Raja Ram Mohan Roy biography | Relation with EIC

Raja Ram Mohan Roy biography will tell you about his early life including his family background , his upbringing , his marriage and his changing temperament after joining East India Company ( EIC ) . His inclination towards English language and later on paving path for the English language to become a status symbol is one of his major contribution to make “English” a language of aristocratic people .

Raja Ram Mohan Roy is widely known for his social reforms i.e. abolition of Sati Pratha and as the founder of Brahmo Samaj which was perpetually fightning against the worshipping of idols , rituals . He got title of “Raja” from Akbar II in 1831 . His great contribution in abolishing Sati Pratha and establishing Brahmo Samaj in 1829 attract people towards him who are interested in social and political field .

As a social reformist , he was the one who put a stop on child marriage , polygamy , practice on sati Pratha , worshipping idols . He started the weekly newspaper in Bengali language and he was the first one who started to communicate in English language and helped East India company in making English language a language of superiority .

His name is also drag into the controversy where he was called the puppet of East India company . Let us discuss whole history in details in below article .

Early life

The grandfather of Ram Mohan Roy , Brajavinod Roy ,had 7 sons .  Among those seven sons ,the father of Ram Mohan Roy was the 5th son , Ramakant Roy , of Braja Vinod Roy . They all were living in Radha Nagar , a Village  in Burdwan , then the district of Bengal . Braja Vinod was working under the viceroy of Bengal.

He believed in a unified Hindu family that is the reason they were living under the same umbrella . But as soon as he passed away ,  all of his sons got separated and took their shares along with them .

Ramakant had 3 wives . The first one was Subhadra Devi , the second was Tarini Devi  and the third one was Rammani Devi . He had two sons  and one daughter from second wife Tarini Devi whose names were  Ram Mohan Roy and Jagmohan Roy .  And a son from  his third wife Rammani Devi whose name was Ramlochan . Ramakant moved  from his native place ,  Radha Nagar ,  in 1792 to neighbouring village ,Langurpada with his family .

Ramakant Roy was a rich man and he too shared the properties among their  children in the right proportion .

Education of Ram Mohan Roy

Ram Mohan Roy was born in 1774 but there is some uncertainty regarding his birth year . Somewhere you may find 1772 as his birth year because there is no exact mention of his date of birth anywhere in Government records . He was born in a brahminical family having a high respect in society .

As Ramakant Roy was a rich and highly respectable family , he decided to provide education to his children . Ram Mohan Roy during his childhood first learnt the Bengali language in village Pathshala .Since childhood he was a very enthusiastic person .

His enthusiast made him to go further and learn other language too . After Bengali , he learnt Persian and Arabic language .

By reaching ninth he was sent to Patna for mastering in the language of Persia and Arabic . There , he also went through Sufism which attracted him the most . Specially the poems of Shiraz made him lost in mystical world .

He wanted to become ascetic in his early age of fourteen but his mother dissuaded him .

When he started to learn Vedanta and Yoga he found many similarities in Hindu Philosophy and Sufism .

Then , finally learnt Sanskrit language from Banaras when he was fourteen and stayed there till the age of sixteenth . There he gained the knowledge of Vedanta and Upnishad but somehow his learning in Vedanta and Upnishad made him to be against Idol worship .

He then wrote a book which was against idolatry worship in Persian language .

After reaching 22 of his age , he desired to learn foreign British language . When he commenced his journey in English , he came across many European men who became good friends of him .

His father Ramakant Roy was a religious person and believed in  Idol worship while Ram Mohan Roy was always against idol worship. He always questions why there is a need to worship an idol ? This matter worked as a fuel on fire . And they started to maintain a distance from each other .

Ram Mohan Roy’s service life

After leaving langurpada where  his mother and his two wives were living ,  he shifted himself to Kolkata ( then calcutta)  in 1797 ,  where he was doing the business of lending the money . In Calcutta he had  purchased many properties from where he used to generate handsome money .

In 1801 ,  he met one of his best friends ,  Mr John Digby Of the East India company’s civil service . He also lent money to Mr Thomas Woodford of the civil service and started to accompany him in his company’s paper as a Munshi (  private assistant ) . He had worked with him for around one year ( 1803 )

 Then In 1805 ,  he started to work with Mr Digby and  accompanied him  continuously for 10 years . He was not just interested in money  which he was getting from the salary but he was also interested in learning the fluent English language from these elite people who were working for East India Company .He used to read the English newspaper specially the Continental politics .

They had become very close friends and that was the reason , Ram Mohan Roy decided to move to England and enter into one of the English universities .

Ram Mohan Roy contribution

•   Before going to forgien land , he made an organisation “ Atmiya Sabha “ in 1815 which was made for “ against the idol worship” .
• In the Church of England  missionary , 1816 ,It is  Stated that “ Atmiya Sabha “ ( called as society )was founded for those persons  who have renounced the idol worship .
• He wanted to be an ascetic at a very young age  but after the study of Arabic translation of Aristotle’ s logic at Patna University , his faith in religion got shaken up . Later , he expressed his views in his  Persian pamphlet “ Tuhfatul Muwahhidin “ ( 1803) on religions . 

In his  pamphlet “ Tuhfatul Muwahhidin “,  he explains  that faith  in one being Who is the source of creation and the governor of it is universal “ but people have different attributes  for that being  . But all the divergent views cannot be true at the same time , hence ,  logically it should be false .

• He started his journey in “ Tuhfatul “ by criticizing historical claims of Hinduism . He was of the belief that  Hinduism was based on one supreme being who created all and running the whole universe .
• He was also against the rituals  followed in Hinduism  and called it Superstition . So he decided to educate other people and convince them not to believe in these  superstitious things . 
• Raja Ram Mohan Roy played a key role in  abolition of Sati In India on December 4 ,  1829

Ram Mohan Roy and East India Company

Ram Mohan Roy got full support from East India Company for his initiatives regarding reformation in Hinduism . He supported the English language as a language of  intellectuals , So he was in a great favour of educating people in India in the English language .

The money allocated for educational purposes in 1813  by East India Company  was utilized for opening the school and colleges on the model of English public school and  spreading the western Scientific knowledge .

 Due to Ram Mohan Roy , English Considered as one of the main languages in India . He didn’t believe in the Indian education system , so , many times he  tried to draw the attention of Christian mission into the Indian education system and requested them to bring European teachers and professors to India  to educate Indian people .

Raja Ram Mohan Roy persuaded a Scottish chaplain “James Bryce “ to send  missionaries  in India for the spread  of knowledge and learning .

By getting the full support of Ram Mohan Roy ,  Dr bryce (  from Scotland ) presented to the general assembly of 1824 the petition and Memorial which drew the attention of the church of Scotland to British India as a great Opportunity for missionary exertion .

As a result ,  Alexander Duff ,  who became the pioneer of Missionary education in India, was sent by the Church of  Scotland  in 1830 .

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It was Ram Mohan Roy who played a key role in  abolition of Sati In India on December 4 ,  1829 by then the governor  William Bentinck , under the Bengal Sati regulation . Without the interference of Ram Mohan Roy ,  it was impossible for the British government to abolish sati pratha . 

Ram Mohan Roy had formed the  nucleus of  catholic Church which  had spread all over India and made its way in every race and communities which had immense population . The Brahmo Samaj  founded on 20th August 1828 in Kolkata ,   discarded the Idol worship , fetters of caste , and many things regarding Hinduism . 

Ram Mohan Roy On christianity

Rammohan Roy  wrote a  letter to Mr. Digby , residing in England after retirement , explained to him that he had found the doctrine of Christ more conducive to moral principle than Hindu scriptures . He found Hindus much more Superstitious and miserable , regarding rituals practices and domestic concern than anyone on the planet earth .

According to Ram Mohan Roy ,  Christianity is an ideal religion for humanity .It promotes peace and harmony among people . There is much more Liberty in Christianity .  He invited many European  and English teachers to come to India  and educate Indian people in science , maths and all other subjects .

A letter by Ram Mohan Roy in which he was  saying that Sanskrit is a language which is keeping this country in darkness and it is the duty of the British to embrace Indian people in maths , science and other subjects . But you will be shocked to know that at the very same time ,  the European countries were adopting the Sanskrit language so that they can gain  a  huge knowledge From Hindu scriptures and use it as they want by calling it their own invention or discoveries . 

Death

He died on September 27 , 1833 ,  Briston ,  England due to meningitis .

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