- The 19th century saw a wave of socio-religious reform movements that attacked sati, child marriage, caste discrimination and the ban on widow remarriage, and spread modern education. Many historians see them as the intellectual roots of Indian nationalism.
- In parallel, the British built a centralised administration through a line of Governors-General (and, after 1858, Viceroys), each tied in exams to specific laws and events.
- This page pairs both topics because questions often combine them — for example, Raja Ram Mohan Roy's campaign and Lord William Bentinck's 1829 ban on sati.
Major Reform Movements
| Organisation | Founder | Year & place | Key ideas |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brahmo Samaj (Brahmo Sabha) | Raja Ram Mohan Roy | 1828, Calcutta | Monotheism, opposition to idol worship and sati; earlier founded the Atmiya Sabha (1815) |
| Young Bengal Movement | Henry Vivian Derozio | Late 1820s, Hindu College | Radical free thinking among students |
| Prarthana Samaj | Atmaram Pandurang (with M.G. Ranade) | 1867, Bombay | Inter-caste dining and marriage, widow remarriage |
| Satyashodhak Samaj | Jyotiba Phule | 1873, Pune | Against Brahmin dominance and caste; wrote Gulamgiri |
| Arya Samaj | Swami Dayananda Saraswati | 1875, Bombay | "Back to the Vedas"; Satyarth Prakash; shuddhi (reconversion); DAV schools |
| Theosophical Society | Madame Blavatsky and Colonel Olcott | 1875, New York; Adyar (Madras) from the 1880s | Revival of ancient religions; led in India by Annie Besant |
| Aligarh Movement | Sir Syed Ahmad Khan | MAO College, 1875 | Modern education for Muslims; the college became Aligarh Muslim University in 1920 |
| Ramakrishna Mission | Swami Vivekananda | 1897, Belur (near Calcutta) | Social service and Vedanta; Vivekananda spoke at the Chicago Parliament of Religions (1893) |
| SNDP Yogam | Sree Narayana Guru | 1903, Kerala | "One caste, one religion, one God" for mankind |
| Self-Respect Movement | E.V. Ramasamy (Periyar) | 1925, Tamil Nadu | Against caste and Brahmin dominance |
Reformers and the Laws They Inspired
- Sati abolished — Bengal Regulation XVII of 1829, under Bentinck, after Ram Mohan Roy's campaign.
- Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act, 1856 — after the campaign of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar; drafted under Dalhousie, passed under Canning.
- Native Marriage Act, 1872 — civil marriage, promoted by Keshab Chandra Sen, who split from the original Samaj in 1866.
- Age of Consent Act, 1891 — after campaigns by Behramji Malabari.
- Sarda Act, 1929 (Child Marriage Restraint Act) — fixed minimum marriage ages at 14 for girls and 18 for boys.
- Savitribai Phule and Jyotiba Phule opened a school for girls in Pune in 1848.
Brahmo Samaj1828
Arya Samaj1875
Sati abolished1829 (Bentinck)
Widow Remarriage Act1856
Permanent Settlement1793
Macaulay's Minute1835
Governors-General and Viceroys
| Name | Period | Remembered for |
|---|---|---|
| Warren Hastings | 1772–85 | First Governor-General of Bengal (Regulating Act, 1773); ended dual government; Asiatic Society founded by William Jones (1784) |
| Lord Cornwallis | 1786–93 | Permanent Settlement (1793); "father of the civil services" |
| Lord Wellesley | 1798–1805 | Subsidiary Alliance — Hyderabad was the first to accept it |
| Lord William Bentinck | 1828–35 | First Governor-General of India (Charter Act, 1833); sati abolished; English education (1835) |
| Lord Dalhousie | 1848–56 | Doctrine of Lapse (Satara first, 1848); first railway (1853); telegraph and postal reforms; Wood's Despatch (1854); annexed Awadh (1856) |
| Lord Canning | 1856–62 | Revolt of 1857; last Governor-General and first Viceroy (1858); universities of Calcutta, Bombay and Madras (1857) |
| Lord Lytton | 1876–80 | Vernacular Press Act and Arms Act (1878); Delhi Durbar (1877) |
| Lord Ripon | 1880–84 | Local self-government resolution (1882); repealed the Vernacular Press Act; Ilbert Bill (1883); Hunter Commission on education (1882) |
| Lord Curzon | 1899–1905 | Partition of Bengal (1905); Indian Universities Act and Ancient Monuments Preservation Act (1904) |
| Lord Hardinge II | 1910–16 | Partition of Bengal annulled and capital moved from Calcutta to Delhi (announced 1911) |
| Lord Mountbatten | 1947–48 | Last Viceroy and first Governor-General of free India; C. Rajagopalachari was the last (and only Indian) Governor-General |
Land Revenue Systems
| System | Introduced by | Areas | Who paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Permanent Settlement (Zamindari) | Cornwallis, 1793 | Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Varanasi | Zamindars, at a revenue fixed forever |
| Ryotwari | Thomas Munro and Alexander Read | Madras, Bombay, Assam | Cultivators (ryots) directly to the state |
| Mahalwari | Holt Mackenzie (1822) | North-Western Provinces, Punjab, Central India | The village community (mahal) as a whole |
Education Policy
- Charter Act, 1813 — set aside ₹1 lakh a year for education, the first such commitment.
- Macaulay's Minute (1835) — backed English-medium education; adopted by Bentinck. It aimed at a class "Indian in blood and colour, but English in taste".
- Wood's Despatch (1854) — the "Magna Carta of English education in India"; led to the universities of 1857.
- Hunter Commission (1882) — primary and secondary education; Raleigh Commission (1902) — led to the Universities Act, 1904; Sadler Commission (1917) — Calcutta University.
- Organisation ↔ founder ↔ year matching — Brahmo 1828, Prarthana 1867, Satyashodhak 1873, Arya 1875, Ramakrishna Mission 1897.
- Governor-General ↔ measure: Subsidiary Alliance (Wellesley), Doctrine of Lapse (Dalhousie), Vernacular Press Act (Lytton), local self-government (Ripon).
- Land revenue systems — who introduced each, in which regions, and who paid.
Q1. Satyarth Prakash was written by:
✅ Answer: (d) Swami Dayananda Saraswati
💡 Explanation: Dayananda Saraswati, founder of the Arya Samaj (1875), wrote Satyarth Prakash.
Q2. The Subsidiary Alliance system was introduced by:
✅ Answer: (a) Lord Wellesley
💡 Explanation: Wellesley introduced it in 1798; Hyderabad was the first state to accept it.
Q3. The Ryotwari system was associated with:
✅ Answer: (b) Thomas Munro
💡 Explanation: Thomas Munro and Alexander Read introduced Ryotwari in Madras; Holt Mackenzie is linked with Mahalwari.
Q4. Which Viceroy is known as the father of local self-government in India?
✅ Answer: (c) Lord Ripon
💡 Explanation: Ripon's resolution of 1882 laid the basis for local self-government.
Q5. Who founded the Satyashodhak Samaj in 1873?
✅ Answer: (d) Jyotiba Phule
💡 Explanation: Jyotiba Phule founded it in Pune to fight caste discrimination; he also wrote Gulamgiri.
🔁 Revise in 60 Seconds
- Brahmo 1828 (Roy), Prarthana 1867, Satyashodhak 1873 (Phule), Arya 1875 (Dayananda), RK Mission 1897 (Vivekananda), SNDP 1903.
- Sati ban 1829 (Bentinck); Widow Remarriage 1856 (Vidyasagar); Sarda Act 1929.
- Hastings (first GG of Bengal), Cornwallis (Permanent Settlement), Wellesley (Subsidiary Alliance), Bentinck (first GG of India), Dalhousie (Lapse), Canning (first Viceroy).
- Ryotwari — Munro; Mahalwari — Holt Mackenzie; Macaulay 1835; Wood's Despatch 1854.
📌 Prelims Traps to Avoid
- ✘ Bentinck was the first Governor-General of India; Warren Hastings was the first of Bengal.
- ✘ The Theosophical Society was founded in New York, not in India.
- ✘ The Widow Remarriage Act was passed under Canning (July 1856), though drafted under Dalhousie.
Who was the first Governor-General of India?
Lord William Bentinck became the first Governor-General of India under the Charter Act of 1833. Warren Hastings had earlier been the first Governor-General of Bengal under the Regulating Act of 1773.
What is the difference between the Permanent Settlement, Ryotwari and Mahalwari systems?
Under the Permanent Settlement (1793, Bengal) zamindars paid a revenue fixed forever. Under Ryotwari (Madras, Bombay) individual cultivators paid the state directly. Under Mahalwari (North-Western Provinces, Punjab) the village community as a whole was responsible for revenue.