Raja Rammohan Roy Exploration of Multidimensionality

In this dark gloom of India's degeneration, Rammohun rose up, a luminous star in the firmament of India's history, with prophetic purity of vision and unconquerable heroism of soul. He shed radiance all over the land; he rescued us from the penury of self-oblivion”. (This address was delivered by Rabindranath Tagore as President of the Preliminary Meeting of the Rammohun Roy Centenary held at the Senate House, Calcutta, on 18 February 1933). In the History of India, the 19th century had witnessed a remarkable transformation in the social ideas. Age old system of burning of widow in her dead husband’s funeral pyre, so called ‘Sati system’, which existed in India was abolished due to the effort of Raja Ram Mohan Roy. He was the founder of Brahmo Samaj (1828) and he also played a vital role in the abolition of Polygamy and Child marriage in India. Multifaceted social, religious and educational reformer is considered as the Father of Indian Renaissance. In the year 2022, his 250th birthday, which fell on May 22, passed largely unnoticed and through this edited book a serious effort is made to revive his legacy through a re-evaluation of the remarkable life he lived. In our current edited book, we have brought together Seven contributed chapters (containing twenty-four articles) from some leading educationists and researcher. In This edited book not only discusses the contribution of Raja Rammohan and his philosophy of life, but also the influence of Rammohan on the life and philosophy of the entire Indian people remains relevant in today’s world. That multidimensionality has emerged in the thoughts of authors in our present book. Throwing sons into the Ganges, the fight against sati-immolation is actually a fight against falsehood and corruption. By winning the war and establishing the truth, Rammohan was able to build a new India. India's renaissance began. This is specifically discussed at the very beginning of the book in Chapter-I, on “Introduction”. All kinds of misinterpretations, misconceptions and fallacies from the society can be removed only by proper education. Due to his foresight and vowed to reform educational system, the darkness of ignorance has been removed from the human mind and consciousness has been enlightened by the light of knowledge. Why and what was the purpose of his educational reforms is discussed in the Chapter-II, on “Educational Enlightenment: Rammohan’s Impact”. Rammohan's greatest achievement was his movement to abolish the heinous and cruel practice of satiimmolation. Chapter-III on “Social Transformations: Rammohan’s Advocacy” describes the history of sati-immolation, its religious misinterpretation and brutality. Each of the reforms that Rammohan undertook in his versatile life began at a particular time. But there was another aspect of his life that has remained almost entirely out of discussion. If Rammohan's career is divided into two parts, it will be seen that the first phase of his life is not discussed, but this first phase is the basis of the second phase of his life. In the earlier life, Rammohan joined the East India Company as a clerk and promoted to the rank of Dewan, which denoted a native officer tasked with revenue collection. He estimated that around half of the total revenue collected in India was sent to England. Between 1810 and 1820, he published numerous works on a wide range of subjects including religion and politics. This untold period is discussed in the Chapter-IV on “Political Ideals: Rammohan’s Influences”. In the Chapter-V, “Empowering Women: Rammohan’s Progressive Stance” present Rammohan’s pioneering thought and action on the liberty of women and especially on the abolition of sati-immolation and supported widow remarriages. He also struggled for the empowerment of women and argued against the law that deprived women of their right to inherit property. The tremendous significance of the liberal ideals of Rammohan about economic policies are discussed in the Chapter-VI, “Economic Perspectives: Rammohan’s Legacy”. Rammohan’s competency in several languages and his in-depth understanding of Hindu scriptures, Islam, Buddhism and Christianity enabled him to cultivate universal model for humanity. Raja Ram Mohan Roy’s first published work, Tuhfat-ul-Muwahhidin (1804), a treatise written in Persian, exposed irrational religious beliefs. In the last Chapter-VII, “Religious Reforms: Rammohan’s Vision”, comprehensively discuss his comparative perspective on religious thoughts. We hope that this book will benefit a wide range of educationists, researchers, students, social workers and common people. In this edited book we will analyse in detail of Rammohan’s various facets of his life as a socio, economic, religious, political and educational reformer. The enormous contributions of Raja Rammohan Roy to modern India are worthy, hence he is considered as the “Father of modern India”. He strove to improve the status of women in India. His idea of worship of the only one eternal God i.e., monotheistic doctrine in religion propagating the idea of unity of all religions. The tomb of renowned Indian social reformer Raja Rammohan Roy, located in the Arnos Vale Cemetery on the outskirts of Bristol, was built by Dwarkanath Tagore in 1843, after Rammohun’s death due to meningitis in Bristol on September 27, 1833. The British government has named a street in Bristol as ‘Raja Ram Mohan Way’ in his memory. We want to thank the contributing authors for their excellent contributions. Finally, we thank Iterative International Publishers in completing this book project. We are thankful to our President, Governing Body of Rammohan College for her encouragement. We are very much indebted to our Principal Madam for her constant suggestions and support. We extend our sincere gratitude to Sir Saktipada Patra, recipient of the Bangaratna, for his contribution to the book as the author of the foreword. We gratefully acknowledge Prof. Nandita Dasgupta and Mrs. Samita Das of Raja Rammohun Roy Memorial Museum for their help and support. We are also very much thankful to Dr. Abhijit Guha, Associate Professor, Ramakrishna Mission Sikshanamandira, Belur Math, for his support. We want to thank the contributing authors for their excellent contributions. Finally, we thank Iterative International Publishers for completing this book project