Motivational story of the great “Raja” Ram Mohan Roy AKA “Father of Modern India” - MQS

Good day readers Welcome to the Motivational quote and story.  Today our Motivational quote is from the famous Anne Sullivan Macy, which says, “Every Renaissance comes to the world with a cry, the cry of the human spirit to be free.”

As you might have guessed by now, today I'll tell you a story of someone who worked hard to bring reform in one such society which was deeply engulfed in superstition in the name of tradition. The hero of our story is “Raja” Ram Mohan Roy, also known as “Father of Modern India”.

Our story starts during the colonial time when the British used to rule India. This was the time when India was deeply submerged in various social evils and superstition, such as castism, child marriage, polygamy, dowry system, etc. The most notorious of them was the tradition of “Sati”, where after the death of the Husband the widow had to sacrifice her physical body by getting burned sitting on top of her husband's dead body during the crimination ceremony. Initially, it was a voluntary tradition, but later this became mandatory with the only exception if the widow was thought to be expecting.

The early life of Raja ram Mohan Roy -

Ram Mohan Roy was born on 22^nd May 1772 in a “Kulin”(Note - At this time Brahmins are considered as the top of the Indian cast system and "Kulin" Brahmins were the top cast among the Brahmins) Brahmin family. Ram Mohan Roy was brought up in the village named Radhanagar in the district of Hooghly, which is situated in West Bengal, India. Ram Mohan Roy's father's name was Ramakanta Roy, who was a wealthy orthodox Brahmin and his Mother was Tarini Devi.

Education - 

At an early age Ram Mohan Roy decided to become a Monk but due to family pressure decided against it. He then devoted himself to studying and gaining knowledge.“Raja” Ram Mohan Roy was a highly educated person. In his childhood, he was educated in Sanskrit and Bengali languages. Later he learned Arabic and Persian languages from the Patna band became a scholar. Being a Brahmin himself studied Quaran and other Arabic Scriptures to gain knowledge. Once he finished his studies on Persian and Arabic language he moved from Patna to Kashi where he mastered the Sanskrit language  There he studied various ancient Hindu texts such as Vadas, Upanishads, etc. Ram Mohan then learned English, Greek, and Latin languages and studied the works of various philosophers such as Aristotle Euclid. Being so highly educated in various external pieces of literature and philosophies Ram Mohan Roy started to question all the social evils which were ongoing in the name of tradition. Because of this, Ram Mohan faced huge criticism all around the society, including in his own family. But all the criticisms were not able to suppress the voice of young Ram Mohan Roy, he became even more determined to work towards resolving those issues.

Ram Mohan Roy's contribution towards social reforms - 

In the year 1815, Ram Mohan Roy left the job in the British East India Company and devoted all his time to bringing social, cultural, educational, and religious reformation. He started heavy campaigning against child Marriage, the Dowry system, Polygamy, etc. At the same time advocated the idea of equal rights for women, the right to education, and widow remarriage. But among all this, the most important reform he was able to bring in the society was by bringing the end of the “Sati” tradition. But the journey of bringing this deviant tradition was not easy, as all the so-called conservative scholars and Pandits were against this.

In the year 1818 Ram Mahan wrote an article where he showcased a debate of two fictional Hindu scholars, one is in favor of Sati tradition and the other against it. The article he wrote was heavily researched, representing both sides equally. He concluded the debate against this dreadful Sati tradition. This article shook the entire Bangali society, everyone was astonished how someone can be so fearless, to tackle this age-old tradition with the help of logic, quoting the Holy Indian Hindu scriptures itself.

During this time Raja Ram Mohan Roy faced a lot of resistance from the Conservative Bengali Group called “Dharma Sabha”, led by Radhakanta Deb. “Raja” Ram Mohan Roy’s long fight against the Sati tradition came to an end when finally Governor-General Sir William Bentinck passed the “Bengal Sati Regulation” act in the year 1829 to ban the Sati tradition.

This was a landmark victory, led by Ram Mohan Roy, that paved the way for Modern India. This is the reason, because of which he is called the “Father of Modern India”. Ram Mohan Roy got his honorary “Raja” title from Mugal King, Akbar (II) for his great work of social reform. 

Ram Mohan Roy's contribution towards educational reforms - 

“Raja” Ram Mohan Roy himself was a highly educated person. He is the one who first introduced the western language such as English in the mainstream Indian educational system along with other scientific subjects such as Mathematics, Botany, Physic, Chemistry, etc. Ram Mohan Roy, with the help of David Hare, founded “Hindu College” in the year 1817. His effort to combine the traditional Indian studies along with western subjects led to establishing the “Anglo Vedic School” and “Vedanta College” in the year 1822 and 1826 respectively.

Another contribution of Raja Ram Mohan Roy –

 Apart from his contribution towards the education system, Ram Mohan Roy also contributed towards religious reformation. He tried to quote various ancient Hindu texts like Upanishad and advocated the concept of Monotheism. In the year 1928 Ram Moha Roy established the Atmiya Sabha which later turned into Brahma samaj. The main aims of this progressive association were to abolish the cast system and to promote Monotheism.

Ram Mohan Roy was a strong believer in freedom of speech and expression. He also founded two newspaper outlets, one in Persian “Miratul  - Akhbar” and Bangali “Sambad Kaumadi”. Ram Mohan Roy was the first person to fight against Government control in the print news media and advocated for freedom of the press.

Death of Raja Ram Mohan Roy -

“Raja” Ram Mohan Roy died in England on the year 27^th Sep 1833. He was suffering meningitis which was the cause of his death.

Along with various places in India, If you ever visit Bristol, you can still see the statue of Raja Ram Mohan Roy with its full glory.