Which of the following statements about Brahmo Samaj is/are correct?
1. The Brahmo Marriage Act of 1872 allowed inter-caste and widow re-marriage only if the contracting parties declared themselves to be non-Hindus.
2. Keshub Chandra Sen arranged the marriage of his minor daughter with the Maharaja of Burdwan.
3. Keshub Chandra Sen’s followers broke away to form the Naba Brahmo Samaj.
4. The Brahmo Samaj grew from a small elite group to a mass movement in the 19th century.
1 only
1 and 2 only
2 and 3 only
1, 2, 3 and 4
Answer is Right!
Answer is Wrong!
This question was previously asked in
UPSC NDA-1 – 2016
1. The Brahmo Marriage Act of 1872 (Native Marriage Act) legalized inter-caste and widow remarriages for those who did not profess to be Hindu, Muslim, Christian, or Parsi. This declaration essentially made them non-Hindus for the purpose of the Act, aligning with the Brahmo ideology that transcended traditional Hindu social norms like caste and prohibition of widow remarriage. This statement is correct.
2. Keshub Chandra Sen arranged the marriage of his minor daughter (Sunity Devi, aged 14) with the Maharaja of Cooch Behar (Nripendra Narayan) in 1878. The statement incorrectly names the Maharaja of Burdwan. This action also contradicted the Brahmo principle against child marriage, which Keshub himself advocated. This statement is incorrect.
3. The controversial marriage of Keshub Chandra Sen’s daughter led to a major split in the Brahmo Samaj of India in 1878. A group of his followers who opposed the marriage broke away to form the Sadharan Brahmo Samaj. Keshub’s own group then adopted the name ‘Church of the New Dispensation’ or Naba Bidhan/Naba Brahmo Samaj. The statement incorrectly states that Keshub’s followers broke away to form the Naba Brahmo Samaj; they broke away to form the Sadharan Brahmo Samaj. This statement is incorrect.
4. The Brahmo Samaj, despite its significant reformist contributions, remained primarily an intellectual and ethical movement concentrated among the educated elite in Bengal. It never expanded into a mass movement across India in the 19th century. This statement is incorrect.
Only statement 1 is correct.
– The Cooch Behar marriage of Keshub Chandra Sen’s minor daughter caused a major schism in the Brahmo Samaj.
– The break-away group formed the Sadharan Brahmo Samaj.
– Brahmo Samaj remained largely an elite movement, not a mass movement.