Popularly remembered as the Father of Indian Renaissance, Raja Ram Mohan Roy was born on 22 May, 1772 in Radhanagar (Bengal Presidency). He represented Akbar II in England where he pleaded for his pension and allowances. Akbar II awarded him the title ‘Raja’. Best Book for Current Affairs & General Knowledge Preparation
He worked as a moneylender in Calcutta, and from 1809 to 1814 and served in the Revenue Department of the East India Company. Gopal Krishna Gokhale called him the ‘Father of Modern India’.
Roy was dubbed by Rabindranath Tagore, Asia’s first Nobel Laureate, as Bharat Pathik (Pathfinder of India).
He stood against the practice of Sati. The Bengal Sati Regulation, 1829, was a result of R.R Mohan Roy’s efforts. He pleaded for the right of inheritance and property for women.
He fought against polygamy and child marriage which were prevalent back then.
He supported women's education as he believed that only education would fetch women equal social status with men.
In 1814, he started Atmiya Sabha in order to crusade against idol worship, meaningless rituals and superstitious beliefs. He spreaded the monotheistic ideals.
In 1817, along with David Hare, he founded the Hindu College at Calcutta.
The Calcutta Unitarian Committee, jointly founded by William Adam and Rammohun Roy in September 1821, sought to bring together prominent Brahmins who were friends of Roy’s and supporters of his agenda for the promotion of religious monotheism and social reform.
He created the ‘Brahma Sabha’ in 1828 (set up with Debendranath Tagore).
In 1822, he set up the Anglo-Hindu school which taught mechanics and Voltaire’s philosophy.
In 1825, he started the Vedanta college where Indian learning, as well as the Western social and physical sciences, were taught.
In 1830, he assisted Alexander Duff to set up the General Assembly’s Institution, which later became the Scottish Church College.
He died of Meningitis in Stapleton near Bristol on September 27, 1833 while he was on his visit to Britain. The British government named a street in Bristol as ‘Raja Rammohan Way’ in the memory of Roy.
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