Question

In what ways did Raja Ram Mohan Roy contribute to the social reformation of the Indian society?

Answer 1

Hint: One of the members of the Brahmo Sabha, the forerunner of the Brahmo Samaj, the social-religious reform movement of the Indian subcontinent, was Raja Ram Mohan Roy. In the fields of politics, public policy, education and religion, his presence was evident.

Complete answer:
Hindu customs such as sati, polygamy, child marriage, and the caste system were crusaded against by him. He also demanded freedom of inheritance of property for women.
In 1828, he set up a movement of reformist Bengali Brahmins against social evils, the Brahmo Sabha. The political history and Christian influence of Devandra Roy influenced his social and religious views on Hindu reforms.

The experience of Ram Mohan Roy working with the British government taught him that Hindu practises were indeed not reliable or valued by western standards, and his religious reforms were certainly influenced by this. To his European acquaintances, he decided to legitimise Hindu rituals by showing that "superstitious practises that corrupt the Hindu faith have little to do with the true spirit of its dictates!" Sati, caste rigidity, polygamy and child marriages were part of the "superstitious practises" to which Ram Mohan Roy objected. The reasons why British officials asserted moral supremacy over the Indian nation were also such activities.

Note:
 By introducing humanitarian activities similar to the Christian values professed by the British and thereby attempting to legitimise Hinduism in the eyes of the Christian world, Ram Mohan Roy's ideas of religion consciously tried to establish a fair and just society.