Brahmo Samaj

Ram Mohan Roy regarded as modern India’s first reformer and central figure in the cultural awakening. He sought inspiration from the modern sciences of the west as well as from the ancient knowledge of India. In 1809 he wrote in Persian his famous work Gift to Monotheism based on the principle of one supreme God. He was convinced that to cure Hindu religion of its evils it was necessary to bring to the public knowledge the truth stated in the original Shastras.For this purpose he published the Bengali translation of the Vedas and the Upanishads and demonstrated to the people that these texts preached only one God and idol worship had no place there. In 1828 a new society called Brahmo Samaj was started which discarded idol worship, caste divisions and other many meaningless rites and rituals.Rammohan Roy fought against all kinds of social evils. He also demanded that women be given the right of inheritance and property. He also advocated English language. Later on Samaj expanded throughout the country.