Raja Ram Mohan Roy – The Great Indian Social Reformer

Ram Mohan Roy’s early life:

He was born on August 14, 1774 to Ramakanta Roy and Tarini Devi in Radhanagar village of Hoogly district, Bengal Presidency. His father was a wealthy Brahmin and orthodox individual, and strictly followed religious duties. At the age of 14 Ram Mohan expressed his desire to become a monk (Sanyasi), but his mother vehemently opposed the idea and he dropped it.

Journalistic Contributions:

He was a staunch supporter of free speech and expression. He fought for the rights of vernacular press. He also brought out a newspaper in Persian called ‘Miratul- Akhbar’ (the Mirror of News) and a Bengali weekly called ‘Sambad Kaumudi’ (the Moon of Intelligence). In those days, items of news and articles had to be approved by the Government before being published. Ram Mohan protested against this control by arguing that newspapers should be free and that the truth should not be suppressed simply because the government did not like it.

Death:

Raja Ram Mohan Roy travelled to England in 1830 to request the Imperial Government to increase the royalty, received by the Mughal Emperor and to ensure that Lord Bentick’s Sati Act would not be overturned. During his visit to United Kingdom, Raja Ram Mohan Roy died of meningitis at Stapleton in Bristol on 27 September, 1833. He was buried at the Arnos Vale Cemetery in Bristol. Recently, the British government has named a street in Bristol as ‘Raja Rammohan Way’ in the memory of Raja Ram Mohan Roy.

[amazon_link asins=’B07BK92YHK’ template=’PriceLink’ store=’behist-21′ marketplace=’IN’ link_id=’ee3bb1a0-76a9-11e8-bd35-a763b811b20d’]