NATURE

The reform movements were influenced by two important intellectual criteria-rationalism and religious universalism. A rational secular outlook replaced blind faith in tradition and custom. The universalist perspective was not a purely philosophic concern; it influenced political and social out­look till religious particularism gained ground in the second half of the 19th century. Liberal ideas, national unity and progress were the main objectives and these were to be achieved through a struggle against backward elements of traditional culture as well as the repressive aspects of the colonial culture and ideology. Thus rejection of casteism and idolatry went hand-in-hand with emphasis on vernacular languages and an indigenous education system with the revival of ancient art and medicine and reconstruction of traditional Indian knowledge. The socio-religious move­ments were an integral part of the growing nationalist consciousness. They succeeded in breaking the colonial cultural hegemonisation process and made Indians proud of their heritage.

The early reform movements laid emphasis on both social and religious transformation of society. The reason is not hard to seek. Social customs and traditions of India are generally closely linked to religious injunctions, arising from religious beliefs and traditions in many cases. Indian reformers understood this close interaction between the social and religious spheres of thoughts and activity. It is also worth mentioning that the early social reform move­ments mainly aimed at general social welfare, and not, at improving the conditions addressing the concerns of a particular community or caste.

The 18th and 19th century reform movements display some major trends. Some of the reformers were of the view that reforms should be initiated from within the society. Among them were Rammohan Roy and Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar. Some others believed in legislative interven­tion-that is, only state-supported reform movements could prove effective. With this concern in mind, the activities were undertaken by men like Keshab Chandra Sen, M.G. Ranade and others. The Young Bengal movement repre­sented reform initiated through symbols of transformation. It represented a radical trend in reform activity, without relying upon the cultural traditions of India for reform. Reform through social work was undertaken by many men including Dayanand Saraswati and Swami Vivekananda.