While the nation is celebrating the newly passed Women’s Reservation Bill, surely the father of Indian Renaissance would be rejoicing somewhere in heaven. The social reformer Raja Ram Mohan Roy, is renowned for his struggle for women’s rights during a period when Sati was still practised and the nation was still burdened by strict social conventions and customs. His Beginnings Born (1772) to a Brahmin family in Radhanagar at Bengal Presidency, Raja Ram Mohan Roy had left home and abandoned various traditional customs as well as the widespread idol worship that was then practised. He left his family and travelled across the Himalayas and Tibet while studying Sanskrit, Persian, and Arabic. In the latter stages of his life, he began translating Vedic texts into English and preached about the oneness of deity. Social Reforms

Author-Gopi Shah