Raja Ram Mohan Roy

Raja Ram Mohan Roy
Raja Ram Mohan Roy is regarded as the Father of the Indian Renaissance
Native name	রামমোহন রায়
Born	(1772-05-22)22 May 1772 Radhanagar, Bengal Presidency, British India
Died	27 September 1833(1833-09-27) (aged 61) Stapleton, Bristol, England
Cause of death	Meningitis
Resting place	Arnos Vale Cemetery 51°26′31″N 2°33′56″W / 51.44194°N 2.56556°W / 51.44194; -2.56556
Nationality	Indian
Other names	Herald Of New Age
Known for	Bengal Renaissance, Brahmo Sabha (socio, political reforms)

Raja Ram Mohan Roy (22 May 1772 – 27 September 1833) was the founder of the Brahmo Sabha movement in 1828, which engendered the Brahmo Samaj, an influential socio-religious reform movement. His influence was apparent in the fields of politics, public administration and education as well as religion. He was known for his efforts to establish the abolishment of the practice of sati, the Hindu funeral practice in which the widow was compelled to sacrifice herself in her husband’s funeral pyre in some parts of Bengal. It was he who first introduced the word "Hinduism" into the English language in 1816. For his diverse activities and contributions to society, Raja Ram Mohan Roy is regarded as one of the most important and contentious figures in the Bengali renaissance. His efforts to protect Hinduism and Indian rights and his closeness with the British government earned him the title "The Father of the Indian Renaissance".

Ram Mohan Roy was born in Radhanagar, Arambagh subdivision, Hooghly District, Bengal Presidency, in 1772, into the Rarhi Brahmin caste. His father Ramkanta was a Vaishnavite, while his mother Tarinidevi was from a Shivaite family. This was unusual - Vaishnavite did not marry commonly Shivaite at the times.

Ram Mohan Roy was married three times. His first wife died early in his childhood. He conceived two sons, Radhaprasad in 1800 and Ramaprasad in 1812 with his second wife, who died in 1824. Roy's third wife outlived him.

Ram Mohan Roy's early education was controversial. The common version is "Ram Mohan started his formal education in the village pathshala where he learned Bengali and some Sanskrit and Persian. Later he is said to have studied Persian and Arabic in a madrasa in Patna and after that he was sent to Benares (Kashi) for learning the intricacies of Sanskrit and Hindu scripture, including the Vedas and Upanishads. The dates of his sojourn in both these places is uncertain. However, the commonly held belief is that he was sent to Patna when he was nine years old and two years later to Benares."