2018-05-22 Tue

Raja Ram Mohan Roy, the ‘father of Indian Renaissance’ was born on 22nd May 1772, in Hooghly district of Bengal Presidency. He was a founder of the Brahmo Samaj, an influential social-religious reform movement. Brahmo Samaj believes in the existence of one supreme God, and that the worship of him needs no fixed place or time.

'Father of Modern India', Roy fought to abolish the practice of Sati. He was also known as the Father of the Indian Renaissance and established a number of schools to popularize a modern education system in India.

Besides sati, Roy also fights against several other social evils such as polygamy, infanticide, child marriage and the caste system. He also demanded property inheritance rights for women.

In 1830, Roy travelled to England as a representative of the Mughal Empire to ensure that Lord William Bentinck’s Bengal Sati Regulation, 1829 banning the practice of Sati was not overturned. In addition, Roy petitioned the King to increase the Mughal Emperor's allowance and perquisites and he managed to convince the British government to increase the stipend of the Mughal Emperor.

In 2004, Ram Mohan Roy was ranked number 10 in BBC's poll of the Greatest Bengali of all time. To honor him, India Post issued a 15 Paisa commemorative postage stamp in 1964.

Image Source: Mintage World