Chapter 8 : Socio-Religious Reform Movements: General Features

Socio-Religious Reform Movements: General Features

Factors Giving Rise to Desire for Reform

The dawn of the 19th century witnessed an intellectual and cultural churning (often called the Indian Renaissance) that created an urge to change existing social and cultural conditions.

Impact of British Rule

• The colonial government played a complex, decisive role.
• Contrast with earlier invaders: Previous invaders who settled in India were either absorbed by its superior culture or interacted positively with it.
• The British conquest: Occurred when India presented a picture of a stagnant civilisation and a static, decadent society, in sharp contrast to an enlightened 18th century Europe driven by science and a scientific outlook.

Social Conditions Ripe for Reform

Religious and Social Ills

• Hinduism was steeped in magic and superstition.
• Priests exercised an overwhelming, unhealthy influence.
• Idolatry and polytheism reinforced the priests' position.
• The priestly monopoly of scriptural knowledge imparted a deceptive character to religious systems, allowing religious ideology to persuade people to do almost anything.

Depressing Position of Women

• Female infants were frequently killed at birth.
• Child marriage and polygamy were prevalent.
• Kulinism (in Bengal): A practice where even old men took very young girls as wives.
• Sati: Expected of widows (at least among higher castes) upon their husband's death. Raja Rammohan Roy described it as a "murder according to every shastra". Widows who escaped sati were condemned to a life of misery and humiliation.

The Caste Problem

• A system of segregation hierarchically ordained on the basis of ritual status.
• Untouchables (Scheduled Castes): Placed at the bottom of the ladder, suffering numerous severe disabilities and restrictions.
• Impact: Splintered people into groups, checked social mobility, thwarted individual initiative, militated against human dignity, and became a major obstacle to the growth of united national feeling and democracy.
• Cross-religious presence: Caste consciousness and untouchability (though in a less virulent form) also prevailed among Muslims, Christians, and Sikhs, particularly regarding marriage.

Opposition to Western Culture

• Colonial rule systematically attempted to disseminate colonial culture and ideology as the dominant current.
• Indian response: An attempt developed during the 19th century to reinvigorate traditional institutions and realise the…