Roy, Ram Mohun

Roy, Ram Mohun

(born May 22, 1772, Radhanagar, Bengal, India—died Sept. 27, 1833, Bristol, Gloucestershire, Eng.) Indian religious, social, and political reformer. Born to a prosperous Brahman family, he traveled widely in his youth, exposing himself to various cultures and developing unorthodox views of Hinduism. In 1803 he composed a tract denouncing India's religious divisions and superstitions and advocating a monotheistic Hinduism that would worship one supreme God. He provided modern translations of the Vedas and Upanishads to provide a philosophical basis for his beliefs, advocated freedom of speech and of religion, and denounced the caste system and suttee. In 1826 he founded the Vedanta College, and in 1828 he formed the Brahmo Samaj.