Raja Ram Mohan Roy 247th Birth Anniversary: Important Facts About the Father of Indian Renaissance

Known for his efforts towards abolishing sati and child marriage, the 'Father of the Indian Renaissance', Ram Mohan Roy, who was born on May 22, 1772, was bestowed with the title of Raja by Akbar II, the Mughal emperor. The founder of the Brahmo Samaj in 1828, Roy was born into a Vaishnavite family in Radhanagar Hoogly and would go on to revive the ethical principles of the Vedanta school of philosophy as written about in the Upanishads.

On his 247th birth anniversary, we take a look at few of the important known facts about the Indian stalwart.

Ram Mohan Roy started his formal education in the village pathshala, following which he studied Persian and Arabic in a madrasa in Patna and after that, he was sent to Benares (Kashi) to learn the intricacies of Sanskrit and Hindu scripture, including the Vedas and Upanishads.

Ram Mohan Roy formed an association called Atmiya Sabha(Friendship Association) to translate Upanishads and discuss it. The discussion on theology led to the establishment of Brahmo Samaj in 1828 with Debendranath Tagore.

He went to England to lobby against overturning the ban of Sati in India under the capacity as an ambassador of the Mughal Emperor. However, he was employed on numerous occasions by the Company and was a known to be a sympathizer of their causes.

Raja Ram Mohan Roy started India’s first English medium school in 1816. He also started first Bengali language weekly newspaper, the first newspaper in Indian language.

Ram Mohan Roy brother’s wife was forced to commit sati after death of his brother. This event left a deep impact on his mind.

After a successful campaign against the practice of sati, Raja Ram Mohan Roy would go on to launch similar campaigns against child marriage, purdah system, the dowry system and polygamy.

In 1822, Ram Mohan Roy published the journal Mirat-ul-Akbar in Persian and founded the newspaper Sambad Koumudi.

He is perhaps the only cultural leader of the Indian Renaissance period to be buried in the West. He died of Meningitis in Stapleton near Bristol on September 27, 1833. While he was originally buried at Stapleton Groves, he was re-buried at the Arnos Vale Cemetery nearby, in 1843, where his mausoleum still stands.