Keshab Chandra Sen (19 November 1838 – 8 January 1884) was a humanitarian devotee, eminent Indian philosopher, social reformer, and leader of Brahmo Samaj. As a social reformer, he emphasized individual freedom and thought, and by educating the youth society on the principles of rationalism, he brought about a renaissance in India’s religious, social, and political life. Keshab Chandra Sen’s social reform activities were highly significant, particularly his contribution to the Brahmo Samaj. Through his independent religious thinking, he earned a place in the hearts of every Indian.
Early Life and Education of Keshab Chandra Sen
- Keshab Chandra Sen was born on November 19, 1838, in Kolutola, Calcutta, into an upper-caste Vaishnava family. Both his grandfather, Ramkamal Sen (the first Indian Secretary of the Asiatic Society of Bengal) and father, Peary Mohan Sen, were powerful members of the community.
- He studied at Hindu College and learned philosophy there from Professor Jones. His favourite authors were Hamilton, Morel, and Theodore Beck during his student life. His knowledge of Bengali and Sanskrit literature was exemplary, and the Vedas and Gita were his favourite texts. Keshab Chandra Sen had considerable interest in Indian philosophy and history. Though born in a Vaishnava family, he was influenced by the Old Testament and was drawn to Christianity. On the other hand, coming into close contact with Ramakrishna, he was captivated by his spiritual ideals.
- Keshab Chandra Sen was attracted to the Brahmo religion after reading Rajnarayan Basu’s book ‘What is Brahmoism?’ Although he joined the Brahmo Samaj in 1857, his religious thoughts and ideals were formed by synthesising various religions. He acknowledged this in a speech, “The Lord Jesus is my will, Socrates my head, Chaitanya my heart, the Hindu Rishi my soul, and the Philanthropic Howard my right hand.”
Keshab Chandra Sen’s Entry into Brahmo Samaj
- As soon as Keshab Chandra Sen joined Brahmo Samaj in 1857, he caught the attention of Maharshi Debendranath Tagore. Impressed by his talent, in 1862, Debendranath Tagore bestowed upon him the title of ‘Brahmananda’ and appointed him as the secretary and Acharya of Brahmo Samaj. Keshab Chandra Sen was the first non-Brahmin Acharya of Brahmo Samaj.
- After joining Brahmo Samaj, he evaluated the significance of the ‘Young Bengal movement’ started by Henry Louis Vivian Derozio and highlighted the limitations of this movement in an essay titled “Young Bengal, this is for you” (1860). Inspired by his ideals, many young people and students joined Brahmo Samaj.
Religious Thoughts of Keshab Chandra Sen
- Keshab Chandra Sen’s ideal was to revive the religious spirit and consciousness in people’s daily lives and to continue the work of religious and social reform initiated by Raja Ram Mohan Roy. He emphasized moral and spiritual progress.
- Keshab Chandra Sen’s religious philosophy was entirely original. He attempted to create a new religious concept by combining some fundamental ideas of Christianity with Hindu philosophy. By spreading the light of education, especially promoting women’s education, abolishing untouchability and the caste system, and ending various social malpractices, he sought to bring about a social revolution.
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Social Reform Activities of Keshab Chandra Sen
- Even before joining Brahmo Samaj, he had led various social welfare activities. He fought for significant social change and became a staunch supporter of intercaste marriage, women’s education, and women’s independence. Also started an organized campaign against child marriage as well.
- In 1855, he established a night school in Kolutola, Calcutta, to spread education among adults. In 1859, to build public opinion, he staged a play written by Umesh Chandra Dutt on widow remarriage (Bidhoba Bibaha Natak).
- In 1860, he established “Sangat Sabha” to promote the ideal of public service for the oppressed. Its primary goal was to talk about the social and spiritual issues of the time. According to Keshav Chandra Sen, all aspects of Indian society should experience a simultaneous Renaissance and rebirth.
- Keshab Chandra Sen also started humanitarian and philanthropic activities under the guidance of the Sangat Sabha, such as providing relief during famines and epidemics.
- In a lecture in 1862 titled “Destiny of Human Life,” Keshab Chandra Sen stated that untouchability was a man-made disease. He quit an appealing government job in 1861 in order to concentrate on helping others. That year, he created a fund to help millions of famine-affected people in the North Western provinces.
- Under the leadership of Brahmo Samaj, he initiated the first inter-caste marriage in 1862. Under pressure from the Brahmo movement, in 1872, the Viceroy of India of that time, Lord Northbrook (1872-1876 AD), passed the famous ‘Native Marriage Act,’ also known as ‘the Indian Christian Marriage Act’ or ‘Civil Marriage Act.’ This law prohibited polygamy and child marriage and legalized inter-caste marriages only for Christians, not for Hindus, Muslims, or people of other religions. To strengthen women’s education and the women’s liberation movement, he established ‘Brahmo Bandhu Sabha’ in 1862.
- In 1861, Keshab Chandra Sen published a fortnightly journal called “Indian Mirror” with financial help from Debendranath Tagore. The journal became so popular that it transformed into the first English daily newspaper.
- In 1864, Keshab Chandra Sen published a monthly magazine called “Bamabodhini Patrika” to promote women’s welfare, and in 1870, “Paricharika” was published. In 1865, he established an institution called ‘Brahmika Samaj’ for Brahmo women.
- On the other hand, recognizing the importance of vocational education, he established an industrial school in 1870-1871. To spread education among the people, he gave more importance to education through the mother tongue. He even established the ‘Indian Reform Association’ in 1870. To spread the light of education among the general public, he published a Bengali weekly newspaper called “Sulabh Samachar” on November 16, 1870, for just one paisa. Within just two months, the newspaper’s subscription reached 8,000.
- In 1876, after coming into contact with Sri Ramakrishna, he established the ‘Sadhanashram’ and began practising Hindu meditation and spiritual practices.
- Recognizing the harmful effects of alcohol, he also published a journal called ‘Mad na garal‘ (Alcohol or Poison) to raise public awareness. Through all these publications, Keshab Chandra Sen continued his social reform work. Professor Chittabrata Palit rightly said, “Journalism was never put to such extensive use for social amelioration before Keshab. In his hands, the press became a national platform of supreme importance.”
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Division in Brahmo Samaj
- Although the contribution of Keshab Chandra Sen as a social reformer, educator, and religious preacher is undeniable, the first division in Brahmo Samaj began under his leadership. He simultaneously engaged in struggles against Christian missionaries and conservative Brahmo leaders. In 1863, when Christian missionaries led by Reverend Lal-Behari attacked Brahmo Samaj, he responded appropriately through a pamphlet titled “Brahma Samaj Vindicated.”
- In 1866, when an Anglo-Indian merchant named Scott Moncrieff criticized Indian culture and character, Keshab Chandra Sen strongly protested against Moncrieff’s statements in a lecture titled “Jesus Christ: Europe and Asia,” analyzing both Indian and European character. However, in his speech, he paid respect to Jesus Christ and mentioned his great ideals of forgiveness and self-sacrifice. This made many educated Bengalis unhappy with him. In reality, many people did not appreciate Keshab Chandra Sen’s liberal and progressive viewpoint.
- While conservative Brahmo leaders considered Brahmo ideals to be solely dependent on Upanishadic teachings, Keshab Chandra Sen and his followers were ready to embrace other social ideals and philosophies to expand the Brahmo movement. Many young leaders joined this movement with a rational and superstition-free mindset rather than emotional devotion.
- Although Debendranath Tagore and other conservative Brahmo leaders did not believe in Hindu idolatry, they were unwilling to completely sever ties with Hinduism. However, under Keshab Chandra Sen’s leadership, young Brahmo leaders refused to accept Hindu practices like the caste system, child marriage, polygamy, and wearing the sacred thread. Declaring jihad against all forms of narrowness, the rebellious Brahmo leaders under Keshab Chandra Sen stated, “Brahmoism is catholic and universal.” Disagreements arose between Keshab Chandra Sen and Debendranath regarding the proposal to abandon the sacred thread, worship methods, and social conduct rules in Brahmo Samaj. As a result of these disagreements, Brahmo Samaj split into two parts in 1866. Keshab Chandra Sen left Brahmo Samaj and established ‘Brahmo Samaj of India, also known as Bharatvarshiya Brahmo Samaj’, while Debendranath Tagore and his followers established ‘Adi Brahmo Samaj.’
- Another division in Brahmo Samaj occurred during Keshab Chandra Sen’s lifetime. From 1871 to 1872, some of his admirers began a movement against personality worship in Brahmo Samaj and demanded the formation of a clear organization. Keshab Chandra’s social reform policies also didn’t seem progressive enough in their view. From 1874, several leaders, including Anandamohan Bose, Dwarkanath Ganguly, Nagendranath Chaterjee, and Sivanath Shastri, began opposing him. They did not support Keshab Chandra Sen’s attitude towards women’s education and freedom. He believed that women didn’t need higher education and even disapproved of free mixing between men and women and the abolition of the purdah system.
- However, he also promised some constitutional reforms to make the Brahmo Samaj more representative to appease these rebellious young leaders. However, due to an unfortunate incident, their separation from Keshab Chandra Sen became inevitable. The unfortunate event was the marriage of his 14-year-old minor daughter Sunity Devi with Maharaja Nipendra Narayan of Cooch Behar in 1875. This marriage was contrary to the Native Marriage Act of 1872.
- Moreover, the marriage was conducted by Hindu Brahmin priests according to Hindu customs, and prayers and hymns following Brahmo Samaj traditions were not sung during the wedding ceremony. This led to severe criticism within Brahmo Samaj. Due to these reasons, on May 15, 1878, at the Town Hall in Kolkata, ‘Sadharan Brahmo Samaj’ was established under the leadership of Sivanath Shastri. Debendranath Tagore, Rajnarayan Basu, Ananda Mohan Bose, Shibchandra Deb, and Umesh Chandra Datta were the prominent members of ‘Sadharan Brahmo Samaj’.
- Due to this division in Brahmo Samaj, he became somewhat dejected and lonely. During this time, he was influenced by the ideals of Ramakrishna; on the other hand, he was influenced by the thought of Christianity. Finally, in 1880, he established ‘Nababidhan Brahmo Samaj’ with his liberal followers. From this time on, Vijay Krishna Goswami became his follower. Through Nababidhan Brahmo Samaj, he also promoted the ideal of religious harmony and the message of human unity. Four years after promoting the ideals of Nababidhan Brahmo Samaj, Keshab Chandra Sen died in Calcutta on January 8, 1884, at the age of just 45 years.
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Expansion of Brahmo Samaj Movement under the Leadership of Keshab Chandra Sen
- After Raja Ram Mohan Roy and Debendranath Tagore, Keshab Chandra Sen was the only person who could maintain the tradition of the Brahmo movement. Although Brahmo Samaj experienced two divisions during his time and these repeated divisions made the movement somewhat stagnant and directionless, due to his sole efforts, this movement spread to different parts of India, including Bengal.
- Keshab Chandra Sen was a skilled speaker. He toured Bombay and Madras in 1864 and the North Western Provinces in 1868. Under his inspiration, ‘Prarthana Samaj’ was established in Bombay City in 1867. In 1864, ‘Veda Samaj’ was established in Madras through the initiative of Keshab Chandra Sen and K. Sridharalu Naidu.
- From a publication of the “Indian Mirror” newspaper in January 1866, it was known that at that time a total of 54 branches of Brahmo Samaj had been established across India. Among these, 50 were in Bengal, 2 in North Western Provinces, and 1 each in Punjab and Madras. This way, the movement gained an all-India character.
- Keshab Chandra Sen’s ideal of religious harmony and respect for Hinduism, along with the neo-Hindu movement’s revival of Hinduism, significantly reduced the gap between both communities. In the words of Professor Dilip Kumar Biswas, “The Story of Brahmoism, in its last phase, is the story of its progressive absorption within the older religion from which it had sprung.”
Importance of Brahmo Samaj Movement
- Despite having many limitations, the Brahmo Samaj movement brought a tide of progressiveness to India’s stagnant society. Brahmo Samaj’s role in expanding women’s education was truly praiseworthy. The Victoria Institution and City College in Calcutta were established by Brahmo Samaj leaders. For students’ overall development, Brahmo Samaj Student’s Weekly Service arranged various discussion circles on religious, moral, social, and political subjects. A separate society was established so that progressive and educated women could exchange ideas among themselves and read essays on various subjects.
- Brahmo Samaj leaders opened a library and printing press, and this press published a Bengali magazine called ‘Tattva-Kaumudi’ and an English magazine called ‘Brahmo Public Opinion.’
- Although lacking a close connection with the common people of the country, Brahmo Samaj was the first to strongly protest about the joys and sorrows of India’s working people. Some examples include: Baranagar’s Brahmo leader Sashipada Banerjee published a magazine called “Bharat Shramjeevi” to raise consciousness among workers. He established a night school for their education. Another Brahmo leader, Dwarkanath Ganguly, attempted to organize the coolies in Assam’s tea gardens. Ramkumar Vidyaratna wrote a book called “Kuli Kahini,” giving a touching account of the unspeakable torture and oppression of tea garden workers.
- Brahmo leaders stood by people affected by famines in various regions and inspired Indian people with the ideal of nationalism. Keshab Chandra Sen was not a blind supporter of the British government but rather a harsh critic when necessary. In his memorial lecture, “England’s Duties in India,” he strongly criticized British imperialism, saying, “You cannot hold India for the interest of Manchester….”
- Although the influence of the Brahmo movement gradually diminished, Brahmo Samaj gave birth to many great personalities such as Jagdish Chandra Bose, Prafulla Chandra Ray, Sri Aurobindo Ghosh, Bipin Chandra Pal, Chittaranjan Das, Ramtanu Lahiri, Sarojini Naidu, and Sarala Devi Chaudhurani, whose contributions we still remember with respect. The biggest contribution of Brahmo Samaj is that under Keshab Chandra Sen’s leadership, this movement took the form of an all-India movement.
