Question map
Who among the following founded the Dharma Sabha?
Explanation
The Dharma Sabha was founded in 1830 in Calcutta by Radhakanta Deb [1]. It was established as an orthodox Hindu response to the socio-religious reforms of the era, specifically as a 'counterblast' to the Brahmo Samaj movement [3]. The primary impetus for its formation was the British government's abolition of Sati in 1829 under Lord William Bentinck; the Sabha sought to preserve the status quo and petitioned the Privy Council to repeal the ban. Despite its conservative stance on religious customs, Radhakanta Deb was a proponent of Western education and advocated for female education, co-authoring works on the subject [1]. Other figures mentioned in the options, such as Keshab Chandra Sen and Akshay Kumar Datta, were associated with the reformist Brahmo Samaj and Tattvabodhini Sabha respectively [2].
Sources
- [1] Rajiv Ahir. A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM. > Chapter 9: A General Survey of Socio-Cultural Reform Movements > Dharma Sabha > p. 224
- [3] Rajiv Ahir. A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM. > Chapter 9: A General Survey of Socio-Cultural Reform Movements > Keshab Chandra Sen and the Brahmo Samaj > p. 210
- [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dharma_Sabha