Prarthana Samaj: Founder, History, Objectives

The Prarthana Samaj was a prayer society and Reformist movement in Maharashtra founded by Atmaram Pandurang in 1867. Its emphasis was on social and religious transformation. The Prarthana Samaj played a significant role in addressing social issues with The “Four-Point” Social Agenda such as caste discrimination, women’s education, widow remarriage, and Raising the Age of Marriage, making it a cornerstone in the progression towards a more inclusive Indian society. Prarthana Samaj drew its spiritual oxygen from the Bhakti saints of Maharashtra (like Tukaram, Namdev, and Eknath).

• Prarthana Samaj was founded by Atmaram Pandurang in Maharashtra in 1867, and Keshub Chandra Sen significantly influenced its formation.
• Prominent leaders associated with the movement included Mahadev Govind Ranade, Bhandarkar, N.G. Chandavarkar, and K.T. Telang.

• The Prarthana Samaj, founded in 1867 in Bombay (now Mumbai) by Dr. Atmaram Pandurang and influenced by the ideas of the Brahmo Samaj, was a reformist movement focused on social and religious changes.
• It drew inspiration from Keshab Chandra Sen, a prominent Brahmo leader, and aimed to promote monotheism while rejecting idolatry and superstitions.

• It preached monotheism and denounced idolatry, priestly domination and caste distinctions.
• It emphasises universal brotherhood and equality of all castes.
• It promoted women’s education and widow remarriage.
• It demanded the raising of the marriageable age for both males and females.

• Under Mahadev Govind Ranade’s (1842-1901) leadership, the Prarthana Samaj actively participated in social reform.
• Ranade believed that an ideal Hindu society existed in ancient times, but it had been corrupted by ignorance and superstition during a period of decline.
• He argued that reform was about liberating society from wrongfully imposed constraints and envisioned a comprehensive regeneration of society.
• Ranade articulated his vision of reform as transitioning from constraints to freedom, credulity to faith, status to contract, authority to reason, and blind fatalism to human dignity.
• He regarded social reform as an obligatory duty rather than a mere pastime, emphasising that a true reformer builds upon the incomplete sentences of history.

• Ranade was one of the 72 leaders who founded the Indian National Congress in 1885.
• He believed in the synergy between political movements and social reforms.
• However, when he noticed that the Congress focused solely on politics, he established the Indian National Social Conference in 1887.
• This conference aimed to develop principles that connected political and religious movements of the time.

The followers of the Prarthana Samaj formed many organizations for carrying out social and religious reforms like the Widow Remarriage Association, Deccan Educational Society, and Depressed Classes Mission in the state of Maharashtra.

They carried out reform movements through these organizations.

There were branches of the Prarthana Samaj in many cities like Poona (Pune), Surat, Ahmedabad, Karachi, Kirkee, Kohlapur, and Satara.

Its activities also reached South India where Veerasalingam Pantulu made an important contribution.

Following the visit of Swami Dayanand Saraswati to Gujarat and Maharashtra in the year 1875, a section of the followers of Prarthana Samaj headed by S.P. Kelkar became attracted to the Aryan ideology of Dayanand Saraswati and left the samaj temporarily.

This section, however, eventually came back to Prarthana Samaj and adopted syncretism in their ideology in relation to Bhakti of Maharashtra.

Who founded the Prarthana Samaj?

It was founded by Atmaram Pandurang in Bombay in 1867.

What are the principles of Prarthaan Samaj?

The principles of Prarthana Samaj included monotheism, abolition of idolatry, promotion of social reforms such as widow remarriage, abolition of child marriage, upliftment of women, and removal of caste discrimination while emphasizing ethical living and spiritual progress.