Rammohan Roy (1772/74 – 1833) Social Reformer, Thinker and Modern India’s First Universalist Philosopher

1. Rammohan Roy (1772/74 – 1833)Social Reformer, Thinker and Modern India’s First Universalist Philosopher Monish R. Chatterjee, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering University of Dayton Dayton, Ohio 45469 Monish.Chatterjee@notes.udayton.edu

2. Topics to be discussed • Contemporaneous India and the world in RR’s time • Overview of early British colonization of India • Overview of RR’s early life • RR’s emergence as scholar, linguist and public figure • RR’s religious philosophy and founding of the Brahmo Samaj • RR’s reformation campaigns and the abolition of Sati • Crossing the kalapani and RR’s journey to Europe • RR’s legacy as one of the world’s great visionaries

3. Contemporaneous India and the world in RR’s time • Weakening of the Mughal dynasty in Delhi • Incursions by the British East India Company • Battle of Plassey and British ascension to dominant colonial power in India • Indian civilization versus Western contact • American revolution (1776- RR a child) • French revolution (1789- RR a teenager) • Battle of Trafalgar • Battle of Waterloo

4. Overview of early British colonization of India • Jesuits interact with Emperor Akbar’s court • Sir Thomas Roe receives permit from Emperor Jahangir to set up trading outposts for East India Company • Robert Clive, Warren Hastings and consolidation of Company power • Development of Calcutta as major seaport for trade in India, and cultural center for East-West contact • William Carey, Alexander Duff and English missionaries

5. Overview of RR’s early life • RR and India’s entry into the modern age • RR’s devotion to India’s sacred literature • Aspects of the Hindu caste structure; problems of tradition • Rebellion against religious orthodoxy • Relationship with parents • Views about women, society and freedom

6. RR’s emergence as scholar, linguist and public figure • RR’s interest in languages • RR’s interest in diversity of culture • RR’s emergence as author, publisher, journalist • RR as public speaker and influential orator

7. RR’s religious philosophy and founding of the Brahmo Samaj • RR’s disillusionment with ritual-dominated Hindu religious life and social mores • RR’s exposure to Buddhism, Christianity and Islam • RR’s early interpretations of the Vedas and Upanishads • RR’s monotheistic views, and the Atmiya Sabha • Emergence of the Brahmo Samaj, and the Brahmo movement • The Brahmo movement after RR; its impact on Bengal and India • Keshab Sen, Debendranath Tagore, Sivanath Sastri, Rabindranath Tagore, Ramakrishna and Vivekananda, Sarat Chandra Chatterjee

8. RR’s reformation campaigns and the abolition of Sati • Context of Sati • Rammohan’s views on women; impact of his sister-in-law’s Sati • Rammohan’s defense of Hindu philosophy in favor of abolition of Sati • Governor General William Bentinck and abolition of Sati • Rammohan’s views on English education and its impact • Rammohan’s views on India’s future in the modern world

9. Crossing the kalapani and RR’s journey to Europe • RR as major Indian interface with England and the West • RR anointed Raja by the Mughal Emperor • RR sent to England as special envoy of the Mughal Emperor • RR’s role in the abolition of Sati • RR’s interactions with European intellectuals, thinkers and Unitarians • Last days and death in Bristol, England

10. RR’s legacy as one of the world’s great visionaries • Notion of Universal religion • Cooperation between nations, and early ideas about League of Nations • Breaking the barriers of gender inequality • Advocacy of modernization, science education, and the reflective life • Influence on major Western thinkers- Jeremy Bentham, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau • Given the title Bharat-Pathik (Pathfinder of India) by Rabindranath Tagore