Socio-Religious Reform Movements — Practice Questions
UPSC Prelims-pattern practice questions on socio-religious reform movements with full explanations — reformers, organisations, satyagrahas and reform laws.
Questions
These are original UPSC-pattern practice questions. Attempt each one before revealing the answer.
Which of the following reformers was given the title of “Raja” by the Mughal emperor Akbar II?
Solution
Akbar II conferred the title on Rammohan Roy, who went to England partly as the emperor’s envoy and died at Bristol in 1833. The others were later Bengal reformers who held no such title.
Answer: D
The Hindu Widows’ Remarriage Act of 1856 was the result of a campaign led mainly by
Solution
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, principal of Sanskrit College, Calcutta, combined scriptural argument with public petitions to secure the Act. Rammohan Roy (died 1833) is associated with the abolition of sati; Phule and Dayananda were active later.
Answer: A
Consider the following pairs:
| Satyagraha | Associated with |
|---|---|
| 1. Vaikom Satyagraha | Travancore |
| 2. Guruvayur Satyagraha | K. Kelappan |
| 3. Mahad Satyagraha | B.R. Ambedkar |
How many of the pairs given above are correctly matched?
Solution
All three are correct. Vaikom (1924–25) took place in the princely state of Travancore over the use of roads near the temple; K. Kelappan led the Guruvayur temple-entry satyagraha (1931–32); Ambedkar led the Mahad Satyagraha (1927) for access to the Chavdar tank.
Answer: C
Consider the following statements about the Theosophical Society:
- It was founded in New York in 1875 by Madame Blavatsky and Colonel Olcott.
- Its headquarters were later established at Adyar near Madras.
- Annie Besant was one of its founders.
How many of the statements given above are correct?
Solution
Statements 1 and 2 are correct. Statement 3 is wrong — Annie Besant joined the Society in 1889, years after its founding, and later became its president. So two statements are correct.
Answer: B
The book Satyarth Prakash was written by
Solution
Swami Dayananda Saraswati, founder of the Arya Samaj (1875), wrote the Satyarth Prakash, setting out his call to return to the Vedas and his critique of idolatry and ritualism. Rammohan Roy wrote the Tuhfat-ul-Muwahhidin; Vivekananda is linked with the Ramakrishna Mission; Keshab led the Brahmo Samaj of India.
Answer: D
Mains
“The socio-religious reform movements of nineteenth-century India were both reformist and revivalist.” Discuss with examples.
Solution
Introduction: Reformers responded to colonial rule, Western education and missionary criticism in two broad ways — by appeal to reason and humanism, or by appeal to a purified past. Most movements combined both.
Body:
- Reformist strand: Brahmo Samaj (reason, monotheism, against sati and caste rigidity); Prarthana Samaj (social agenda); Aligarh (modern education, rational reading of the Quran); Young Bengal (radical rationalism).
- Revivalist strand: Arya Samaj (“Back to the Vedas”, shuddhi); Deoband (orthodox Islamic learning); Theosophists’ glorification of ancient religions.
- Overlap: Rammohan Roy used the Upanishads to argue for reform; the Arya Samaj attacked idolatry, caste by birth and child marriage; Vivekananda joined Vedanta with social service.
- Consequences: both built cultural self-confidence; revivalism also sharpened religious boundaries, which later fed communal politics.
Conclusion: The distinction is one of emphasis — reformers looked to the past to justify change, and revivalists sought change in the name of the past.