• On April 5, 1825, an anonymous correspondent of the Calcutta Journal provided insightful analyses of social citizenry in colonial Calcutta. The residents were classified into three categories: those in darkness, indifferent to knowledge and true religion; those content with the status quo; and those opposing British rule for challenging ancient superstitions. 
• While the rhetoric and phrasing resembled Raja Rammohan Roy, he would not fit into any of these categories. Rammohan, an advocate of interminable progress under British rule, saw it as providential and actively engaged in its mediation. 
• Rammohan argued that colonialism prevented Britain from replicating its social and political institutions in India, leading to distinct practices in Britain and India. Responsible public opinion needed to bridge the gap between precept and practice. 
• The Bengali intelligentsia, including Rammohan, paradoxically supported and criticized British rule due to the quick and dramatic political transition in Bengal. 
• Rammohan faced misapprehension, malice, and controversy. Some interpreted his work as an early antidote to Christian proselytization, while Marxist critics viewed him as an ambivalent modernizer. 
• Born into a high-ranking Brahmin family with a history of serving the Mughals, Rammohan later served Europeans, widening his circle of friends. His family’s secular service influenced his familiarity with Indo-Persian culture. 
• Rammohan settled in Calcutta in 1814, befriending European gentlemen and engaging in debates with Hindu pundits, supporting anti-Sati legislation, and showing interest in free trade. 
• Between 1814 and 1830, Rammohan authored over 60 tracts and pamphlets, contributing to modern Bengali prose. He embroiled himself in debates over Hinduism, questioned Trinitarian Christianity, and addressed civic grievances. 
• Rammohan’s visit to England in 1830 served multiple agendas, including countering Hindu orthodoxy propaganda and advocating for the Reform Bill. He interacted with notable figures, such as Bentham and Owen, and appeared before Select Committees on India. 
• Raja Rammohan Roy died on December 27, 1833, after a brief illness. His legacy includes contributions to modern Bengali prose, advocacy for social reform, and early responses to colonialism.  

Colonial Encounter and Rammohan  

• In a letter to his friend George James Gordon in 1832, Rammohan Roy reveals an autobiographical fragment outlining his political views in his early life. 
• At the age of 20, Rammohan claimed to be acquainted with British laws and forms of government. Initially unhappy with British rule, he gradually overcame his prejudices, believing that it would lead to the amelioration of the condition of native inhabitants. 
• Rammohan associated certain qualities with different peoples and communities. He viewed Europeans as more intelligent and steady, contrasting them with Hindus, whom he considered superstitious and miserable. Bengalis, in his opinion, were submissive, showing loyalty to the Mughals even during times of plunder and bloodshed. 
• Rammohan warned that grievances in the upper provinces might weaken British power in India. However, he believed the possibility of a strong anti-British sentiment developing in Bengal was slim due to the freedom and security provided by British rule. 
• By the 1820s, Rammohan expressed the “providential nature” of British rule and criticized Mughal polity in his writings. He portrayed the British as deliverers and emphasized the civil and religious privileges enjoyed under their rule. 
• Rammohan’s appeal to the King in Council against strictures on the Indian press revealed his acceptance of the dominant British thesis, pitting the ‘regressive’ character of pre-British rule against the ‘enlightened’ and ‘liberating’ character of the British. 
• Rammohan’s visit to England in 1830 and subsequent interactions with European intellectuals depicted him as a harbinger of European knowledge and principles to India, emphasizing the civilizing mission extended by Britain. 
• Rammohan Roy’s role in Indian modernization involved the consolidation of the position of traditional high-caste landed gentry and the transformation of a medieval literati into a modern intelligentsia. He also supported the transformation from monopolistic trade to free trade imperialism. 
• Rammohan and like-minded individuals supported the ‘free trade’ lobby, believing that the free movement of European skills and capital would contribute to India’s economic modernization. However, their beliefs appeared naïve in retrospect. 
• Rammohan’s views on the Bengal economy, particularly the land question, drew criticism from various quarters. His opponents accused him of neglecting the interests of the cultivating peasantry or traditional zamindars. 
• Rammohan’s advocacy of European colonization and support for free trade inadvertently allowed for the greater integration of Indian markets and labor with British capitalism, hindering India’s own economic growth 

The Rationalist Foundations of Reform

• Rammohan Roy believed that the modernization of India rested not only on material development but also on intellectual progress. This intellectual transformation is identified by Rajat Ray as the shift from a medieval literati to a modern intelligentsia. 
• Despite not being formally associated with the founding of Hindu College in 1817, Rammohan was a pioneer in the field of Western education. He advocated for greater use of English as the medium of instruction, emphasizing its role in disseminating useful contemporary knowledge. 
• Rammohan’s plans for modern education focused on subjects like mathematics, natural philosophy, chemistry, anatomy, and related sciences. He recognized the impracticality of disseminating this knowledge through indigenous languages due to the lack of a competent technical vocabulary. 
• Reason and reasonableness were central to Rammohan’s reformist ideas. He demanded a more equitable share of property for Hindu women, the creation of institutions guaranteeing civic and religious freedom, and an end to practices like the mistreatment of widows and idolatry. 
• Rammohan employed reason as an analytical category that could be applied from an external viewpoint. This allowed him to judge religion from a secular perspective and sometimes led to labeling him as a ‘religious Benthamite.’ 
• Rammohan believed in a dynamic view of reform and change, situating it within world-historical struggles. He saw struggles as not just between reformers and anti-reformers but as universal battles for liberty, justice, and right versus tyranny, injustice, and wrong. 
• Rammohan’s universalism extended to his religious thinking, making him an earnest investigator of the science of comparative religion. He studied radical theology, Islamic law, Hebrew, Syriac, Greek, Buddhism, and Jainism, contributing to a broad understanding of different religious traditions. 
• Unlike some spiritual successors, Rammohan did not syncretically fuse elements from different religions. He viewed religions as self-contained bodies of truth and advocated for universalism that allowed religions to grow in fruitful contact with each other. 
• In his later years, Rammohan became cautious and somewhat conservative, possibly as a response to the dogged opposition he faced. However, he did not take a purely instrumentalist view of religion and acknowledged the mystical appeal of various religious traditions. 

Constitutionalism: Rights and Justice

• Rammohan’s legal and political thought is a subject of debate regarding its philosophical foundation. 
• Historian Barun De suggests that Rammohan’s constitutionalism had roots in traditional Hindu thought, with scholars assisting in codifying Hindu law during colonial times. 
• Biman Behari Majumdar argues that Rammohan’s legal thought was influenced by English jurists and utilitarian thinkers like Blackstone and Bentham. 
• Criticism of Majumdar’s views includes doubts about the popularity of utilitarianism in England and the potential influence of Greek hedonism on Rammohan. 
• Rammohan’s concept of fairness and successful reform is seen as resonating with Hindu and Buddhist philosophy. 
• Rammohan’s practical knowledge of law developed during his tenure as a private Secretary, gaining more intimacy with Western legal theories in Calcutta. 
• Influence of Bentham is noted, with a distinction between law and morality and a push for codification, though Rammohan’s views on rights were civic and religious, not political. 
• Rammohan defended Dayabhaga law of inheritance and supported centralization in the judicial system. 
• He recommended greater induction of Indians into judicial offices for improved efficiency. 
• Rammohan advocated a practical separation of powers, drawing on Montesquieu and Blackstone, and favored checks on executive powers. 
• He opposed both democratic and autocratic forms of government, preferring a government pledged not to infringe the laws of the nation. 
• In the 1830s, Rammohan argued for legislative authority to rest with the King and Parliament, not the Government of India, to prevent undue executive power. 
• The stability of British power in India, according to Rammohan, depended on a free press and devolution of power to educated Indians. 
• He protested against press regulations in 1822, rationalizing his opposition based on Whig philosophy of the Reform Bill era. 
• Rammohan criticized the colonial state for passing regulations without consulting the ‘responsible’ and respectable classes in Hindu society. 
• His veiled threats suggested that Indian resistance might increase if unjust and oppressive measures persisted. 
• Rammohan warned that India could not be subdued as easily as Ireland, and the treatment of Indian subjects would determine its relationship with the British Empire. 
• Dramatically, when his petition opposing Press Regulations failed, Rammohan closed down the Mirat ul Akhbar.  

Conclusion

• Rammohan Roy is considered a modern thinker, not just due to his historical context but also because of his openness to change and reinterpretation of tradition. 
• He respected tradition but believed it could be reinterpreted in light of new experiences, as seen in his efforts to bring traditional Vedanta to contemporary life. 
• Rammohan’s vision of reform in Hindu society emphasized religious reform as the key to social, moral, and political change, influencing Hindu thinking for a long time. 
• He embraced a belief in interminable human progress, acknowledging the need for change within societal values. 
• Rammohan displayed cultural anomaly, dressing like a Mughal, behaving with European manners, and conforming to Hindu rituals. 
• His support for religious reform and anti-Sati campaigns faced opposition from both conservative and radical factions in Calcutta. 
• Despite criticisms, Rammohan did not advocate an immediate end to British rule, believing it could be advantageous for India if the government respected the legitimate ambitions of its subjects. 
• He emphasized basic human rights and dignity, demanding an apology from a European officer who insulted him, showcasing his commitment to contemporary notions of justice. 
• Rammohan acknowledged the potential for India and Britain to sever their connections but suggested maintaining friendly commercial intercourse based on shared language, religion, and manners. 
• Claims that he accepted the ‘submergence of India’s linguistic and cultural identity in the stream of European civilization’ are deemed far-fetched by some historians. 
• Rammohan’s moral outlook, described as ‘Christian’ by him, focused on the obligation to do good to others, irrespective of religious or cultural frameworks. 
• His death received mixed reactions in India, with close friends mourning, and Governor General Bentinck contributing to commemoration funds with an offer to institute a chair in Rammohan’s honor, which unfortunately went unfulfilled.