Raja Ram Mohan Roy who was born in 1772 C.E. at Radhanagar village in Hooghly district of Bengal was the first social reformer of Indian society. He protested strongly against the evil practices of ‘sati’, child marriage, caste system, the ritual of female infanticide (dudhpiti), etc. and made great efforts to abolish them from Indian society. He started two newspapers viz. the ‘Samvad Kaumudi’ in Bengali and the ‘Mirat-ul-Akbar’ in Persian.

He established the ‘Brahmo Samaj’ in 1828 C.E. He also established a Hindu college in Kolkata. He recommended many changes to the British government like freedom of press, freedom of speech, women’s rights, keeping the judiciary and the administration separate, etc. Raja Ram Mohan Roy requested the British government to legally ban the ‘sati’ system. So, in 1829 C.E. British Governor, Lord William Bentinck framed a law banning the ‘sati’ system. Thus in the 19th century, Raja Ram Mohan Roy laid the foundation for a New Awakening with social, religious and political revolutions. Raja Ram Mohan Roy passed away in 1833 C.E. at Bristol in England. He was the first social reformer of India.

In this way Raja Ram Mohan Roy laid the foundation for social, religious and political awakening in India in the 19th century. He is, therefore, considered as the ‘First Torch-bearer’ of the complete development of India.