Raja RamMohan Roy the great reformer
Raja RamMohan Roy, considered as the pioneer of Renaissance of India, first published a newspaper named “Brahma Patrika” to counter the allegations of Sreerampore Missionaries in their paper Samachar Chandrika.
Roy’s column used to be written under a pseudonym Shivaprasad Sharma.
He then became the editor of a newspaper called East India Gazette. He used to pen logical articles to counter the salvo of mal-propaganda labeled against his name.
Roy through his writings managed to impress and prevail on the East India Company top brasses especially Lord William Bentinck, the then Governor General of India to enforce the anti-Sati law, banning the century-old practice of Sati on Dec.4 1829.
He also launched a newspaper named Sambad Kaumudi with articles, feature stories on religion, politics, family affairs, and, national and international events. This newspaper was published mostly to regale common readers.
He also launched an Urdu daily Mirad Ul Akhbar, which mainly contained articles related to British and European politics.
Roy’s newspapers were considered as a tool to criticize the anti-Indian and anti-people policies of the East India Company government. He also raised manifold demands to the government through his newspapers.
He also advocated for the presence of People’s Representatives while passing laws in his articles.
He also played a pivotal role in the repeal of the controversial Press Law, which was passed by the Imperial Government to choke the voices of protests in newspapers.
His columns appeared in English dailies under the pseudonyms “An Observer’, “Friend to Reforms”, disparaging the Company Rule and its atrocious policies.
Roy is truly regarded as an intrepid, plucky and ground-breaking journalist, who never yielded to any kind of pressure. He held the glory of the Fourth Estate and was successful in creating a feeling of consciousness in the mind of the common people.
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Raja Ram Mohan Roy, father of Indian journalism, is a great historical figure who put laudable efforts to transform India and dared to defy the age old Hindu traditions. He undertook a lot of social reforms to change the society and worked to uplift the status of women in India. Roy fought against Sati system. He was also a great scholar who translated many books, religious and philosophical work and scriptures into Bengali and also translated Vedic scriptures into English.Raja Ram Mohan Roy as a journalist took it upon himself to educate the workforce and people of India about political issues publishing magazines in different languages including Hindi, English, Persian and Bengali. So huge was Raja Ram Mohan Roy's contribution in journalism that he single-handedly modernized the education system of India stressing on the importance of education and eliminating the long held superstitions which were held by students and teachers alike. He was the founder of the Brahma Samaj, which played a major role in reforming and modernizing the Indian society. n 1829, he visited England as the unofficial representative of the titular king of Delhi. The king of Delhi granted him the title of 'Raja'. He was the first Indian to apply to the Indian environment the fundamental social and political ideas of the French and American revolutions. He was one of the key personalities of “Bengal Renaissance”. He is known as the “Father of Indian Renaissance”. He re-introduced the Vedic philosophies, particularly the Vedanta from the ancient Hindu texts of Upanishads. He traveled throughout India and across several cities. He also traveled to England and Tibet. This helped him broaden his horizons and not given in to the way things were making cruelty and oppression his lifelong enemies. He was unabashed when it came to giving his views and was a man of reason above anything else.
Raja Ram MohanRroy as a journalist published works in English, Hindi, Persian and Bengali. Ram Mohan Roy was educated in traditional languages like Sanskrit and Persian. He came across English much later in life and learned the language to get better employment with the British. The contribution of raja ram mohan roy in indian journalism is unparalleled as he was a staunch supporter of free speech and expression. He brought out two newspapers one in in Persian called 'Miratul- Akhbar' (the Mirror of News) and the other in Bengali called 'Sambad Kaumudi' (the Moon of Intelligence).. Raja Ram Mohan Roy is the father of indian journalism because he protested against the control imposed by the government that they will first have to approve whatever is published by arguing that newspapers should be free and that the truth should not be suppressed simply because the government did not like it. The contribution of raja ram mohan roy was further unmatched when he helped abolish the practice of sati and actively pressed on to get women equality rights and fair treatment. He also abolished the purdah system which was the practice that included the seclusion of women from public observation by making them wear concealing clothing from head to toe and by the use of high walls, curtains, and screens erected within the home. He took giant strides in changing the ancient outlook and landscape so that we can have a more tolerable future and are not harrowed by the wrong actions which are traumatic.