RAJA RAMMOHUN ROY’S PIONEERING ROLE IN REVIVING INTEREST IN VEDANTA Updated: JANUARY 07, 2023, 16:52 IST
*New Delhi, India* <https://www.news18.com/cities/new-delhi-news> The current year marks the quarter-millennial anniversary of the birth of Raja Rammohun Roy (1772 – 1833). What is most remarkable in regard to Raja’s English and Bengali translations as well as his original works in the field of Vedanta is that he never went to an English/European school, college, or university The current year marks the quarter-millennial anniversary of the birth of Raja Rammohun Roy (1772 – 1833). That’s 250 years since he was born, and though, much has already been said about the life and deeds of this trailblazing 18th century Brahmin from the Gangetic plains of Southern Bengal, one hopes that it won’t be entirely irrelevant to revisit his historical role, both in the context of his own times and that of ours, to properly judge the significance of this historic occasion. In part, this revision also assumes significance at a personal level, as I attempt to make sense of primary material from Raja’s oeuvre (especially his Bengali writings) that I had occasion to access in recent months, and as, in consequence of this perusal, my own erstwhile limited understanding of Raja’s role, vis-à-vis the making of Modern India <https://www.news18.com/india/> broadened out. In order to get the drift of public opinion on Raja Rammohun Roy’s life and works, when one surveys the present-day mainstream media, as well as the supposedly more democratic social media platforms, one feels compelled to take statements like “already much has been said about the life and deeds” of the Raja with a pinch of salt. Such statements are not far from the truth. As academic output on the subject is concerned, one cannot but admit that not nearly enough has been said or done in order to raise public awareness, beyond the narrow confines of the academia, about Raja’s contribution to our country and religion up to a decent level. Thanks to partisan positions entrenched on both ends of the ideological-political spectrum, views on the Raja and his contributions to the making of Modern India as well as the modern Hindu society, are found to vary widely. From being dubbed a ‘pioneering champion of liberal reformism in India’ to the allegations of being a ‘British stooge who destroyed India’s indigenous Sanskrit education system’, Raja, over these 250 years, has earned as many haters as he has gained admirers. To complicate matters further, several half-baked stories, one-sided takes on life events, statements and incidents taken out of their proper context, and some purely imaginary thesis with regard to Raja’s life and works are often touted by both camps as irrefutable, objective historical verities. Caught in the crossfire of these warring ideological camps, each issuing forth a flurry of the overblown, almost caricaturiste portrayal of Raja, India’s history as well as the fairness of assessment for the figures and events associated with the country’s recent past continues to suffer heavy casualties. KR IRS 8123 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/CAL5XZopsWVUqt4H1F91b28cSeq6f9ciiqizq5wS%2BZ3U49L1Ktg%40mail.gmail.com.
