Thinker
Raja Ram Mohan Roy
3 key ideas, each explained in our own words.
Raja Ram Mohan Roy: Reason and Reform
- IDEA 1
Reason in religion
Roy argued that religious practice should pass the test of reason and conscience. He founded the Brahmo Samaj to reform worship and drop practices he saw as harmful.
- IDEA 2
Campaign against sati
He used scripture, public argument and petitions to campaign against widow burning, which was banned in 1829. Social reform can combine moral appeal with legal change.
- IDEA 3
Modern education and free press
Roy supported teaching science and English alongside Indian learning, and defended press freedom. He saw an informed public as the basis of progress.
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