List of Sabha’s and Samaj’s related to Social Reform

List of Sabha’s and Samaj’s related to Social Reform
In the 19 century, India was able to witness many social reforms, people all around the country came to join hands against the defects and abuse, our country was able to witness strong wave of reformation activities in our society, people were able to put aside their differences and beliefs for the greater good, the youth were determined to wipe down the social evils prevailing in the society. Many western ideas inspired people to step up, ideas like liberty, equality, humanity awakened and a change started to happen in the indian society, popularly known as the Renaissance, many Indian personalities were involved in the birth of this new vision, the vision of enlightenment. Their work and this vision was able to shape the course of our nation. These Sabha’s and samaja’s were able to change the face of indian society.

Atmiya Sabha (1814)

This association was established by Raja Ram Mohan Roy in 1814 at Calcutta, the formation of Atmiya samaj was considered as the beginning of modern age for Calcutta, they were known for conducting discussions on philosophical matters.

Young Bengal Movement (1826) 

Young Bengal Movement was started by Bengali thinkers better known as Derozians in 1826 at Calcutta , they were from Hindu College and came to known as Derozians after Henry Vivin Derozio, a Anglo-Indian professor who was famous for his radical thinking and free thinking.

Brahmo Samaj (1828)

Brahmo Samaj was considered as a theistic movement within Hinduism, it was founded by Raja Ram Mohan Roy in 1828. Brahma samaj followed the principles for Brahmo worship, members were known as Brahmo Samajist.

Dharma Sabha (1829)

Dharma Sabha was established in 1829 by Radhakanta Deb, it was founded in an attempt to encounter the already formed social reforms led by other social leaders, when Britishers decided to put an end to ‘Sati’, the members decided to file a petition against this, they decided that Britishers were intruding into the religious affairs of the common people.

Tattwabodhini Sabha (1839)

The Tattwabodhini Sabha was founded by Debendranath Tagore in 1839 at Calcutta,it was renamed from Tattvaranjini to Tattwabodhini (Truth-seekers), In only 2 years the Sabha was able to gather around 500 members, However in 1859 it was dissolved into Brahmo Samaj by Debendranth Tagore himself.

Paramhansa Mandili (1849)

Paramhansa Mandili was established in 1849 at Bombay, it was more of a secret socio religious group. It was founded by Durgaram Mehtaji, Dadoba Pandurang and his group of friends. Dadoba Pandurang was the leader of the organisation, he had the principles of “Paramhansik Bramhyadharma” for this organisation. Many followers believed that revelation of its existence resulted in the demise of the Paramhansa Mandili in 1860.

Radhaswami Satsang (1861)

RadhaSwami or Radhasoami Satsang was founded by Shiv Dayal Singh in 1861 at Agra, they believed that all living beings or all souls were created by the True God.

Prarthana Samaj (1863)

The Prarthana Samaj also known as “Prayer Society” in Sanskrit was founded by Dadoba Pandurang and his brother Atmaram Pandurang in 1863, their goal was to make people worship and make them believe only  in one god, the organisation gained popularity when Mahadev Govind Ranade joined, the primary aim of Prarthana Samaj was on social and cultural reform.

Arya Samaj (1875)

Arya Samaj  founded by Dayanand Saraswati in 1875 was an important movement in the 19 century, it was able to eradicate many social evils,they condemned idol worships and  protested against caste system and worked hand in hand against untouchability, they opposed the practice of ‘Sati’and child marriage, they also strived to work for education for women and as a result started various schools for uplifting women.

Theosophical Society (1875)

The Theosophical Society was founded with the idea to bring the ideas of east and west together,it functions as a bridge bringing out the commonality of human culture, it is a worldwide body with the aim to pass out the ideas of previous Theosophists and advance them.

Sadharan Brahmo Samaj (1878)

The Sadharan Brahmo Samaj was founded in 1878 at Calcutta, they worked by the principle that faith in afterlife is natural to man and that the humankind had always considered that the relation between God and men to be direct and that they dont believe in the infallibility of any man or any sculpture.

Deccan Educational Society (1884)

Deccan Education Society was founded during the British with the idea of providing education to the uplift the repressed classes and rouse the drooping will of the countrymen, it was founded by Bal Gangadhar Tilak and G.G.Agarkar.

Indian National Social Conference (1887)

Indian National Social Conference was founded by M.G Ranade and Raghunath Rao, it was considered as the social reform cell of INC, the first session was held in 1887 and met annually as a subsidiary convention at the same place focusing on social reform.

Dev Samaj (1887)

Dev Samaj was founded by Shiv Narayan Agnihotri in 1887, the society rejected contemporary Hinduism and condemned rituals and deities, they believed in worshipping the true “guru” Dev Bhagvan Atma, they eliminated all caste restrictions, the members of Dev Samaj  were expected to practise inter-cast marriage, However he set the approved, he protested against the evils of child marriage and other such social evils.

Ram Krishna Mission (1897)

Ramakrishna Mission also known as Ramakrishna Movement was founded in 1897, the movement was named after the Indian saint Ramakrishna, the main core of this movement are the four yogic ideals from Hindu philosophy, Swami Vivekananda who was the main disciple of Saint Ramakrishna carried this movement worldwide, he believed that “education is the panacea of all social evils”, but rather than book learning, he believed tha the true meaning of education lies in decision making, character development and attitude.

Servants of Indian Society (1905)

The Servants of India Society was formed in 1905 by Gopal Krishna Gokhale, along with him there were a small group of Indians who wanted to promote social and human development, they had the aim of overthrowing British rule and gain independence, they conducted campaigns to promote and provide education, health services etc. The main aim of the organisation was to unite indians irrespective of their caste, colour and creed, this organisation was considered as the first secular organisation country to devote their work to the underprivileged and repressed people.

Pune Seva Sadan (1909)

The Pune Sevasadan Society was started in the year 1909 by Ramabai Ranade, the aim of the Pune Seva Sadan was to serve the nation and offer support in all fields and work in uplifting and providing help to the underprivileged.

Social Service League (1911)

Social Service League was founded by Narayan Malhar Joshi in 1911, he was a member of the “Servants of India Society”, the main aim of the organisation was to “collect and study social facts and discuss social problems with  view to forming public opinion on questions of social service”, the organisation was able to open various number of schools, libraries etc.

Seva Samiti (1914)

Seva Samiti was founded in 1914 at Allahabad in an attempt to overcome natural disasters and provide aid to the victims, they organise social service and provide education to the underprivileged and work for the uplifting of the depressed classes and provide sanitation.

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