Raja Ram Mohan Roy was born on May 22, 1772, in Radhanagar, a small village in West Bengal, India. He belonged to a Bengali Brahmin family and received a traditional education in Sanskrit, Persian, and Hindu scriptures. His early exposure to various languages and cultures influenced his later work in promoting education and religious reform.

Ram Mohan Roy was a staunch advocate for social and religious reform in India. He was critical of various social and religious practices, including idol worship, caste discrimination, child marriage, and sati (the practice of a widow immolating herself on her husband’s funeral pyre). He actively campaigned against these practices and sought to modernize Indian society.

1. Abolition of Sati: Ram Mohan Roy’s efforts led to the ban on sati in 1829 in Bengal. He argued that it had no sanction in the Hindu scriptures and was a result of misinterpretations and corruptions of religious texts.

2. Promotion of Education: He established schools that provided a modern, Western-style education to promote rational thinking and scientific knowledge. He believed that education was the key to societal reform and progress.

3. Founding of Brahmo Samaj: In 1828, he founded the Brahmo Samaj, a reformist religious and social organization that aimed to promote monotheism, social equality, and the rejection of idol worship. It later split into different branches, but it remained a significant influence on Indian reform movements.

Apart from his work on social and religious reform, Raja Ram Mohan Roy was also a political activist. He engaged in diplomatic efforts to represent the concerns of India and Indians to the British government. He traveled to the United Kingdom and was involved in various discussions and lobbying efforts.

Raja Ram Mohan Roy passed away on September 27, 1833, in Bristol, England. His legacy as a pioneer of social and religious reform in India remains profound. He is often referred to as the “Father of the Indian Renaissance” and is celebrated for his commitment to modernization, education, and the advancement of human rights in India. His efforts laid the foundation for subsequent reform movements and the broader societal changes that characterized 19th and 20th-century India.