Bengal Renaissance
[1] Historians have traced the beginnings of the movement to the victory of the British East India Company at the 1757 Battle of Plassey, as well as the works of reformer Raja Rammohan Roy, considered the "Father of the Indian Renaissance," born in 1772.
The main Muslim figures in the movement include members of the Suhrawardy family, poet and musician Kazi Nazrul Islam, and writer Rokeya Sakhawat Hussain.
[1] The movement questioned the existing customs and rituals in Indian society – most notably, the caste system, and the practice of sati, idolatry – as well as the role of religion and colonial governance.
[10] Although the Bengal Renaissance was led and dominated by upper caste Hindus, Bengali Muslims played a transformative role in the movement, as well as the shaping of colonial and postcolonial Indian society.
[8] Examples of Bengali Muslim renaissance men and women include Kazi Nazrul Islam, Ubaidullah Al Ubaidi Suhrawardy, and Rokeya Sakhawat Hussain.
[12] Prior to Crown control, British power was in the hands of the East India Company, which in course of time, became increasingly profitable and influential, politically, establishing diplomatic relations with local rulers as well as building armies to protect its own interests.
[16] Many postcolonial historians source the origins of the Bengal Renaissance to these events, arguing that the movement was both a reaction to the violence and exploitation by the British Raj, as well as a product of the Empire's promotion of English education in the region as part of its "civilising missions".
[14] For instance, Sivanath Sastri notes that Charles Grant, a British politician influential in Indian affairs who also served as Chairman of the East India Company, "moved "that a thorough education be given to the different races inhabiting the country, [and] that the Gospel be preached to them… .
Colonial provisions at the time consisted mainly of village schools teaching literacy and numeracy, Arabic and Islamic studies being taught to Muslims in madrasas, and tols, where pandits instructed Sanskrit texts to Brahmins, which were supported by endowments.
[21] Rammohan Roy contributed to this last debate by writing to the Governor-General in 1823 expressing his opposition to the establishment of a Sanskrit College that would foster traditional learning and advocating for Western scientific education; this effort failed without effect.
This was especially because, as Killingley noted, "in the innovations of the early nineteenth century, government initiative had less impact than the work of Christian missions, and of individuals … who responded to the demand for literacy, numeracy and related skills created by growing commercial and administrative activity.
"[21] In 1800, the Baptist Missionary Society established a centre in Srirampur, West Bengal, from which it ran a network of schools that taught literacy, mathematics, physics, geography, and other so-called "useful knowledge.
Some notable religious and spiritual leaders associated with these reform movements are Ram Mohan Roy, Debendranath Tagore, Keshab Chandra Sen, Bijoy Krishna Goswami, Rani Rashmoni, Ramakrishna, Sarada Devi, Swami Vivekananda, Aurobindo, Bamakhepa, Lokenath Brahmachari, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, Bhaktivinoda Thakur, Paramahansa Yogananda, Lahiri Mahasaya, Nigamananda Paramahansa, Ram Thakur, Sitaramdas Omkarnath, and Anandamayi Ma.
