Socio-Religious Reform Movements of 19th-Century India — Part 5: Northern India

4. Northern India

4.1 Arya Samaj (1875) — Dayananda Saraswati

The social and religious reform in North India was spearheaded by Swami Dayanand Saraswati (1824–1883), who founded the Arya Samaj in 1875. Swami Dayanand attacked idolatry, polytheism, Brahmin-sponsored religious rites, and superstitious practices. He stood for adult and inter-caste marriages and female education. His foundational tenet — Back to the Vedas — held the Vedas as infallible and the sole authority on religion, giving his teachings an orthodox hue even as the social reforms he advocated were products of modern rational thinking.

The Arya Samaj played a progressive role in furthering social reform across North India. Arya Samajists worked for the improvement of the condition of women, advocated social equality, and denounced untouchability and caste rigidities. The Shuddhi movement — a programme of reconversion of those who had converted to other religions — was an important instrument to reassert Hindu social identity and counter both Christian missionary activity and Muslim proselytisation.

The Arya Samaj established Dayanand Anglo-Vedic (DAV) schools and colleges across Punjab and UP, making a significant contribution to the spread of modern education while preserving Vedic traditions. It was, among the reform organisations, one of the more effective in reaching beyond urban upper castes.

4.2 Aligarh Movement — Syed Ahmad Khan

The movement for reform arose relatively later among Indian Muslims — only after the 1860s. Sayyid Ahmad Khan (1817–1898) urged Muslims to reject decadent medieval thought and imbibe modern scientific knowledge and outlook. He condemned the custom of polygamy, advocated removal of purdah, and supported the spread of education among women. He taught tolerance and urged the people to develop a rational outlook and freedom of thought.

Khan was greatly concerned with the promotion of modern education. In 1875 he founded the Muhammedan Anglo-Oriental (MAO) College in Aligarh for the spread of Western education. This later developed into Aligarh Muslim University. He viewed the Quran as the most authoritative and rational religious text for Muslims, respected all religions, and spoke against religious fanaticism and bigotry.

The Aligarh movement tried to create a new social ethos among Muslims by opposing polygamy, advocating widow marriage, and propagating a liberal interpretation of the Quran alongside Western education. However, some of Khan's followers distanced themselves from the emerging national movement and believed that the two communities might develop along separate paths — a tendency with significant long-term communal political consequences.

4.3 Theosophical Society — Annie Besant

The Theosophical Society was founded in 1875 in New York by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky and Henry Steel Olcott. The society's headquarters was later established at Adyar, Madras (1882). It sought a synthesis of science, religion, and philosophy and promoted the study of comparative religion. Crucially, it affirmed the value of ancient Indian philosophy and religious texts — the Vedas, Upanishads, and Buddhist scriptures — at a time when Western missionaries were dismissive of Indian civilisation.

Annie Besant (1847–1933) became the dominant figure of the society in India. She established the Central Hindu College at Varanasi in 1898, which later became Banaras Hindu University. The Theosophical Society fostered pride in India's ancient civilisation — an indirect but important stimulus to Indian nationalism. Besant was later active in the Home Rule League movement during World War I. The society's valorisation of Indian cultural heritage helped counter the sense of civilisational inferiority that colonial culture sought to impose.