Religious & Social Reform Movements in 19th Century India — Complete UPSC Notes

1. Causes & Common Features of 19th-Century Reform

1.1 Causes

• Western education (after Macaulay's Minute 1835; Wood's Despatch 1854) created an English-educated middle class exposed to Enlightenment rationalism, utilitarian thought, and the French Revolution.
• Print culture: Printing presses (Serampore Mission Press 1800, others) spread vernacular and English newspapers; reformist arguments could circulate.
• Christian missionary critique of Hindu and Muslim practices forced reformers to defend their traditions by reforming them.
• Orientalist scholarship (William Jones' Asiatic Society 1784; Max Müller's translations of the Vedas) recovered ancient texts and gave reformers a textual base for rationalist critique of contemporary practices.
• Decline of traditional patronage for religious orthodoxy after British annexations — reformers had room to manoeuvre.
• Urban growth — Calcutta, Bombay, Madras — created new social spaces (associations, debating societies, schools) outside the village-caste matrix.

1.2 Common Features

1. Rationalism — appeal to reason, criticism of superstition, miracle, and ritual.
2. Universalism — emphasis on a single God, on human dignity irrespective of caste.
3. Textual return — "back to the Vedas" (Arya Samaj), back to the Qur'an (Aligarh, Wahabi, Faraizi), back to early Sikhism (Singh Sabha).
4. Critique of caste — most movements challenged untouchability and caste hierarchy, with varying degrees of radicalism.
5. Women's status — campaigns against sati, child marriage, female illiteracy, the seclusion of widows.
6. Modern organisational forms — voluntary associations (samajas, anjumans, sabhas) with constitutions, membership rules, and printed proceedings.

1.3 Two Broad Strands

Note: the distinction blurs — Arya Samaj was revivalist in claim but very modern in form; Brahmo Samaj was reformist but drew on Upanishadic monotheism.

2. Raja Ram Mohan Roy & Brahmo Samaj

The fountainhead of modern Indian reform. Raja Ram Mohan Roy (1772–1833) — born at Radhanagar (Hooghly), educated in Persian, Arabic, Sanskrit, English, Hebrew, Greek — combined Vedantic monotheism, Islamic rationalism, and Christian ethics into a coherent reform programme.

2.1 Major Works

• Tuhfat-ul-Muwahhidin (Persian, 1803) — first work; argued for monotheism against polytheism and idol worship.
• Bengali translations of the Upanishads (1815 onwards); Vedanta Grantha; Precepts of Jesus (1820) — selected Christ's ethical teachings without divinity claims.
• Persian-Urdu paper Mirat-ul-Akhbar (1822); Bengali Sambad Kaumudi (1821).

2.2 Organisations

• Atmiya Sabha (1815) — first reform society.
• Brahmo Sabha (20 August 1828, Calcutta) — renamed Brahmo Samaj (1830).
• Core doctrines: one formless God; no incarnations; no idol worship; no scriptural infallibility; emphasis on reason and conscience.

2.3 Social Reforms

• Sati: Roy's relentless campaign against widow-burning persuaded Lord William Bentinck to enact Regulation XVII of 1829, abolishing sati in Bengal Presidency (extended elsewhere in 1830).
• Campaigned for widow remarriage, women's education, and abolition of polygamy.
• Supported English education and the introduction of modern subjects (chemistry, anatomy, mathematics) — opposed Macaulay's later Anglicism only insofar as he wished vernacular and Sanskrit not be neglected.

2.4 Final Years

• Titled "Raja" by the dispossessed Mughal Emperor Akbar II and sent (1830) to London as his envoy to argue for a higher pension — Roy was thus India's first political envoy to Britain.
• Died at Bristol on 27 September 1833; buried at Arnos Vale cemetery.

3. Brahmo Schisms — Tagore & Sen

3.1 Debendranath Tagore (1817–1905)

• Father of Rabindranath; took over Brahmo Samaj in 1843 after a period of decline.
• Founded the Tattvabodhini Sabha (1839) — earlier — for the systematic study of the Upanishads.
• Drafted the Brahmo Covenant (1843) — formal initiation oath.
• Tried to anchor Brahmoism in the Upanishads while rejecting Vedic infallibility.

3.2 Keshub Chandra Sen (1838–84)

• Joined Brahmo Samaj in 1857; rapidly rose to prominence.
• Pushed for radical reform: inter-caste marriage, widow remarriage, abolition of upanayana (sacred thread) for Brahmo Brahmins, admission of women to public worship.
• Differences with Debendranath led to the first split (1866): Brahmo Samaj of India (Sen) vs Adi Brahmo Samaj (Debendranath).
• Lobbied for the Native Marriage Act 1872 (Civil Marriage Act) — legalised inter-caste, inter-religious marriages; fixed minimum age (14 for girls, 18 for boys) for those marrying under it.
• Second split (1878): Sen married his 13-year-old daughter Suniti Devi to the Maharaja of Cooch Behar, violating his own marriage age principles. Disillusioned followers split off as the Sadharan Brahmo Samaj (1878), led by Sivanath Sastri, Ananda Mohan Bose, Surendranath Banerjee.
• Sen's last phase — the New Dispensation (Nava Vidhan) (1881) — mystical, eclectic; combined Christianity, Vaishnavism, Sufism.

4. Young Bengal Movement — Henry Vivian Derozio

• Henry Louis Vivian Derozio (1809–31) — Anglo-Indian teacher at Hindu College, Calcutta (from 1828) — inspired a generation of radical young Bengalis.
• The Young Bengal / Derozians: Krishna Mohan Banerjee, Dakshinaranjan Mukherjee, Rasik Krishna Mallick, Ramgopal Ghose, Madhusudan Dutt (later).
• Rejected Hindu orthodoxy, advocated rationalism, free thought, French Revolutionary ideals; founded the Academic Association; published radical periodicals (Parthenon, Jnanannweshan).
• Derozio dismissed from Hindu College (April 1831) for "corrupting" students; died of cholera in December 1831, aged 22.
• The movement was short-lived but planted seeds of rationalist critique that fed later Brahmo and nationalist activity.
• Critique: Often dismissed as elite and rootless; engaged little with caste or peasant questions.

5. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (1820–91)

The most consequential social reformer of mid-19th century Bengal — and arguably of mid-19th century India.

5.1 Education Work

• Principal of Sanskrit College, Calcutta (1851); opened it to non-Brahmins; introduced English and modern subjects.
• Reformed Bengali prose — his Borno Porichoy (1855) remains the standard Bengali primer.
• As Inspector of Schools (Bengal, from 1855), set up many model schools and 35 girls' schools.

5.2 Widow Remarriage

• Marshalled Sanskrit textual evidence in his 1855 treatise Marriage of Hindu Widows showing that widow remarriage was sanctioned in the Parashara Smriti.
• His petition + Lord Dalhousie's tenure ended with Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act, XV of 1856, signed by Lord Canning.
• Personally arranged about 60 widow remarriages and remarried his own son to a widow — at huge personal cost to his social standing.

5.3 Other Causes

• Campaigned against polygamy and child marriage; petitioned for legislation (which came only in 1929 — the Sarda Act).
• Resigned from government service in 1858 over disagreements; spent his last years tutoring Santhal children at his retreat at Karmatar.

6. Prarthana Samaj (Maharashtra) — 1867

• Founded at Bombay (31 March 1867) by Atmaram Pandurang, after Keshub Chandra Sen's visit inspired Maharashtrian reformers.
• Key figures: R.G. Bhandarkar, M.G. Ranade, N.G. Chandavarkar.
• Influenced by the bhakti tradition of Maharashtra (Tukaram, Namdev) — softer break with Hinduism than Brahmo Samaj.
• Four-point reform programme (Ranade): abolition of caste; widow remarriage; women's education; remarriage of widows.
• Founded the Indian National Social Conference (1887) — annual sessions alongside the Indian National Congress until they merged.
• Spread of the movement to South India through Veeresalingam Pantulu (Telugu Brahmo / Prarthana sympathiser) and the Madras Hindu Social Reform Association.

7. Jyotiba Phule & Satyashodhak Samaj — 1873

Jyotirao Phule (1827–90), born in a Mali (gardener) family in Pune, was the most radical 19th-century critic of Brahminism. He is a frequent UPSC subject.

7.1 Early Work

• Opened India's first school for girls (1848) in Pune; later for "untouchables" (1851).
• Opened his family's well to untouchables (a radical act for the time).
• Wife Savitribai Phule — India's first woman teacher; ran the school; also founded a home for widows (Pune).

7.2 Major Writings

• Gulamgiri (Slavery), 1873 — dedicated to American abolitionists; compared the condition of Indian "lower" castes to American slaves.
• Shetkaryacha Asud (The Cultivator's Whipcord), 1881 — on agrarian conditions.
• Sarvajanik Satyadharma Pustak, posthumous.

7.3 Satyashodhak Samaj (24 September 1873)

• "Society of Truth-Seekers"; aimed at the social-political emancipation of lower castes (the "shudra-atishudra").
• Programme: rejected Brahminical priestly mediation; called for free education for all; opposed child marriage; promoted widow remarriage; opposed caste hierarchy.
• Phule's analytical framework — caste as a Brahminical conquest of an indigenous (non-Aryan) population — fed directly into Ambedkar's later critique.

8. Dayanand Saraswati & Arya Samaj — 1875

Swami Dayanand Saraswati (1824–83), born Moolshankar in Tankara (Gujarat), founded the most influential Hindu revivalist movement of the 19th century. His slogan: "Back to the Vedas."

8.1 Doctrine

• The Vedas are the source of all knowledge and infallible; later texts (Puranas, Tantras) are corruptions.
• Monotheism (formless, indivisible God); rejection of idol worship; rejection of incarnations.
• Rejection of priestly mediation, caste-by-birth, child marriage, sati, untouchability.
• Adoption of Vedic chaturvarnya — but as functional, not hereditary (a radical reinterpretation).

8.2 Founding

• Arya Samaj founded at Bombay (10 April 1875); headquarters moved to Lahore (1877).
• Major work: Satyarth Prakash (The Light of Truth), 1875 — the manifesto.

8.3 Innovations

• Shuddhi — purification/reconversion to Hinduism — the first organised Hindu reconversion programme; controversial then and now.
• DAV (Dayanand Anglo-Vedic) Schools — founded 1886 (Lahore) by Lala Hansraj; combined English with Vedic studies; one of the most successful Indian educational networks.
• Gurukula tradition — the more orthodox wing under Swami Shraddhanand at Kangri (1902); revived Sanskrit and Vedic education.

8.4 Two Schools — College vs Gurukul

• College Section (Lala Hansraj) — DAV schools, English medium, modern subjects + Vedic studies.
• Gurukul Section (Swami Shraddhanand) — traditional residential learning; Sanskrit; Vedic.

8.5 Influence

• Major political figures (Lala Lajpat Rai, Bhai Parmanand, Madan Mohan Malaviya) drew from Arya Samaj.
• Particularly strong in Punjab, Haryana, UP, Bihar; less so in Bengal and South India.
• Critique: shuddhi and the assertive Vedic exclusivism contributed (alongside other factors) to Hindu-Muslim communal polarisation in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

9. Ramakrishna Mission — Vivekananda

9.1 Ramakrishna Paramahamsa (1836–86)

• Born Gadadhar Chattopadhyay at Kamarpukur, Bengal; priest at the Dakshineshwar Kali temple from 1855.
• Mystical experiences in Kali bhakti; later practised Sufism and Christianity in turn, declaring the truth of all paths to one Reality ("Yato mat, tato path").
• Did not himself organise a sect; his disciples did.

9.2 Swami Vivekananda (1863–1902)

• Born Narendranath Datta; took sannyas in 1886; toured India 1890–93.
• Chicago World's Parliament of Religions (11 September 1893) — historic address opening "Sisters and Brothers of America"; introduced Vedanta to the West.
• Founded the Vedanta Society of New York (1894).
• Returned to India in 1897; founded the Ramakrishna Mission at Belur (Howrah) on 1 May 1897.
• Died at Belur, 4 July 1902.

9.3 Ramakrishna Mission's Programme

• Twin aims: Atmano mokshartham, jagad hitaya cha ("for one's own salvation and for the good of the world").
• Practical Vedanta — service to humanity as worship.
• Education, healthcare, famine relief, and disaster relief became core activities — pioneering the modern Hindu service-tradition.
• Sister Nivedita (Margaret Noble, 1867–1911) — Irish disciple; ran a school for girls in Calcutta; influenced Bengali nationalist thought.

10. Theosophical Society

• Founded in New York (1875) by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (Madame Blavatsky) and Colonel Henry Steel Olcott.
• Headquarters moved to Adyar, Madras (1882).
• Doctrine: universal brotherhood; study of ancient religions and occult sciences; the existence of "Masters" / "Mahatmas".
• Annie Besant (1847–1933) — joined the Society in 1889; came to India in 1893; became President 1907.
• Founded the Central Hindu College, Banaras (1898), which Madan Mohan Malaviya later expanded into Banaras Hindu University (1916).
• Launched the Home Rule League (1916) at Madras — pivotal in the Indian nationalist movement.
• Elected President of the Indian National Congress at Calcutta, 1917 — the first woman INC president.
• Critique: Theosophy contributed to the rediscovery of Indian spiritual traditions and gave Western validation to Hindu philosophy — but the Krishnamurti "World Teacher" episode and later schisms diminished its influence.

11. Aligarh Movement — Syed Ahmad Khan

Sir Syed Ahmad Khan (1817–98) was the most consequential Muslim reformer of the 19th century. His project: reconcile Indian Muslims with British rule and modern science, while preserving Islamic identity.

11.1 Background

• Born into a noble Delhi family with Mughal court connections.
• Served the EIC as a judicial officer; saved British lives during the 1857 Revolt — earning trust and a Companion of the Star of India (CSI).
• His pamphlet Asbab-e-Baghawat-e-Hind (The Causes of the Indian Revolt), 1858, argued that Muslim alienation from British rule (especially exclusion from administrative jobs) had been a structural cause of 1857 — and pleaded for reconciliation through Muslim modernisation.

11.2 Aligarh Movement

• Founded the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental (MAO) College at Aligarh on 24 May 1875 (formal opening 1877) — modelled on Cambridge; combined English, Western science, and Islamic studies.
• Renamed Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) in 1920.
• Published Tahzib-ul-Akhlaq ("Refinement of Morals", from 1870) — modernist Urdu journal arguing for rationalist reading of the Qur'an, women's education, and engagement with Western knowledge.
• Founded the Muhammadan Educational Conference (1886) — annual platform for Muslim education and reform.

11.3 Doctrine

• Reinterpreted the Qur'an in line with modern science (his Qur'an commentary Tafsir-ul-Quran); rejected the literal interpretation of miracles.
• Advocated cooperation with the British and political loyalty.
• Famously discouraged Muslim participation in the Indian National Congress (founded 1885) — fearing Hindu majoritarianism and arguing that Muslims should first build their educational base.

11.4 Critique

• The Aligarh programme was elite, urban, north Indian, and male — limited reach among rural and South Indian Muslims.
• His political loyalism became the seed of "Muslim political separatism" — the long road from Aligarh to the Muslim League (1906) and Pakistan (1947) has its first milestone here.

12. Deoband & Other Muslim Movements

12.1 Deoband Movement (1866)

• Dar-ul-Ulum Deoband founded on 30 May 1866 in Saharanpur (UP) by Muhammad Qasim Nanautavi, Rashid Ahmad Gangohi, and others — disciples of Shah Waliullah's reformist Hanafi tradition.
• Aim: rigorous orthodox Islamic education to revive Muslim religious life after 1857; rejected modernist accommodations with British thought.
• Politically: came to oppose British rule firmly and to oppose the two-nation theory; the Deobandi ulema under Maulana Mahmud Hasan (the "Silk Letter Conspiracy", 1916) and Maulana Husain Ahmad Madani were major nationalist figures.
• Founded the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind (1919) — sided with the Congress in the freedom struggle.

12.2 Nadwa-tul-Ulama (Lucknow, 1893)

• Founded by Maulana Shibli Numani; tried to bridge Aligarh (modernist) and Deoband (traditionalist) approaches.
• Produced influential modernist Urdu scholarship — Shibli's biographies of the Prophet and the Caliphs.

12.3 Ahmadiyya Movement (1889)

• Founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian (Punjab) in 1889.
• Claimed status as Promised Messiah and Mahdi; emphasised non-violent reform of Islam.
• Declared a non-Muslim minority by Pakistan in 1974 — contemporary controversy postdates UPSC scope.

13. Parsi Reform

• The Parsi community of Bombay was the earliest beneficiary of British education and trade.
• Naoroji Furdunji and Dadabhai Naoroji founded the Rahnumai Mazdayasnan Sabha (1851) for the religious reform of Parsis — opposed superstition, child marriage, supported women's education.
• Newspaper: Rast Goftar ("Truth-Teller") edited by Dadabhai Naoroji.
• The Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act 1865 codified Parsi personal law along reformed lines.
• The Parsi community subsequently became the most highly educated, urbanised, and Westernised community in 19th-century India.

14. Singh Sabha & Sikh Reform

• The Singh Sabha Movement emerged in Punjab in the 1870s as a response to Christian missionary inroads and Arya Samaj shuddhi.
• First Singh Sabha founded at Amritsar (1873); second at Lahore (1879) under Gurmukh Singh and Harsha Singh Arora.
• Goals: revive Sikh identity through education, Punjabi-Gurmukhi literature, and historical research; purge Hindu accretions; assert Khalsa identity.
• Khalsa College, Amritsar (1892) and a network of Khalsa schools were established.
• The Singh Sabhas merged into the Chief Khalsa Diwan (1902).
• Led to the Akali Movement (from 1920) for control of Sikh gurdwaras (covered in Modern Topic 13).

15. Sree Narayana Guru & SNDP

The most successful caste-reform movement in late 19th–early 20th century India came from Kerala under Sree Narayana Guru (1856–1928).

15.1 Background

• Born in an Ezhava (toddy-tapper) family; subjected to extreme caste discrimination — Ezhavas were considered "polluting" by upper-caste Hindus in Travancore.
• Renounced the world; studied Sanskrit and yoga.

15.2 The 1888 Aruvippuram Consecration

• In 1888, Sree Narayana Guru consecrated a Shiva idol himself at Aruvippuram — defying the Brahminical monopoly on temple consecration.
• Inscribed on the wall: "This is the model abode where all live as brothers without caste distinctions or religious enmity."

15.3 SNDP Yogam (1903)

• The Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam was founded in 1903 (Dr Palpu, Kumaran Asan).
• Programme: education, temple-entry rights, abolition of untouchability, withdrawal from temple processions until access was granted.
• Slogan (Sree Narayana Guru): "One Caste, One Religion, One God for Humanity".
• The SNDP became the social-political backbone of Ezhava emancipation in Kerala.

15.4 The Vaikom Satyagraha (1924–25)

• Inspired by Sree Narayana Guru's movement; Gandhi visited the temple in 1925; the temple roads were opened to "lower castes" (1925, with limits) and full temple entry came with the Temple Entry Proclamation of 1936 by the Maharaja of Travancore.

16. Periyar & the Self-Respect Movement

E.V. Ramasami Naicker, "Periyar" (1879–1973) — the most uncompromising rationalist-anti-caste leader of 20th-century India.

16.1 Early Politics

• Joined the Congress; participated in the Vaikom Satyagraha (1924); earned the title "Vaikom Veerar".
• Left the Congress in 1925 over its refusal to support reservations in education for non-Brahmins.

16.2 Self-Respect Movement (1925)

• Launched the Suya Mariyathai Iyakkam (Self-Respect Movement) in 1925.
• Aim: assert non-Brahmin dignity; reject Brahminical priesthood; promote inter-caste marriages and "self-respect marriages" (without Brahmin priests or rituals).
• Encouraged women's education and remarriage; supported widow remarriage.
• Atheist/rationalist in orientation; criticised all religion as a tool of upper-caste hegemony.

16.3 Dravidar Kazhagam (1944)

• Founded the Dravidar Kazhagam (DK) in 1944 — political organisation of the Self-Respect Movement.
• Demanded a separate "Dravida Nadu"; the demand was dropped in the 1960s.
• The DK split (1949) gave rise to the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) under C.N. Annadurai — the future ruling party of Tamil Nadu.

17. Status of Women — Legislative Reform

17.1 The Age of Consent Controversy (1891)

• Triggered by the death of Phulmonee, a ten-year-old Bengali girl, after intercourse with her much older husband (1890).
• Lokmanya Tilak opposed the Act not on its content but as government interference in Hindu social practice — a foundational moment in the cultural-nationalist position.
• Gokhale, Ranade, the moderate reformers supported the Act.
• Reformers split on the question: state intervention vs internal reform.

17.2 Women Reformers

• Savitribai Phule (1831–97) — first Indian woman teacher; ran the Pune girls' school from 1848.
• Pandita Ramabai (1858–1922) — Sanskrit scholar; founded Arya Mahila Samaj (1881) and Sharada Sadan (1889) for widows and orphans; converted to Christianity (controversial).
• Tarabai Shinde — wrote Stri Purush Tulna (1882), a fierce critique of patriarchy.
• Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain (1880–1932) — Bengali Muslim educator; Sultana's Dream (1905); founded Sakhawat Memorial Girls' School at Bhagalpur (1909, later Calcutta).
• Sarala Devi Chaudhurani (1872–1945) — founded the Bharat Stree Mahamandal (1910), the first all-India women's organisation.
• Sarojini Naidu (1879–1949) — poet and Congress President 1925; first Indian woman INC president.

18. Caste Reform — Phule, Ambedkar, Others

18.1 Pre-Ambedkar

• Jyotiba Phule — Satyashodhak Samaj (1873).
• Sri Narayana Guru — SNDP Yogam (1903).
• Periyar — Self-Respect Movement (1925).
• Birsa Munda's Munda Raj — implicitly anti-dikku and anti-caste.

18.2 Dr B.R. Ambedkar (1891–1956)

• Mahar caste; PhD Columbia (1916); Bar at Gray's Inn (1923).
• Bahishkrit Hitakarini Sabha (1924) — organisation of the depressed classes.
• Mahad Satyagraha (1927) — drank water from the Chavdar Tank, asserting right of untouchables to public water sources; later burnt the Manusmriti.
• Kalaram Temple entry movement (1930–35) — Nashik.
• Poona Pact (1932) with Gandhi — gave up separate electorate for Depressed Classes in exchange for reserved seats.
• Chairman of the Drafting Committee of the Constitution (1947–49); architect of the Indian Constitution.
• Converted to Buddhism with about 365,000 followers at Nagpur, 14 October 1956 — three weeks before his death (6 December 1956).

18.3 Other Caste Reformers

• Shahuji Maharaj of Kolhapur — reserved 50% jobs for non-Brahmins in his state (1902); supported Ambedkar's early career.
• Veerasalingam in Andhra; Ayyankali in Kerala (organised the Pulaya community); Mahatma Ayyankali's bullock-cart yatra on prohibited roads (1893).

19. Significance & Limitations of 19th-Century Reform

19.1 Significance

1. Created the intellectual conditions for Indian nationalism — common rationalist vocabulary, organised public opinion, debating publics.
2. Legal abolition of practices (sati, female infanticide, child marriage) once defended on religious grounds.
3. Beginnings of women's education and women's organisations.
4. Constructive critique of caste — by Phule, Ambedkar, Sree Narayana Guru, Periyar.
5. Modernised religious traditions — Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism — making them defensible in the modern age.
6. Generated a print culture, an associational culture, and a public sphere.

19.2 Limitations

1. Elite, urban character: Reform movements were largely confined to educated urban middle classes; rural India was largely untouched until Gandhi.
2. Limited reach on caste: Brahmo and Prarthana Samajes did little for untouchables; Vivekananda criticised caste but the Ramakrishna Mission did not directly attack it.
3. Reliance on the colonial state for legislation — which made reform vulnerable to nationalist backlash (the 1891 controversy).
4. Communal undercurrents: Revivalist movements (Arya Samaj's shuddhi, Hindu cultural nationalism) and Aligarh's defensive separatism sowed the seeds of later communal politics.
5. Women as objects, not subjects: Most reform was male-led "for" women — though Savitribai Phule, Pandita Ramabai, Tarabai Shinde, Rokeya are important exceptions.
6. Patchy geographic spread: Bengal, Bombay, Madras Presidencies were the centres; United Provinces and Punjab were secondary; vast areas remained unaffected.

20. Historiography of the "Bengal Renaissance"

The 19th-century Bengali cultural-intellectual ferment was first called a "Renaissance" by colonial-era scholars (David Kopf, British Orientalism and the Bengal Renaissance, 1969). The debate:

21. Previous Year Questions — UPSC Mains & Prelims

Prelims-style

Mains-style (GS Paper 1)