• Brahmo Samaj, theistic movement within Hinduism, founded in Calcutta [now Kolkata] in 1828 by Ram Mohan Roy.
• In 1869, the Brahma Samaj branch was established in Hyderabad.
• In Hyderabad, 1st Brahma Samaj meeting was held at Sultan Bazar in 1914 under the presidency of Narayana Govinda Vellinkar.
• The important member of Brahma Samaj in Andhra during those days was Raghupati Venkataratnam Naidu.
• The Brahmo Samaj does not accept the authority of the Vedas, has no faith in avatars (incarnations), and does not insist on belief in karma (causal effects of past deeds) or samsara (the process of death and rebirth).
• It discards Hindu rituals and adopts some Christian practices in its worship.
• Influenced by Islam and Christianity, it denounces polytheism, image worship, and the caste system.
• The Brahmo Samaj believed in the unity of all religions.
• Prominent Leaders of Brahmo Samaj were Debendranath Tagore (father of Rabindra Nath Tagore), Keshub Chandra Sen, Pt. Sivnath Shastri, and Rabindranath Tagore.
• Later in 1866, Brahma Sabha was split into two, namely Brahmo Samaj of India led by Keshub Chandra Sen and Adi Brahmo Samaj led by Debendranath Tagore.
• It was the forerunner of all social, religious and political movements of modern India.

About Raja Ram Mohan Roy (1772 – 1833)

• He was born into a traditional Bengali Hindu family in Radhanagar, in the Hooghly District of Bengal Presidency in May 1772.
• Ram Mohan’s education included studying Persian and Arabic in Patna for his higher studies. He studied the Quran, the Arabic translations of Plato and Aristotle’s works, and the writings of Sufi mystic poets.
• At the age of fifteen, Raja Rammohun Roy had acquired knowledge of Bangla, Persian, Arabic, and Sanskrit. He was also proficient in Hindi and English.
• He traveled to Varanasi and delved deeply into the study of the Vedas, the Upanishads, and Hindu philosophy.
• He also researched Christianity and Islam.
• He penned a logical criticism of Hindu idol worship when he was sixteen years old.
• Between 1809 and 1814, he held a position in the Revenue Department of the East India Company and also acted as a private Diwan to Woodforde and Digby.
• Starting in 1814, he focused his life on advocating for religious, social, and political changes.
• During his speech titled ‘Pioneer of the Modern Era in India,’ Tagore called Ram Mohan ‘a shining star in the Indian historical sky.’
• He died of an illness while visiting England as a representative of the Mughal king Akbar Shah II, who was the father of Bahadur Shah. He passed away in Bristol, England in September 1833.
• The Mughal Emperor of Delhi, Akbar II granted him the title ‘Raja’ and he conveyed Akbar II’s complaints to the British monarch.