Renaissance in India

Renaissance in India resulted in social and cultural awakenings inspired by the Western Concepts of reason, equality, and liberty. The Renaissance, which means “resurrection” or “rebirth,” was a great European transitional movement that swept away medieval unprogressive ideas and replaced them with individualism, material emancipation, scepticism, nationalism, a more sound economic system, and self-expression.

Raja Rammohan Roy was a pivotal figure in the cultural awakening in India. He was called the “Father of the Indian Renaissance.” The Indian Renaissance began as a result of the influence of Western thinkers. In this article, we will discuss various aspects of a renaissance in India that will be helpful for UPSC exam preparation.

What is Renaissance?

• Renaissance refers to the revival of classics; however, in the Indian context, it is more than just a revival in the strictest sense. It’s a fresh start.
• The arrival of the English ignited the Indian renaissance. Indians were suddenly exposed to scientific ideas, new discoveries, and freethinking.
• The Vedas, Upanishads, Sutras, epics, and other scriptures housed an Indian treasure trove of scholarship. These were translated and revived by European traders who came to India.
• The Renaissance in India is generally considered the pre-political phase of the anti-colonial struggle.
• It was a period when Indians were mainly engaged in social and cultural preparation for participation in more progressive, radical, and political programs.
• The social and religious movements that preceded the political struggles, known as the renaissance, are regarded as a necessary precursor to the arrival of nationalism.
• As a result, nationalism is viewed as a natural result of a renaissance.

Features of the Indian Renaissance

• A new method of studying Indian history was introduced.
• The reinterpretation of Indian religious texts and rituals revealed irregularities and malpractices in our religion at the time.
• Raja Ram Mohan Roy and other intellectuals launched a new movement for socio-religious reforms which was influenced by Western thinkers.
• The Indian Renaissance gave rise to the study of English literature, thoughts, philosophies, and historical books.
• It has some influence over political movements, and it was later perfectly adopted by them.
• The incredible effect of the Indian Renaissance was reflected in the quality of life and the new frontiers scaled by dance, music, and other performing arts.

Renaissance and Nationalism

• Making a national identity in India was a long process with roots dating back to the ancient era.
• In ancient times, emperors such as Ashoka and Samudragupta ruled India, and in medieval times, emperors such as Akbar to Aurangzeb ruled the country.
• However, the concept of national identity and national consciousness did not emerge until the nineteenth century.
• People were inspired to define and achieve their national identity by social, economic, and political factors.
• In the course of their fight against colonialism, people began to realize their unity.
• The sense of oppression under colonial rule provided a common bond that linked various groups together. The effects of colonialism were felt differently by each class and group.
• Their experiences were diverse, and their perspectives on freedom were not always consistent.
• Several other factors also contributed to the rise and expansion of nationalism.
• A single set of British Government laws applied across several regions resulted in political and administrative unity. This bolstered Indians’ sense of citizenship and belonging to a single nation.
• The British government’s economic exploitation agitated other people to band together and protest the British government’s control over their lives and resources.
• The nineteenth-century social and religious reform movements also contributed to a sense of nationalism.
• They restored ancient India’s glory, instilled faith in their religion and culture, and thus spread the message of love for their motherland.
• People like Bankim Chandra Chatterji, Swami Dayanand Saraswati, and Aurobindo Ghosh spoke out on the intellectual and spiritual side of nationalism.
• ‘Vande Matram,’ which was Bankim Chandra’s hymn to the Motherland, became a rallying cry for patriotic nationalists.
• It inspired generations of people to ultimate self-sacrifice. At the same time, it instilled fear in the minds of the British. The song’s impact was so strong that the British had to outlaw it.
• Similarly, Swami Vivekananda’s message to the people, “Arise, awake, and do not stop until the goal is attained,” resonated with Indians. It was a powerful force in the development of Indian nationalism.

Phases of Indian Renaissance

First Phase:

• The first phase of India’s renaissance was embodied in socio-religious movements, which were primarily, but not exclusively, initiated by the country’s burgeoning middle class, which was educated in British liberalism.
• However, the intellectuals who led the movement were not Anglophile Indians.
• An inquiry into the past and an assessment of the strength of tradition to overcome contemporary problems was a defining feature of the movement.
• For example, Ram Mohan Roy’s use of Hindu scriptures in his Sati debate with his opponents, or Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar’s widow remarriage campaign, or Narayana Guru’s universalism advocacy.
• In a “era of darkness,” they were all looking for a way out.
• The fact that they targeted the obvious—social obscurantism, religious superstition, and irrational rituals—was a foregone conclusion.
• As a result, the first phase of the Indian renaissance was primarily concerned with social and cultural issues, resulting in a relative neglect of political issues. In fact, politics did not play a significant role in their thinking.

Second Phase:

• The second stage, on the other hand, was defined by an attempt to reconcile anti-colonial politics with the social quest for modernity.
• The anti-colonial movement did not follow the renaissance, as is commonly assumed; rather, the latter elided into the former.
  • The national movement allowed the values of the first phase of the renaissance to form their ideological postures and enter areas where they had previously been conspicuous by their absence.
• However, the national movement took precautions to keep the social issues struggle off its political agenda and to control it through measured interventions.
• Gandhiji’s role in the Vaikom Satyagraha, for example, was that of a mediator rather than a participant, despite his sympathies for the satyagrahis.

Third Phase:

• The Convergence of Marxism and renaissance values resulted in the third phase of the renaissance, which began with the end of colonial rule.
• Indeed, renaissance values are inherent in Marxism and were part of the communist movement’s agenda, which functioned with the concept of cultural and social equality, across caste and gender.
• Egalitarianism, gender justice, and secularism were also central to the first and second phases of the Renaissance.
• The Left’s goal was to transform existing cultural and social practices rather than “reform” them.
• Despite the fact that several leaders of the Left Movement recognized the importance of culture in popular struggles, they were unable to creatively bring them together.
• Despite a promising start in the 1930s, the third phase of the renaissance, as represented by radical cultural activism, did not take off.
• The negative consequences of this failure have plagued the Left renaissance to the point where cultural activism has almost become irrelevant in national cultural life.
• This is surprising given that a sizable portion of the creative intelligentsia is intellectually liberal.
• Many cultural activists and writers have begun to wonder whether a “Left Renaissance” is even possible.

Significance of Indian Renaissance

• The renaissance represented the first efforts to redeem India from its state of all-around degradation and to spread this spirit of revival and recreation from sphere to sphere of national life.
• The socio-reform movement created a social climate conducive to reform. This was an attempt to revitalize the socio-cultural system by transforming the existing social milieu.
• It rekindled faith in India’s glory. In the face of the imperialistic disintegration of Indian society and culture, they instilled a sense of self-respect and new confidence.
• They served as a cultural fortification against the assault of colonial culture. They were crucial in the quest and struggle for a new cultural identity and autonomy.
• Since the first reaction against colonialism took place in the cultural arena, the ideas and activities of reformers were inextricably linked to the task of nation-building.
• It made a significant contribution to the birth of Indian nationalism.
• They were a national movement that had an impact on people all over the country, not just in isolated areas.
• People felt a sense of oneness as a result of reform activities and attacks on institutions such as caste, which hampered social creation.
• Indian nationalism aims to regenerate the entire Indian society, regardless of caste or community. The nation­alist addressed all social ills on a national scale.

Impact of Indian Renaissance

• The reformers’ goal was never to replace India’s indigenous culture with Western culture. Rather, they simply assimilated some Western values that they saw as desirable for societal development, such as humanism.
• They placed a greater emphasis on the interpretation of scriptures and the simplification of rituals rather than outright imitating Westernization.
• Swami Vivekananda sought reform by reinterpreting the Vedas in the context of a changing world. He emphasized the ideal of selfless service and action.
• Similarly, while Raja Rammohan Roy admired Western thought, he held the Vedas and Upnishads in the highest regard.
• Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar used ancient texts to argue that widows should be allowed to remarry. His suggestions were adopted by British officials, and a law allowing widow remarriage was passed in 1856.
• Such thinkers were opposed to certain social evils such as Sati, idolatry, polytheism, untouchability, and so on, but they believed in the essence of scriptures as a persuasive truth, which was incompatible with modern notions of equality and dignity of all individuals.
• In India, social reform did not typically imply a reorganization of society’s overall structure for the benefit of underprivileged social and economic classes, as it did in the West.
  • Instead, it meant infusing new ways of life and thought into the existing social structure; the society would be preserved while its members would be transformed.

Socio-Religious Reform Movements

Social and religious reform movements occurred throughout all Indian communities. They fought against intolerance, superstition, and the power of the clergy elite. They campaigned for the removal of castes and untouchability, as well as the purdah system, sati, child marriage, socioeconomic disparities, and illiteracy. Some of these reformers were directly or indirectly sponsored by British authorities, and some of the reformers also supported reformative measures and laws formulated by the British Government. 

• In the first part of the nineteenth century, Indian society was caste-ridden, decadent, and strict.
• It followed some activities that were contrary to humanitarian emotions or beliefs but were nonetheless carried out in the name of religion.
• Some enlightened Indians, such as Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Ishwar Chand Vidyasagar, Dayanand Saraswati, and others, began to implement reforms in society in order for it to confront the challenges of the West.
• Reform movements may be roughly divided into two types:
  • Reformist movements
  • Revivalist movements
• Examples of reformist movements are Brahmo Samaj, the Prarthana Samaj, and the Aligarh Movement.
• Arya Samaj and the Deoband movement are examples of revivalist movements.
• To differing degrees, both the reformist and revivalist movements relied on an appeal to the lost purity of the religion they wanted to improve.
• The only distinction between reform movements was the extent to which they relied on tradition vs reason and conscience.

Factors Influencing the Rise of Socio-Religious Reform Movements

• The presence of a colonial government on Indian territory; when the British arrived in India, they brought with them the English language as well as some contemporary ideals.
• These concepts, which included liberty, social and economic equality, fraternity, democracy, and justice, had a significant effect on Indian society.
• In the nineteenth century, Indian society was entangled in a terrible web of religious beliefs and social obscurantism.
• Women’s Depressing Situation: The position of women was the most disturbing.
• Female newborns were often killed upon birth.
• In society, child marriage was common.
• Polygamy was common in various sections of the country.
• Widow remarriage was not permitted and sati pratha was often practiced.
• Education and Global Awareness: Beginning in the late nineteenth century, a number of European and Indian researchers began studying ancient India’s history, philosophy, science, religions, and literature.
• The Indian people gained pride in their civilization as they gained a better understanding of India’s former splendor.
• It also aided religious and social reformers in their fight against all kinds of cruel practices, superstitions, and so forth.
• International / global Thinking: The increasing tide of nationalism and democracy found expression in initiatives to reform and democratize the Indian people’s social structures and religious viewpoints throughout the later decades of the nineteenth century.
• Factors such as the rise of nationalist feelings, the creation of new economic forces, the expansion of education, the influence of contemporary Western ideas and culture, and enhanced global awareness intensified the drive to reform.

Important Hindu Socio-Religious Reform Movements

Hindu Socio-Religious Reform Movements occurred throughout all Indian groups. They campaigned for the removal of castes and untouchability, as well as the abolition of sati, child marriage, socioeconomic disparities, and illiteracy. Some of these reformers were directly or indirectly sponsored by British authorities, and some of the reformers also supported reformative measures and laws formulated by the British Government. It also aided religious and social reformers in their fight against all types of cruel behaviors, superstitions, and so forth.

• Although religion reform was an important component of all movements, none of them were entirely religious in nature. They aspired to be humanists and rejected redemption and otherworldliness as goals.
• They were preoccupied with their physical lives. The colonial state impacted but did not generate socio-cultural renewal in the nineteenth century.
• It was caused by the rapidly growing middle class and conventional or western educated intellectuals. Raja Rammohan Roy initiated the movements.
• Religious reform was a prerequisite for social change since religious precepts affected the social lives of both Hindus and Muslims.
• Superstitions and priests controlled Hinduism. To please God, people practiced idolatry, animal sacrifice, and physical punishment.
• Socialising was also bad. Sati, female infanticide, child marriage, and social boycotts of widows were all frequent practices.
• The caste system has produced societal divides, making it impossible to maintain a united mass movement.
• Untouchability was also pervasive.

Brahmo Samaj (Rajaram Mohan Roy)

Brahmo Samaj was a powerful religious movement in India that contributed significantly to the development of contemporary India. It was founded on August 20, 1828, in Calcutta, by Raja Ram Mohan Roy and Dwarkanath Tagore as a reformation of the prevailing Brahmanism of the time (specifically Kulin practices), and it launched the Bengal Renaissance of the nineteenth century, which pioneered all religious, social, and educational advancements of the Hindu community. 

• In August 1828, Raja Rammohan Roy formed the Brahmo Sabha, which was eventually renamed Brahmo Samaj.
• He intended to formalize his views and goals through the Sabha.
• “Worship and devotion of the Eternal, Unsearchable, Immutable Being who is the Author and Preserver of the Universe,” the Samaj stated.
• Prayers, meditation, and Upanishad readings were to be the modes of worship, and no graven image, statue or sculpture, carving, painting, picture, portrait, or other similar object was to be permitted in Samaj structures, emphasizing the Samaj’s aversion to idolatry and useless rituals.
• The Brahmo Samaj’s long-term aim, to cleanse Hinduism and promote monotheism, was founded on reason and the Vedas and Upanishads.
• The Samaj also attempted to assimilate teachings from other religions while maintaining its emphasis on human dignity, rejection of idolatry, and condemnation of societal ills like sati.
• Rammohan Roy was opposed to the formation of a new religion.
• He merely wished to rid Hinduism of the wicked practices that had infiltrated the religion.
• Traditionalists like Raja Radhakant Deb, who founded the Dharma Sabha to combat Brahmo Samaj propaganda, were vocal in their opposition to Roy’s progressive ideals.

• Polytheism and idol worship were condemned.
• It abandoned belief in heavenly avataras (incarnations).
• It rejected the idea that any text could have ultimate power over human reason and conscience.
• It maintained no firm stance on the doctrines of karma and soul transmigration, leaving individual Brahmos to believe what they wanted.
• The caste system was criticized.
• Its primary goal was to worship the everlasting God. Priesthood, ceremonies, and sacrifices were all condemned.
• It centered on prayers, meditation, and scripture reading. It thought that all religions should be together.
• It was contemporary India’s first intellectual reform movement.
• It resulted in the growth of rationality and enlightenment in India, which aided the nationalist cause indirectly.

• Many dogmas and superstitions were tackled by the Samaj in terms of social change.
• It denounced the prevalent Hindu anti-foreign travel bias.
• It campaigned for sati to be abolished, the purdah system to be abolished, child marriage and polygamy to be discouraged, widow remarriage to be encouraged, and educational opportunities to be provided.
• It also took on casteism and untouchability, but with limited success in these areas.
• The Brahmo Samaj’s impact, on the other hand, was limited to Calcutta and, at most, Bengal. It had no long-term consequences.
• It was the first intellectual reform movement in contemporary India, in which societal problems were criticized and attempts were made to eradicate them.
• It resulted in the growth of rationality and enlightenment in India, which aided the nationalist cause indirectly.
• Raja Ram Mohan Roy and his Brahmo Samaj were instrumental in bringing Indian society’s attention to the serious challenges of the day.
• It was the progenitor of all contemporary India’s social, religious, and political movements.

Brahmo Samaj and Debendranath Tagore:

• When he joined the Brahmo Samaj in 1842, Maharishi Debendranath Tagore (1817–1905), father of Rabindranath Tagore and a product of the best in traditional Indian learning and Western intellect, gave the theist movement a new vitality and a defined form and structure.
• Previously, Tagore was the leader of the Tattvabodhini Sabha (established in 1839), which was dedicated to the methodical study of India’s past with a rational perspective, as well as the spread of Rammohan’s ideals through its organ Tattvabodhini Patrika in Bengali.
• Due to the informal union of the two sabhas, the Brahmo Samaj gained new energy and strength of membership.
• The Brahmo Samaj grew throughout time to include famous Rammohan followers, Derozians, and independent thinkers like Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar and Ashwini Kumar Datta.
• Tagore operated on two fronts: the Brahmo Samaj was a reformist movement inside Hinduism, and it strongly fought Christian missionaries for their critique of Hinduism and attempts at conversion outside of Hinduism.
• The revived Samaj advocated for widow remarriage, women’s education, polygamy abolition, better ryot circumstances, and temperance.

Brahmo Samaj and Keshab Chandra Sen:

• When Debendranath Tagore appointed Keshab Chandra Sen (1838–84) as acharya shortly after the latter joined the Brahmo Samaj in 1858, the Brahmo Samaj witnessed a new burst of vitality.
• Outside of Bengal, branches of the Samaj were established in the United Provinces, Punjab, Bombay, Madras, and other cities, thanks to the efforts of Keshab.
• The Brahmo Samaj of India was created by Keshab and his supporters in 1866, whereas Debendranath Tagore’s Samaj became known as the Adi Brahmo Samaj.
• Keshab’s incomprehensible conduct of marrying his 13-year-old daughter to the minor Hindu Maharaja of Cooch-Behar with all the customary Hindu ceremonies sparked another division in Keshab ‘s Brahmo Samaj of India in 1878.
• Some of Keshab’s followers had begun to regard him as an incarnation, much to the chagrin of his progressive followers.
• In addition, Keshab was accused of authoritarianism.
• After 1878, Keshab’s disgruntled supporters formed the Sadharan Brahmo Samaj, a new organization.
• Ananda Mohan Bose, Sib Chandra Deb, and Umeshchandra Dutta founded the Sadharan Brahmo Samaj.
• The Brahmo teachings of faith in a Supreme being, one God, the conviction that no scripture or man is infallible, and belief in the demands of reason, truth, and morality were all restated.
• In the Madras province, several Brahmo centers have been established.
• In Punjab, the Dayal Singh Trust established Dayal Singh College in Lahore in 1910 to instill Brahmo beliefs.

Raja Ram Mohan Roy:

• Raja Ram Mohan Roy was born on May 22, 1772, in Radhanagar, Bengal, to an orthodox Brahman family.
• Ram Mohan Roy had his early education in Patna, where he studied Persian and Arabic and read the Quran, Sufi mystic poets’ writings, and Arabic translations of Plato and Aristotle’s works.
• He learned Sanskrit and perused the Vedas and Upnishads in Banaras.
• Raja Ram Mohan Roy was the father of Modern India’s Renaissance and a relentless social reformer who ushered in India’s period of enlightenment and liberal reformist modernization.
• In November 1930, he set sail for England, where he would be there to prevent the repeal of the Sati Act.
• The putative Mughal Emperor of Delhi, Akbar II, bestowed the title of ‘Raja’ to Ram Mohan Roy, who was to express his concerns to the British king.
• Tagore alluded to Ram Mohan as “a dazzling light in the firmament of Indian history” in his presentation, titled “Inaugurator of the Modern Age in India.”
• Ram Mohan Roy was heavily inspired by Western contemporary ideas, emphasizing rationality and a scientific attitude to life.
• The religious and social deterioration of Ram Mohan Roy’s home Bengal was his urgent challenge.
• Instead of helping to ameliorate society’s state, he considered that religious orthodoxies had become sources of harm and detriment to social life, as well as sources of problem and befuddlement for the people.
• Tuhfat-ul-Muwahhiddin (a gift to deists), Raja Ram Mohan Roy’s first published work, was published in 1803 and revealed illogical Hindu religious beliefs and immoral practices such as believing in revelations, prophets, and miracles.
• In Calcutta, he established the Atmiya Sabha in 1814 to fight idolatry, caste rigidities, useless rituals, and other societal problems.
• Roy did a lot to spread the word about the advantages of contemporary education to his fellow people.
• While Roy’s English school taught mechanics and Voltaire’s philosophy, he backed David Hare’s attempts to create the Hindu College in 1817.
• In 1825, he founded Vedanta College, which provided education in both Indian and Western social and physical sciences.