Working Together for Change in Society


 
 
Concept Explanation
 

Working Together for Change in Society

Working towards change:  One important reason of the change is the development of new forms of communication. For the first time, books, newspapers, magazines, leaflets and pamphlets were printed. These were far cheaper and far more accessible. Therefore ordinary people could read these, and many of them could also write and express their ideas in their own languages. All kinds of issues- social, political, economic and religious- could now be debated and discusses by men (and sometimes by women as well) in the new cities. These debates were often initiated by Indian reformers and reform groups. One such reformer was Raja Rammohun Roy. He founded a reform association known as the Brahma Sabha (later known as the Brahma Samaj) in Calcutta. People such as Rammohun Roy are described as reformers because they felt that changes were necessary in society, and unjust practices needed to be done away with.

Changing the lives of widows: Rammohun Roy was particularly moved by the problems widows faced in their lives. He began a campaign against the practice of sati. He tried to show through his writings that the practice of widow burning had no sanction in ancient texts. Many British officials had also begun to criticize Indian traditions and customs. They were therefore more than willing to listen to Rammohun who was reputed to be a learned man. In 1829, sati was banned.

 
 


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