India is a nation where several great personalities took birth and grew to be great social reformers. They have sacrificed their whole life to benefit society and its individuals. Years passed, yet the influence and heroic deeds of the social reformers endured. India is fortunate enough to have delivered great individuals who brought revolutions for the upliftment of human beings in society. Widow marriage, Child marriage, Girl’s education, the Caste system, and many more are the issues for which our Indian social reformers fought throughout their entire life and led the country to a fresh start.
List of Social Reformers
So, let’s check out some of the social reformers of India and their contributions:
1. B R Ambedkar
The untouchables (Dalits) and India’s socially underprivileged group were the priority of B.R. Ambedkar’s lifelong campaigning and social reform efforts. Ambedkar, who was seen as a savior for the oppressed, campaigned tirelessly to end caste inequality that was widespread in Indian societies. Ambedkar suffered caste intolerance, injustice, and racism as a child because he took birth in a socially underprivileged household. But in spite of everything, he persevered against all difficulties to complete his further education and then started advocating for equal opportunity and social justice. Later, he became the first Law minister of India who composed the Indian Constitution.
2. Savitribai Phule
Savitri Bai Phule dedicated her life to an effort of educating women and people of lower castes during the British rule in India. She put in tireless effort in a number of areas, notably caste and gender-based discrimination, liberation and literacy of females, and the elimination of untouchability. Additionally, she also stood against child marriage, Sati Pratha, and caste systems. India got the first female tutor in the form of Savitribai Phule and later she founded “Balhatya Pratibandhak Griha” in order to halt the Sati Pratha.
3. Raja Ram Mohan Roy
The greatest accomplishment of Raja Ram Mohan Roy was ending the tradition known as “Sati Pratha,” which required widows to commit suicide by setting themselves ablaze on the death march of their husbands who had died. He established the Brahmo Samaj to combat injustices such as the caste system, dowry, mistreatment of women, etc. In West Bengal, Ram Mohan Roy was born and raised into a prominent Brahmin family. After his higher education, he established an English school in Calcutta in 1816 because he believed that education plays a major role in the awakening and advancement of the common man. One of the Mughal emperors in the 19th century gave him the title of Raja when he traveled to England as a diplomat in order to meet the King of England for some economical issues.
4. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
Thakurdas Bandyopadhyay and Bhagavati Devi gave birth to Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar in a tiny hamlet. It is mentioned that he did not have enough money to buy a kerosene lantern so he often studied at the street lights but his deep desire to learn was incredible. Later, he graduated in 1841 from a college in Kolkata where he got knowledge of Sanskrit grammar, literature, Vedanta, and astronomy. He was a maestro in Sanskrit which is why he got the title of “Vidyasagar” because of his extensive understanding of Sanskrit and philosophy. His major contribution was his endeavors in battling the atrocities done to women, and child widows. He was the person who convinced the British Government to approve the Hindu Widows’ Remarriage Act, 1856.
5. Anna Hazare
He is one of the Indian social reformers who takes a stand for the poor and helpless people in the nation. He has mostly focused his campaign against dishonesty on improving the impoverished and oppressed circumstances that exist in rural India. Anna Hazare is well-known for his unwavering dedication to serving Indian residents and taking a stand for them in the face of selfishness and dishonesty. He fought the Indian Government and went on hunger strike in an effort to approve the Jan Lokpal Bill in the parliament which is an anti-corruption bill. Hazare contributed massively to the development of the impoverished hamlet, Ralegan Siddhi, into one of the richest villages in India by improving its environment and economics.
6. Swami Dayanand Saraswati
Born in 1824 in Tankara, Gujarat, and died in 1883, Dayanand Saraswati was a great Indian social reformer whose major contribution includes the foundation of Arya Samaj, and he established various Gurukuls in order to impart Vedic knowledge. The main objective of the Arya Samaj is to encourage social services, gender equality as well as equal justice throughout the nation. His famous book named Satyaprakash (The Light of Truth) conveys creative ideas in order to rejuvenate Hindu ideology that had become dull. He repeatedly stated that performing charitable efforts through social work might lead to salvation.
7. Ramakrishna Paramahamsa
Born on 18 Feb 1836 in Kamarpukur, West Bengal, and died in 1886. Ramakrishna Paramahamsa was one of the great souls of India whose contributions can never be forgotten. His real name is Gadadhar Chattopadhyay and he had been a significant part of the social reform movement in Bengal which was started in the 19th century by Raja Ram Mohan Roy. Since childhood, he had a huge attraction toward nature and spiritual love, he used to visit and converse with saints, thus he became a great spiritual leader and people still hold his teachings in high regard.
8. Swami Vivekananda
Swami Vivekananda whose real name is Narendranath Dutta took birth in 1863 in Calcutta and took his last breath in 1902. During his 40 years of life, he contributed a lot to the upliftment of the nation and regaining the self-confidence that the Indians had lost under the British injustice and torture. He accepted Ramakrishna Paramahamsa as his guru and later Vivekananda became his main follower. Additionally, he became a maestro in Vedanta philosophy and gave his entire life to the nation for the advancement of the underprivileged, downtrodden, and oppressed. In 1893, Swami Vivekananda visited America to take part in the religious festival organized in Chicago and collected a lot of applause.
9. Vinoba Bhave
The real name of Vinoba Bhave is Vinayak Narahari Bhave and he came from a Brahmin family. He took birth in 1895 in the hamlet of Gagoda in the Kolaba region of Maharashtra and passed away on November 15, 1982. His most notable accomplishments include the huge Bhoodan Movement (The Gift of Land), which was founded in 1951 and whose main goal was to gather and conserve all contributions for the purpose of aiding the underprivileged or impoverished. He played a major role in the Sarvodaya movement which was started by Mahatma Gandhi whose main objective was to make a nation that follows love, peace, and non-violence.
10. Medha Patkar
Born in 1954, Medha Patkar is a social reformer who quit his Phd program in the middle in order to take part in the protests and demonstrations led by the tribal people and farmers of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra. She stood with those people and later established a Narmada Bachao Andolan. The main goal of the movement is to oppose the government’s plan to raise the height of the Narmada dam but it was denied by the Supreme Court.
11. Shanta Sinha
Honored by the Ramon Magsaysay Award, Shanta Sinha is a social reformer who has contributed her effort to the development and safety of children. Her major achievements include Mamidipudi Venkatarangaiya (MV) Foundation in Secunderabad. She often stood against child labor and raised her voice for making child education mandatory. She is a kind individual who has worked hard to put smiles on kids’ faces.
12. Baba Amte
Baba Amte was a great soul and social reformer of India who gave up his all life in the care of leprosy sufferers. Apart from this, Baba Amte frequently consented to have leprosy germ growth studies performed on his body. His humanitarian initiative in the Indian state of Maharashtra’s Anandwan is well known around the globe for its pioneering work to abolish inequities against leprosy victims. He achieved Padma Shri Award in the year 1971, Padma Vibhushan in the year 1986, and Gandhi Peace Prize in 1999.
13. Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation, was the greatest soul India will ever have back, he fought for the nation’s independence following the rule of non-violence. He spearheaded social reform initiatives that tackled many pressing concerns, such as caste discrimination, hunger, and gender equity. He campaigned against the ills of society. His contributions are so extensive that they cannot be described in a few paragraphs.
14. Jyotiba Phule
Jyotiba Phule is one of the great social reformers whom the nation can never forget for his restless effort to uplift and literate women. He and his wife dedicated their whole life in order to fight for women’s education. Apart from educating women, he also fought for social issues like eliminating caste discrimination, inequality, and untouchability. He laid the foundation of Satyashodak Samaj in 1873 which works for the equality of lower caste and poor people. It is said that Jyotiba Phule was the person who gave untouchables the title “Dalit” which means who is shattered, unhappy, or oppressed and does not belong to the so-called Varna system.
15. Aruna Roy
Aruna Roy, who has been a teacher and an IAS officer, is also recognized for his major contribution to the establishment of the Right to Information Act (RTI) in 2005. She was a social activist who has often raised her voice against corruption and dishonesty in a system. She was honored with the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award for Excellence in Public Administration, and the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership in 2000.