Major Socio Religious Reform Movements In India

Socio-religious Reform Movements in British India will appeal to students and scholars in a wide variety of social scientific disciplines.

This volume, part of the 'Debates in Indian History and Society' series identifies the major issues within the history of socio-religious reform among Hindus in modern times. Amiya Sen's introduction places the various points of debate in context and also tries to formulate an acceptable definition of 'reform' in the given context.

The Papers Presented In This Book Relate To Social Reform Movements In Different Parts Of India From A Historical View Point. Many Of The Issues Raised At The Beginning Of The Nineteenth Century Still Exist.

The 6th century B.C. is viewed as a significant age of world history.The term "prehistoric age" refers to the period of time prior to that century. However, historical evidence began to emerge in the sixth century B.C. Thus, the historical period began in the sixth century B.C., which adds significance to that period. India was home to the people who established two major religions in the sixth century B.C.The founders of Jainism and Buddhism were Mahavira Jina and Gautama Buddha, respectively.There was sufficient literature written about Jina and Buddha and their religions.Even though the Buddhist and Jaina literature had a religious bent, they also had a lot of information about the political and social conditions of the time.These writings could be used to write history.The greatness and splendor of the sixth century B.C. were brought about by the rise of Jainism and Buddhism

Contents: Introduction, Why Social Reforms?, Importance of Social Reforms, The Principles of Social Reforms, Traditions and Social Reform, Revival and Reform, A Plea for Judicial Reform, Rights of Women, Demand for English Education, Sri Ramakrishna: Mystic and Spiritual Teacher, Separate Movements Among the Muslims, In Support of Western Education, Art and Science, Muslims and the Early Phase of the Congress, Islam Neither Violent nor Dogmatic, Marriage Reform Among the Hindus, A Plea for Widow Re-Marriage, Theosophy and Social Change in India: With Special Reference to Annie Basant s Contribution, The Work of the Theosophical Society in India, Society and Religion, The Nineteenth Century.