Women Caste and Reform Test - 5

Indian Renaissance occurred after the coming of the British when a mass religious and social awakening took place. The foremost reformists had undertaken the task with a lot of eagerness and enthusiasm. Renaissance stands for rebirth and Indian renaissance refers to that period which was marked by the quest for knowledge and development of science and arts. The incredible effects of the Indian Renaissance were reflected in the quality of life and the new frontiers scaled by dance, music and other performing arts. Behind the famous creeds and ceremonials of the country, stand the Bhagavad Gita, the Upanishads, the Tantra, the Vedas; these, though referable to receding ages as regards their rise, are living influences at the present era.

After several iterations the Society's objectives evolved to be:

1. To form a nucleus of the universal brotherhood of humanity without distinction of race, creed, sex, caste, or colour.
2. To encourage the study of comparative religion, philosophy, and science.
3. To investigate the unexplained laws of nature and the powers latent in man.

Swami Dayanand Saraswati is the founder of Arya Samaj in 1875. He was a social reformer. He gave a slogan 'Go back to the Vedas'. He gave equal right and respect of all peoples and religion. He was in favour of sanskrit tradition.

Jyotirao Govindrao Phule (Mahatma) was born in Pune, was a great social reformer. He dedicated his book Gulamgiri to the American movement to free slaves, he linked the conditions of the black slaves in America with those of the lower castes in India. This comparison contains an expression of hope that one day, like the end of slavery in America, there would be an end to all sorts of caste discriminations in Indian society.

After the death of Raja Ram Mohan Roy, the Brahmo Samaj was gradually divided into several sects. Maharshi Debendranath Tagore established the Adi Brahmo Samaj, Keshab Chandra Sen established the Bhartiya Brahmo Samaj and another one was established by the name of the Sadharana Brahmo Samaj.

National Youth Day is celebrated in India on 12 January on the birthday of Swami Vivekananda. In 1984 the Government of India declared the day as the National Youth Day and since 1985 the event is celebrated in India every year.

M. G. Ranade was an Indian social reformer, a distinguished scholar and founding member of Indian National Congress. In 1867, he assisted in establishment of the Prarthana Samaj in Bombay. It was a Hindu reform society, similar to Brahmo Samaj and was started as a movement for religious and social reform in Maharashtra.

Ramakrishna Mission, inspired by Indian saint Ramakrishna Paramhansa was founded by Swami Vivekananda in 1897 in Kolkata. It subscribes to the ancient Hindu philosophy of Vedanta and aims at the harmony of religions and promoting peace and equality for all humanity.

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar played an important role  in the drafting of the Indian Constitution. He felt that political democracy had to be accompanied by economic and social democracy. He felt that giving all the people the right to vote did not make tham equal socially or economically.

Raja Ram Mohan Roy was the social reformer , who started working for ban on sati. It was because of his efforts that, William Bentinck, the Governor-General of India, passed a law in 1829 making the practices of Sati illegal & punishable by law.