History
Socio-Religious Reform Movements
Socio-Religious Reform Movements — Quick Revision
One-page CGPSC quick revision for socio-religious reform movements: every founder, year, law and Chhattisgarh reformer in tables for Prelims and Mains.
Every founder, organisation, year and law from the chapter on one page. For explanations, go back to the chapter.
How to use this sheet
Scan it top to bottom in the week before Prelims. Bold entries are the facts examiners return to most often. Most questions here are founder–organisation–year matches, so read the tables row by row.
Brahmo Samaj and Western India
| Year | Event | Person |
|---|---|---|
| c. 1803–04 | Tuhfat-ul-Muwahhidin (Persian) | Rammohan Roy |
| 1814/15 | Atmiya Sabha, Calcutta | Rammohan Roy |
| 1828 (20 Aug) | Brahmo Sabha (later Brahmo Samaj) | Rammohan Roy |
| 1829 (4 Dec) | Sati banned, Regulation XVII | Lord William Bentinck |
| 1830 | Dharma Sabha (orthodox, against the ban) | Radhakanta Deb |
| 1831 | Derozio removed from Hindu College (Young Bengal) | H.L.V. Derozio |
| 1833 | Rammohan dies at Bristol | — |
| 1839 | Tattvabodhini Sabha | Debendranath Tagore |
| 1849 | Paramahansa Mandali, Bombay | — |
| 1866 | First Brahmo split: Adi Brahmo Samaj vs Brahmo Samaj of India | Debendranath / Keshab |
| 1867 | Prarthana Samaj, Bombay | Atmaram Pandurang; Ranade, Bhandarkar |
| 1872 | Native Marriage Act (14/18, no polygamy) | Keshab’s campaign |
| 1878 (15 May) | Sadharan Brahmo Samaj | Ananda Mohan Bose, Sivanath Sastri |
| 1880 | Naba Bidhan (New Dispensation) | Keshab |
| 1887 | Indian National Social Conference | M.G. Ranade |
Arya Samaj, Ramakrishna Mission, Theosophy
| Year | Event | Person |
|---|---|---|
| 1824 | Dayanand born at Tankara (Mool Shankar) | — |
| 1875 (10 Apr) | Arya Samaj, Bombay | Dayanand Saraswati |
| 1875 | Satyarth Prakash (Hindi) | Dayanand |
| 1875 | Theosophical Society, New York | Blavatsky, Olcott |
| 1877 | Lahore Arya Samaj (main centre) | — |
| 1882 | Theosophical HQ to Adyar, Madras | — |
| 1883 | Dayanand dies at Ajmer | — |
| 1886 | DAV School, Lahore | Lala Hansraj |
| 1893 | Arya Samaj split: College vs Gurukul party | — |
| 1893 (11 Sep) | Chicago, Parliament of World’s Religions | Vivekananda |
| 1897 (1 May) | Ramakrishna Mission | Vivekananda |
| 1898 | Central Hindu College, Benares | Annie Besant |
| 1902 | Gurukul Kangri, Haridwar | Munshi Ram (Swami Shraddhanand) |
Muslims, Parsis, Sikhs
| Year | Event | Person |
|---|---|---|
| 1831 | Syed Ahmad of Rae Bareli killed at Balakot (Wahabi) | — |
| 1851 | Rahnumai Mazdayasnan Sabha, Bombay; Rast Goftar | Naoroji Furdonji, Dadabhai Naoroji |
| 1859 | Asbab-e-Baghawat-e-Hind | Sir Syed Ahmad Khan |
| 1863 | Mohammedan Literary Society, Calcutta | Nawab Abdul Latif |
| 1866 (30 May) | Darul Uloom, Deoband | Nanautavi, Gangohi |
| 1872 | Kuka attack on Malerkotla; Baba Ram Singh deported | Namdharis |
| 1873 | Singh Sabha, Amritsar | — |
| 1875 / 1877 | Aligarh school / MAO College (Lytton) | Sir Syed |
| 1886 | Muhammadan Educational Conference | Sir Syed |
| 1889 | Ahmadiyya, Qadian | Mirza Ghulam Ahmad |
| 1892 | Khalsa College, Amritsar | Singh Sabha |
| 1909 | Anand Marriage Act | — |
| 1920 | SGPC and Akali Dal; MAO College becomes AMU | — |
| 1925 | Sikh Gurdwaras Act | Akali movement |
Women and Caste
| Year | Event | Person |
|---|---|---|
| 1848 | Girls’ school, Pune | Jyotiba and Savitribai Phule |
| 1849 | Bethune School, Calcutta | J.E.D. Bethune |
| 1856 | Hindu Widows’ Remarriage Act (Act XV) | Vidyasagar (Canning’s term) |
| 1870 | Female Infanticide Prevention Act | — |
| 1873 (24 Sep) | Satyashodhak Samaj; Gulamgiri | Jyotiba Phule |
| 1878 | Rajahmundry Social Reform Association | Veeresalingam |
| 1882 | Arya Mahila Samaj, Pune; Stri Purush Tulana | Pandita Ramabai; Tarabai Shinde |
| 1888 | Aruvippuram consecration | Narayana Guru |
| 1889 | Sharada Sadan | Pandita Ramabai |
| 1891 | Age of Consent Act (10 → 12) | Behramji Malabari |
| 1896 | Hindu Widows’ Home, Pune | D.K. Karve |
| 1903 | SNDP Yogam | Narayana Guru |
| 1916 | First women’s university (SNDT) | D.K. Karve |
| 1917 | Women’s Indian Association | Besant, Cousins |
| 1924 | Bahishkrit Hitakarini Sabha | Ambedkar |
| 1924–25 | Vaikom Satyagraha | T.K. Madhavan, K.P. Kesava Menon; Periyar |
| 1925 | Self-Respect Movement | Periyar |
| 1927 | Mahad Satyagraha; AIWC | Ambedkar; Margaret Cousins and others |
| 1929 | Sarda Act (girls 14, boys 18) | Harbilas Sarda |
| 1932 | Poona Pact; Harijan Sevak Sangh | Ambedkar, Gandhi |
| 1936 | Travancore Temple Entry Proclamation | — |
Chhattisgarh Reformers
| Reformer / movement | Key facts |
|---|---|
| Guru Ghasidas | Born 18 Dec 1756, Girodpuri (Baloda Bazar-Bhatapara); Satnam Panth; “मनखे-मनखे एक समान”; rejected idol worship and caste; jaitkhamb; Panthi dance |
| Ramnami Samaj | Parasuram Bharadwaj, Charpara (Janjgir-Champa), 1890s; “राम” tattooed on the body |
| Kabirpanth | Dharamdas; seat at Kawardha (1806–1903), then Damakheda (since 1903) |
| Pt. Sundarlal Sharma | b. 21 Dec 1881, Chamsur near Rajim; Rajim temple entry with lower castes; janeu to Satnamis; “Chhattisgarh’s Gandhi” |
| Gandhi’s Harijan tour | Reached Chhattisgarh in November 1933 |
| Vivekananda | Lived in Raipur as a boy, 1877–79 |
Don’t Confuse
| This | vs | That |
|---|---|---|
| Adi Brahmo Samaj (Debendranath) | vs | Sadharan Brahmo Samaj (rebels against Keshab, 1878) |
| Arya Samaj founded in Bombay | vs | Its main centre: Lahore |
| Arya Samaj (Dayanand, 1875) | vs | Arya Mahila Samaj (Pandita Ramabai, 1882) |
| Theosophical Society founded in New York | vs | HQ at Adyar from 1882 |
| Syed Ahmad of Rae Bareli (Wahabi) | vs | Sir Syed Ahmad Khan (Aligarh) |
| Deoband: anti-British, pro-Congress | vs | Aligarh: loyalist, anti-Congress |
| Age of Consent Act 1891 (10 → 12) | vs | Sarda Act 1929 (marriage age 14/18) |
| Vaikom (roads, 1924–25) | vs | Guruvayur (temple entry, 1931–32) |
| Satnam Panth (Guru Ghasidas, Chhattisgarh) | vs | Satnami revolt (Narnaul, 1672) |
| Girodpuri (Guru Ghasidas) | vs | Damakheda (Kabirpanth seat) |
Favourite MCQ trap
“Sir Syed Ahmad Khan led the Wahabi movement” or “the Sadharan Brahmo Samaj was founded by Keshab Chandra Sen”. Both swap a name with a look-alike or with the person the movement was formed against. Read the name in every option twice.
Second favourite trap
Founding place vs main centre: the Arya Samaj (Bombay, not Lahore) and the Theosophical Society (New York, not Adyar). Examiners love to give the better-known centre as the “founding” place.
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