the founder of the reform movement BRAHMO
SAMAJ.
He was born in Radhanagar, Bengal, on May
22, 1772, to a Bengali BRAHMIN, but religiously
diverse family. His father worshipped VISHNU,
while his mother was a devotee of the GODDESS.
He was raised in Patna, a center of Muslim learn-
ing, and was influenced by Islamic teachings
against images. Later, in Calcutta (Kolkata), he
was exposed to Christianity. A scholar, he knew
Bengali, SANSKRIT, and other Indian languages,
as well as Arabic, Persian, Hebrew, Greek, and
Latin. With his liberal education, he was inclined
to reject the traditional orthodoxy of Hinduism
and to accept the common aspects of different
faiths, including Buddhism, JAINISM, Hinduism,
and Christianity.
Although he read many of the world’s scrip-
tures in their original languages, he sought a
way to free his own tradition, Hinduism, from
superstition and prejudice. He claimed that the
unifying doctrines he sought were contained in
the UPANISHADS. With this renewed appreciation
of the teachings of the Upanishads, he advocated
that Indians learn their own tradition as well as
science, philosophy, and modern perspectives.
He adamantly rejected image worship, burning of
widows (SATI), and the power that the Brahminic
priesthood had over the populace. These practices
he considered superstitious, prejudiced, and con-
trary to rationality. Once he became acquainted
with Unitarianism through missionaries in India,
he allied his movement with the principles of Uni-
tarian philosophy.
Known for his work toward the abolition of
sati, the immolation of widows on their husbands’s
funeral pyre; the disadvantages of polygamy; and
challenges to the authority of the Hindu priest-
hood, Roy became a voice of tolerance and a con-
tinuing influence on traditional Indian practices.
The first president of India, Jawaharlal Nehru,
called Roy a “pioneer of modern India,” and
Swami VIVEKANANDA extolled Roy’s love, which
extended to Muslims as well as Hindus.
In 1831, he traveled to the United Kingdom
and visited France. He died on September 27,
1833.
See also UNITED KINGDOM; UNITED STATES.Further reading: Piyus Kanti Das, Raja Rammohun Roy
and Brahmoism (Calcutta: Author, 1970); David Kopf,
The Brahmo Samaj and the Shaping of the Modern Indian
Mind (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press,
1979); Spencer Lavan, Unitarians and India: A Study in
Encounter and Response (Chicago: Exploration Press,
1991); J. Tuckerman, “Is Rammohun Roy a Christian?”
The Christian Examiner 3, no. 5 (September–October
1826): 361–369.Raja Rammohun Roy (1772–1833), “Founder of
Modern India” and creator of the Brahmo Samaj
movement (Victoria and Albert Museum/London/Art
Resource, NY)
K 368 Roy, Raja Rammohun