UPSC Optional: History, Modern India, Socio-Religious Reform, Peasant and Worker Movements

Must?Know

• Brahmo Samaj founded by Raja Ram Mohan Roy in 1828 in Calcutta; opposed sati, promoted monotheism and rationalism, influenced by Unitarian Christianity.
• Sati abolished in 1829 by Regulation XVII under Governor-General Lord William Bentinck, following sustained campaigning by Roy and others.
• Arya Samaj founded by Swami Dayanand Saraswati in 1875; rejected idol worship, promoted Vedic authority, initiated Shuddhi (reconversion) movement.
• Prarthana Samaj established in 1867 in Bombay by Atmaram Pandurang; influenced by Brahmo Samaj, emphasized social reform within Hinduism.
• Ramakrishna Mission founded by Swami Vivekananda in 1897; propagated Ramakrishna’s teachings, combined spiritualism with social service.
• Aligarh Movement led by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan; established MAO College in 1875, promoted modern education among Muslims, opposed participation in Indian National Congress.
• Sir Syed opposed the Indian National Congress after its founding in 1885, fearing Hindu dominance in political institutions.
• Theosophical Society, founded in New York in 1875, revived in India by Annie Besant in 1893; promoted Hindu philosophy and ancient Indian wisdom.
• Jyotirao Phule founded Satyashodhak Samaj in 1873 in Maharashtra; opposed Brahminical dominance, advocated education for lower castes and women.
• Widow Remarriage Act passed in 1856 due to efforts of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar; allowed Hindu widows to remarry legally.
• Vidyasagar also established schools for girls in Calcutta in the 1840s–50s, pioneering female education in Bengal.
• Paramahansa Mandali founded in 1849 in Maharashtra; promoted inter-dining, widow remarriage, and rejection of caste.
• Shri Narayana Guru led social reform among Ezhavas in Kerala; founded Sri Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (SNDP) in 1903.
• B.R. Ambedkar launched the Mahad Satyagraha in 1927 to assert Dalits’ right to use public water tanks, defying caste restrictions.
• Vaikom Satyagraha (1924–25) led by T.K. Madhavan and K. Kelappan, supported by Gandhi; demanded temple entry for lower castes in Travancore.
• The Devadasi system, involving dedication of girls to temples, was abolished state-wise; first banned in Bombay Presidency in 1947, later by central law.
• Young Bengal Movement led by Henry Louis Vivian Derozio in the 1830s; promoted rationalism and radical ideas among students at Hindu College.
• The Singh Sabha Movement began in 1873 in Amritsar; aimed at reforming Sikhism and countering Christian and Hindu proselytization.
• Namdhari (Kuka) Movement led by Baba Ram Singh in Punjab (1860s); opposed British rule, promoted return to pure Sikh practices, banned cow slaughter.
• The Faraizi Movement in Bengal led by Haji Shariatullah (1818); sought purification of Islamic practice and resisted zamindari exploitation.
• Indigo Revolt (1859–60) in Bengal led by Digambar Biswas and Bishnu Biswas; farmers refused to grow indigo, leading to the Indigo Commission (1860).
• Deccan Riots of 1875 in Pune and Ahmednagar; peasants attacked moneylenders, leading to the Deccan Agriculturists’ Relief Act (1879).
• Pabna Peasant Uprising (1873–76) in Bengal; tenants resisted enhanced rents, led by Ishan Chandra Roy, resulted in the Bengal Tenancy Act (1885).
• Champaran Satyagraha (1917) was Gandhi’s first major movement in India; addressed forced indigo cultivation under the tinkathia system.
• Ahmedabad Mill Strike (1918) led by Gandhi; workers demanded bonus and better wages, resolved through arbitration after a hunger strike.

Difficulty Level

Intermediate – requires precise knowledge of movements, leaders, dates, and socio-political context; often tested through statement-based or matching questions.

Common UPSC Traps

Trap: Arya Samaj supported caste system – Fact: Arya Samaj opposed caste by birth and promoted equality; Swami Dayanand advocated Varna based on merit, not birth (Satyartha Prakash).
Trap: Theosophical Society was a religious conversion movement – Fact: It promoted spiritual study of Hindu and Buddhist texts, opposed conversion, and aimed to revive Indian esoteric traditions (Annie Besant’s presidential address, 1894).
Trap: Aligarh Movement supported Indian nationalism – Fact: Sir Syed Ahmed Khan opposed political activism by Muslims, promoted loyalty to British, and discouraged Congress participation post-1885.
Trap: Ramakrishna Mission was founded by Ramakrishna Paramahamsa – Fact: Ramakrishna died in 1886; Swami Vivekananda founded the Ramakrishna Mission in 1897 for social service and propagation of Vedanta.

Practice MCQs

Question: Which of the following pairs is correctly matched?
A) Satyashodhak Samaj – M.G. Ranade
B) Prarthana Samaj – Atmaram Pandurang
C) Young Bengal Movement – Dwarkanath Tagore
D) Singh Sabha – Lala Lajpat Rai
Answer: B
Explanation: Prarthana Samaj was founded by Atmaram Pandurang in 1867 with support from Keshub Chunder Sen.
Why others fail: A is wrong because Satyashodhak Samaj was founded by Jyotirao Phule; C confuses Derozio with Tagore; D is incorrect as Singh Sabha was a Sikh reform group.

Question: The Deccan Agriculturists’ Relief Act was enacted in response to:
A) Indigo Revolt
B) Pabna Revolt
C) Deccan Riots
D) Champaran Satyagraha
Answer: C
Explanation: The Deccan Riots of 1875 involved peasant attacks on moneylenders, prompting the 1879 Act to regulate debt and land transfers.
Why others fail: A led to the Indigo Commission; B led to the Bengal Tenancy Act; D occurred in 1917, much later.

Question: Who among the following was associated with the Mahad Satyagraha of 1927?
A) E.V. Ramasamy
B) B.R. Ambedkar
C) T.K. Madhavan
D) K. Kelappan
Answer: B
Explanation: Ambedkar led the Mahad Satyagraha to assert Dalits’ right to access public water, challenging caste-based exclusion.
Why others fail: C and D were leaders of Vaikom Satyagraha; A led anti-caste movements in Tamil Nadu but not Mahad.

Question: The Shuddhi movement, aimed at reconversion to Hinduism, was primarily associated with:
A) Brahmo Samaj
B) Ramakrishna Mission
C) Arya Samaj
D) Theosophical Society
Answer: C
Explanation: Arya Samaj, under Swami Shraddhanand, initiated Shuddhi in early 20th century to bring back Muslims and Christians to Hindu fold.
Why others fail: A rejected rituals and conversion; B focused on spiritual and social service; D promoted universal brotherhood, not reconversion.

Question: Which movement was characterized by the ‘Kuka’ tradition and opposition to cow slaughter in Punjab?
A) Faraizi Movement
B) Wahabi Movement
C) Namdhari Movement
D) Singh Sabha Movement
Answer: C
Explanation: The Namdharis, or Kukas, led by Baba Ram Singh, banned cow slaughter and launched anti-British activities in the 1870s.
Why others fail: A and B were Islamic revivalist movements in Bengal; D was a Sikh reform movement focused on education and identity.

Last?Minute Revision

• 1828: Brahmo Samaj founded by Raja Ram Mohan Roy
• 1829: Sati abolished by Lord Bentinck
• 1856: Widow Remarriage Act passed
• 1867: Prarthana Samaj established
• 1873: Satyashodhak Samaj founded by Jyotirao Phule
• 1875: Arya Samaj founded; MAO College established
• 1875: Theosophical Society founded internationally
• 1893: Annie Besant joined Theosophical Society in India
• 1897: Ramakrishna Mission founded by Swami Vivekananda
• 1903: SNDP Yogam founded by Narayana Guru
• 1917: Champaran Satyagraha – first in India by Gandhi
• 1918: Ahmedabad Mill Strike – first hunger strike by Gandhi
• 1924–25: Vaikom Satyagraha for temple entry
• 1927: Mahad Satyagraha by Ambedkar
• 1859–60: Indigo Revolt in Bengal
• 1875: Deccan Riots
• 1873–76: Pabna Peasant Uprising
• 1818: Faraizi Movement began
• 1860s: Namdhari (Kuka) Movement in Punjab
• 1830s: Young Bengal Movement by Derozio
• 1885: Indian National Congress founded – Sir Syed opposed it
• 1879: Deccan Agriculturists’ Relief Act passed
• 1885: Bengal Tenancy Act passed after Pabna Revolt
• 1947: Devadasi system first banned in Bombay Presidency
• 1860: Indigo Commission appointed after Indigo Revolt