Rammohun Roy: His contribution to the making of India

Abstract

Rammohun Roy was the first Indian to use the English language to communicate his views on religious, social, and political issues. He also was possibly the first to make Bengali prose his vehicle to communicate his message. The essential message he wished to convey was that of rationalism and of an anxiety to convey Western advances in knowledge, especially science, to his fellow countrymen. He thus preferred English to Sanskrit education. His fight against sati was based not only on a call for humanity but also on a reform of traditional Hinduism and improvement of the position of women. His knowledge of Arabic and Persian made him appreciate the monotheistic message of Islam, which he also saw in ancient Hinduism, notably the Upanishads. Despite his own position as a large landholder, he wished to protect peasants from oppression and argued that rents payable by peasants should also be fixed at a low figure, just as the tax imposed on the landlord had been fixed under the Permanent Settlement.