Table of Contents
Social Reform Movements:

Prarthna Samaj:
- As a result of Keshav Chandra Sen’s visit to Maharashtra, the Prarthna Samaj (Prayer Society) was founded in 1867 (Bombay) by Atma Ram Pandurang.
- Its chief architect was Mahadev Govind Ranade, described as “the prophet of cultural renaissance in western India”.
- The Prarthna Samajists focused on inter dining & inter caste marriage, widow remarriage, night schools for the poor, setting up widow’s refuge homes & missions for depressed classes of society.
- Because of their good work & a neutral stand, the Prarthna Samaj movement spread in the South too. This was mainly due to the efforts of Viresalingam Pantulu.
Young Bengal Movement:
- It was initated by Henry Louis Vivian Derozio.
- This movement was inspired by Mazzini’s Young Italy Movement.
- He was an Anglo-Indian teacher of the Hindu College from 1826 to 1831 & he was removed in 1831 because of his radicalism.
- Derozio drew round him students of the Hindu College & exercised unprecedented influence over his pupils both in & outside the class. He urged them to live & die for truth– to cultivate & practise all the virtues, shunning vice in every shape.
- He is called the First Nationalist Poet of Modern India.
- He edited journals like Hesperus & Calcutta Literary Gazette.
- He formed many associations like Academic Association, Society for the Acquisition of General Knowledge, Banghit Sabha, Anglo-Indian Hindu Association & Debating Club.
Satya Shodhak Samaj:
- Jyotiba Phule was born in 1828 in a Mali family.
- His education, his personal experiences & association with Christian missionaries, made him critical of the prevailing Hindu religion & custom.
- To liberate the depressed classes & make them conscious of their rights by educating them, he founded the Satya Shodhak Samaj in 1873.
- To carry forward his anti-Brahmin Activities in an organised manner, he wrote two critical works- Sarvajanik Satyadharma Pustak & Ghulamgiri.
- Also founded Deenbandhu Sarvajanik Sabha (1884) for the same purpose.
Social Service Organizations:
- Seva Sadan –
- founded in 1885 by Parsi social reformer Behramji M.Malabri.
- Against Child marriage & enforced widowhood.
- Journal – Indian Spectator.
- Gopal Krishna Gokhale founded the Servants of India Society in Bombay in 1905.
- Poona Seva Sadan was founded by Pandita Rambai, G.K.Devadutt & Maharshi Karve in 1909 to provide education & shelter for widows.
- Social Service League, founded in 1911 by N.M.Joshi in Bombay for promoting better living conditions of the working classes in the Bombay slums.
- Seva Samiti – founded by H.N.Kunzru in Allahabad in 1914 as a social service organization.
- Download Modern Indian History Old NCERT.
- Download NIOS Book For Modern India.
- History Of Modern India By Nitin Sangwan.
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