Trace the rise and growth of socio-religious reform movements... | UPSC 2021 GS1 Q2

QUESTION 2

GS1

10 marks

Trace the rise and growth of socio-religious reform movements with special reference to Young Bengal and Brahmo Samaj.

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7 min

150 words

What the examiner wants

Trace how 19th-century socio-religious reform began and grew, using Young Bengal and the Brahmo Samaj as the main examples.

TraceFollow how it developed over time, stage by stage.

1Background: Western education, printing press, missionary critique, Orientalist rediscovery of texts≈30 words
2Brahmo Samaj: Rammohan Roy (1828), monotheism, campaign against sati (abolished 1829); later splits under Debendranath Tagore and Keshab Chandra Sen≈30 words
3Young Bengal: Henry Derozio at Hindu College, radical rationalism, free thought, attack on orthodoxy; limited mass reach≈30 words
4Growth and spread: Prarthana Samaj, Arya Samaj, Aligarh movement; legacy for nationalism and social legislation≈30 words

Open in about 20 words and close in about 20.

ContextBrahmo Samaj (phases)Young BengalComparison of the twoSpread to other regionsAssessment

Skipping the 'trace the rise and growth' part and writing only about the two groups
Mixing up Brahmo Samaj's moderate reformism with Young Bengal's radicalism

FactRammohan Roy founded the Atmiya Sabha (1815) and the Brahmo Sabha (1828); Bentinck's Regulation XVII of 1829 banned sati after his campaign.Bengal Regulation XVII, 1829
FactKeshab Chandra Sen's campaign led to the Native Marriage Act, 1872 (civil marriage, minimum age); the Brahmo Samaj then split over his daughter's under-age marriage (1878).Native Marriage Act, 1872

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