The Raja Who Came to Bristol and Stayed

The Raja who came to Bristol and stayed

Raja Rammohun Roy (which can also be spelt Ram Mohan or Rammohun) was born into a distinguished Brahmin (high caste) family in Bengal.

After a liberal education, he entered the service of the East India Company and rose to high office.
Essentially a humanist and religious reformer, he left the Company to devote his time to the service of his people. Profoundly influenced by European liberalism, Rammohan came to the conclusion that radical reform was necessary in the religion of Hinduism and in the social practices of the Hindus. He founded the Brahmo Samaj at Calcutta in 1828, which was initially known as the ‘Brahmo Sabha’.
Rammohan is remembered in Indian history as the originator of all the more important secular movements in that country. His services to the cause of the abolition of suttee (widows burning themselves to death on their husband’s funeral pyre) are well-known. He was the first feminist in India and his book, Brief remarks regarding modern encroachments on the ancient rights of females (1822), is a reasoned argument in favour of the equality of women.
He argued for the reform of Hindu law, led the protest against restrictions on the press, mobilised the government against oppressive land laws, argued the case for the association of Indians in government, and argued in favour of an English system of education in India.

Rammohan Roy arrived in England in 1831 as the ambassador of the Mughal Emperor Akbar Shah II. He came to stay at Beech House,
Stapleton Grove, Bristol in 1833.
However, ten days after arriving in Bristol, he fell ill with meningitis and died on 27 September 1833. He was initially buried in the grounds of Beech House, but ten years later his friend Dwarakanath Tagore had him reinterred at Arnos Vale. A chattri (funerary monument or mandir /shrine) was designed by William Prinsep and built with sponsorship from Dwarakanath Tagore. In 1997 a statue of Raja Rammohan Roy was placed on College Green. In 2008 his memorial was extensively renovated as part of a larger revamp of the ArnosValeCemetery.

The aim of this activity is to explore historical significance.

Activitiesand Sources:

Sheet 1 – Task Sheet (Exploring Significance).

Sheet 2–Sources

Engraved portrait of Raja Rammohan Roy.
Grave Memorial, Arnos Vale Cemetery.

Sheets 3 – 5 – Sorting Card Activity (The Life of Raja Rammohan Roy); this activity has cards at three different levels of readability. The order of answers is the same for each set: Answers J H I B D G F A I E.

Sheet 6 – Sources

C. Portrait of Raja Rammohan Roy by Henry Briggs.

D. 1923 Photograph – a visit to the memorial by the Raja’s grandson.

Sheet 7 – Memorial Text, Arnos Vale, Bristol.

Sheet 8 – Source

E. Extract from online Indian news report.

Sheet 1

Exploring Significance

Rammohun (or Ram Mohan) Roy was an Indian who was interested in ideas and beliefs. He came to England to share his ideas and listen to other people’s ideas.

Use the sources to explore how significant you think Rammohan Roy was – at the time that he lived, and in modern times.

What do historians mean by the term significance?

What would an individualneed to do to behistorically significant?

Add all of the reasonsyou can within this box.

Sheet 2

Source A: Engraved portrait of Raja Rammohun Roy

Source B: The chattri, or covered memorial, to Raja Rammohun Roy at Arnos Vale Cemetry, Bristol. Designed by William Prinsep; sponsored by Dwarakanath Tagore.

Sheet 3The life of Raja Rammohun Roy: sorting card activity

a. Rammohan travelled to England in 1830, and met with leaders of the Unitarian movement – which campaigns for the world religions to work together – and presented evidence to a committee of the House of Commons.
He was present at the coronation of George IV in 1830. / f.He published an extensive range of writings on religion in the period from 1815-30, and set up a religious college in 1825 and the One God Society in 1828.
He campaigned to reform the Hindu religion,and wrote to defendwomen’s rights.
b.As a young man, Roy’s willingness to accept that parts of other religions might be correct angered his family.
After his father died in 1803 he started to write about world religions. /
g.In 1819 he took part in and won a public debate about worshipping idols with the religious leader Subrahmanya Sastri of Calcutta.
c. Roy died of meningitis on 27 September 1833 at the Beech House, Stapleton, and was buried in the garden. His remains were moved to a purpose-built memorial paid for by Prince Dwarkanath Tagore at Arnos Vale Cemetery, Bristol. /
h. At the end of the 18th century he started to study European history and politics, and showed an interest in the causes of the French Revolution of 1789.
d. In 1814 Rammohan settled in Calcutta where,in 1815,he set up the Atmiya Sabha – an association for discussing different religious issues. /
i.He visited France towards the end of 1832, and met the French king, before returning to England and visiting Mary Carpenter in Bristol in 1833.
e. In 1997,Bristol city unveiled a large statue to Rammohan Roy in a prime city centre location. In 2008 the Raja’s memorial was renovated in a major project sponsored by his admirers from around the world. /
j. Rammohan Roy was born in Radhanagore in West Bengal, India, on
22 May 1772.

Sheet 4The life of Raja Rammohan Roy: sorting card activity

a.Rammohan travelled to England in 1830 to see people who shared his ideas about world religions working together.
He gave evidence about life in India to Parliament.
/
f.He wrote a lot about religion between 1815 and 1830. He set up a religious college in 1825 and a religious society in 1828.
He also wrote about women’s rights.
b. When he was young he argued with his family about religion.
When his father died in 1803, Roy started to write about world religions. /
g. In 1819, people really started to notice him when he won a public debate about idol worship in Calcutta.
c. Roy died of meningitis on 27 September 1833, and was buried in the garden of the house where he died.
Later his body was moved to Arnos Vale Cemetery, Bristol. /
h. From the 1790s he was interested in European history and politics.
d. In 1815 Rammohan set up an association for discussing religions in Calcutta. /
i.In 1832 he visited France. In 1833 he came to visit Mary Carpenter in Bristol.
e. In 1997 a large statue of Rammohan Roy was placed in the centre of Bristol.
In 2008 the Raja’s grave was restored. /
j.Rammohan Roy was born in West Bengal, India, in 1772.

Sheet 5The Life of Raja Rammohan Roy: sorting card activity

a. Roy came to England in 1830 to see people who shared his ideas about world religions. He spoke to MPs about India. /
f. Between 1815 and 1830, Roy wrote about religion a lot and set up a college and a society to discuss religion. He also wrote about women’s rights.
b. He argued with his family about religion, and left home until 1803 when his father died. /
g. In 1819 Roy won a public debate about idol worship in Calcutta.
c. Roy died of meningitis in September 1833. His body was moved to a cemetery in Bristol ten year later. /
h. After 1789 Roy studied European affairs.
d. In 1815 Roy set up an associationin Calcutta for discussing religions. /
i.In 1832 Roy visited France. In 1833 he came to visit Mary Carpenter in Bristol.
e. A big statue of Roy was put up in Bristol in 1997. In 2008 his grave was restored. /
j.Rammohan Roy was born in India, in 1772.

Sheet 6

Source C: Portrait of Raja Rammohan Roy, by Henry Briggs.

Source D:Photograph from 1923; a visit to the memorialby Raja Rammohan Roy’sgrandson.

Source D: The Memorial to Raja Rammohan Roy Bahadoor.
This is the text currently on the grave of the Raja in Bristol.

Sheet 8

Source F: Paying tribute to Rammohun Roy – in the UK

Bristol, Sep 26:While not many in India would know about it, followers of Raja Rammohun Roy, the great Indian social reformer, are quietly preparing to commemorate the 173anniversary of his death in this British city on Sep 27.
Rammohun Roy was born… on May 22, 1772. Rammohun Roy came to England in 1831. However, 10 days after arriving in Bristol, he fell ill with meningitis and died on Sep 27, 1833.
His remains lie buried in the Arnos Vale cemetery on the outskirts of the city. The tomb is covered by a canopy or 'chhatri'. He was initially buried in the grounds of Beech House, where he lived, but 10 years after his death, his friend Dwarkanath Tagore had him re-interred in Arnos Vale.
On Sep 27, Indian Deputy High Commissioner Ranjan Mathai will lead Rammohun Roy's followers, who meet every year at the tomb to mark the death anniversary. The event will also be attended by the Lord Mayor, among others.
Acknowledging Rammohun Roy's contribution to modern India, a statue was installed in 1997 - the 50th year of India's Independence - at a prominent location in the Bristol city centre. The statue was built by the renowned sculptor, Niranjan Pradhan.
The statue was inspired by Rammohun Roy's portrait by Henry Briggs which hangs in the Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery. The statue is 1.5 metres high, made of bronze and weighs approximately 900 kg.

It cost £13,000. However, the statue has generated much controversy over the years, with some Bristol residents questioning why a non-Bristolian should be accorded such a privilege.
It upsets people who consider that the move was simply a symbolic act by politically correct councillors who felt guilty about the British Raj and who wanted to win over the small minority of Asian voters in Bristol.
George Croft of Mangotsfield wrote in the Bristol Evening Post, a prominent local daily: "The Raja means nothing at all to the majority of Bristolians; he did nothing for the city and his statue has no place in its present location.
For those who wish to honour his memory properly, the best place for the statue would be at the cemetery itself, rather than in such a prominent place.
However, a member of the committee that recommended that Rammohun Roy's statue be installed refuted the reasons and asked Croft to "read more about the Raja and his life's work for India and Britain". "He was an international figure, a builder of bridges between races and religions, an educational and social reformer, a fighter for women's rights and a man of courage. Bristol was surely right to honour such a man in this city where he died."
Joel Lewis of Horfield was angered by Croft's suggestion that the statue be moved to the Asian-dominated areas of Easton or Eastville where the Asian community could honour him.
Lewis asked: "Does Croft think that only the Asian community can really appreciate Roy's achievements? I find that incredibly patronising. Can only Black people appreciate the achievements of Martin Luther King? The suggestion to move the statue on these grounds smacks of cultural segregation."
Edited version of article at:

This website is produced on behalf of the Indian Government for Indians overseas.