and a sincere belief that the people of India have the same capability for improvement as any other civilized people. The political ideals of the Raja are thus described by his English biographer: “The prospect of an educated India, of an India approximating to European standards of culture, seems to have never been long absent from Rammohan’s mind; and he did, however vaguely, claim in advance for his countrymen the political rights which progress in civilisation inevitably involves. Here, again, Rammohan stands forth as the tribune and prophet of New India.”
Reference may be made to some concrete views of the Raja to illustrate the currents of political thought of the day. The Raja was a great champion of the liberty of the Press. Ever since 1799 there had been a strict censorship on the publication of journals. In 1817 Lord Hastings abolished the censorship, but laid down regulations, which, among other things, prohibited the discussion of certain matters. Mr. Adam, who acted as Governor-General after the resignation of Lord Hastings, issued ordinances prohibiting the publication of newspapers or other periodicals without a Government licence. Raja Rammohan presented petitions against the new Press Regulations both to the Supreme Court and to the King-in-Council. The petitions were rejected but they form a “noble landmark in the progress of Indian culture”. We may again quote from his English biography: “The appeal is one of the noblest pieces of English to which Rammohan put his hand. Its stately periods and not less stately thought recall the eloquence of the great orators of a century ago. In language and style for ever associated with the glorious vindication of liberty, it invokes against the arbitrary exercise of British power the principles and traditions which are distinctive of British history.” Rammohan’s labours bore fruit, though he was not destined to witness it. In 1835 Sir Charles Metcalfe removed all restrictions on the Press.
