Shatata-Unnati

By Himanshu Bhatt

'Shatata-Unnati' is continual change, 'abhyas' means improvement, 'kram-parivartanam' is incremental reformation, while 'shodhanam' is refinement. All of these terms are descriptive of Hindu society throughout the ages.

Continual social betterment has been one of the defining characteristics of Hindu society. All major cultures have had evils in their histories, including Hindu societies, but the shining examples to enforce positive changes and adaptability to a changing world are the Hinduism, Christianity, and Judaism.

In an era wherein colonial norms meant imprisonment or executions for speaking out against imperial rule, Mahatma Gandhi challenged the ideas of forcing nations to be subservient, fighting oppression by violence, and purging one's own nation of evils (i.e., inequality and superstition.) Today, much of the world still looks to Gandhi's perseverance to bring positive change into society.

Transformation of India's political systems made India into the world's largest democracy, and for accomplishing that, Hindu doctrines were rationalize to promote democracy. Even in India's political spectrum, Hindu principles were used to make liberalism and communism resonate with people, like Ram Rajya being a communist utopia. Some of the Communist Party of India's founders were idealogues for both communism and Hinduism, such as Swami Kumaranand, Swami Satyabhakt, and Swami Sahajanand Saraswati, as well as Keezhedathu Damodaran, Radhamohan Gokulji, and Rahul Sankrityayan.

Comparison in societal reformation (India and Europe)

See also: Contribution of Hindu Diaspora

Whereas even in modern times, in most European Christian societies, witch-hunts and slavery were the norm, in Indian Hindu societies, widow-burning was the norm among certain communities (usually northwestern) and caste prejudice was prevalent. Both the Christian and Hindu communities worked to extinguish these and other evils.

Historical societal injustices have been acknowledged and reconciled. Even today, the lasting legacy of important Hindu reformers is visible wherein quotas employment and educational quotas are implemented for social upward mobility to ensure poorer castes and women do not fall behind.

During the colonial era, as human rights improved in Western societies as results from agricultural/economic advancements, Western writers of non-Christian societies took a chauvinistic, parochialist, and Eurocentric approach towards Hindu societies, claiming that they:

1. Would never improve in human rights, morality, or rationality
2. Are permanently stagnant
3. Cannot produce modern or political economic institutions

Critics of the colonial era were proven wrong in these concrete ways:

1. Large-scale societal reforms led by Hindu activists themselves improved Hindu societies — i.e., promoting window remarriage and caste integration while also creating quotas for females and historically-disadvantaged castes
2. Rapid expansion of education and intellectual mobility — i.e., growth of global Hindu academic presence
3. Global economic and corporate leadership — i.e., entrepreneurship and CEOs of major multinational companies like Adobe, Google, and Microsoft
4. Democratic political evolution — i.e., maintaining electoral democracies like Hindu-majority nations, providing peaceful transfers of power, and granting significant autonomy to judiciary, press, and civil societies
5. Religious and philosophical continuity + adaptation
6. Ritual practice has diversified massively by religion and class — i.e., clerics (priests and monks) are from many backgrounds
7. Reinterpretation of scriptures became internationally influential — i.e., Aldous Huxley loved the perennialism of Upanishads, Erwin Schrödinger the idea of aikatmyam, and Henry David Thoreau that of Ishavasyam
8. Non-Hindus from outside of the Indian Subcontinent have converted to Sanatan Dharm and have promoted the religion — James Donald Walters who founded Ananda Sangha, Richard Alpert who founded Hanuman Foundation, John Edwin Favors who founded iFast[4][5], and Robert Hansen who founded Saiva Siddhanta Church[6]
9. Hindu-based intellectual practices have popularized globally — i.e., Ayurvedic medicine, divination, political activism, animal rights, vegetarianism, and yoga

Hindu-led social betterment

What is extraordinary in the case of India is that it was the religious institutions (Hindu organizations and schools) that made revolutionary changes, not normally secular or non-Hindu ones. Practicing Hindus saw that superstitious and chauvinistic practices had become institutionalized (caste system and misogyny) within Hindu society, so they formed associations to help, uplift, educate the destitute. They would even go steps further to privilege the marginalized through reservations.

Even women who were more exploratory and not members of specific religions engaged with Hinduism positively. The best example might be Annette Beveridge, an Englishwoman who was the daughter of a Unitarian Christian herself became affiliated with Keshub Chandra Sen in England. She was drawn to his lectures and this fascination with his philosophy inspired her to begin life in India, where she even established the Hindu Mahila Vidyalaya (Hindu Women's School.) Her husband Henry Beveridge was an orientalist (westerners intrigued with Asian cultures) working in India, meaning they were not Westerners critical of Hindu identity. Mrs. Emily Phear was an honorary teacher, and she too was involved in Brahmo Samaji circles for societal development. (Her husband Sir John Budd Phear helped Brahmo Samaj legally.) A non-Hindu that likewise began a girls school (Hindu Female School[7]) with Brahmos and other Hindus was John Bethune, whose accomplices were Dakshinaranjan Mukherjee, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Ramgopal Ghosh, and Madanmohan Tarkalanka (the last even taught at the school without pay.) Others foreign women in India that engaged positively with Hindu activist organizations were Mary Carpenter[8] and Sophia Dobson Collet with Brahmo Samaj, Alma B.R.A. with Arya Samaj, and Mary Hobson with Prarthana Samaj[9].

Hindu women that set women's rights activism into motion were Arya Samaj's Lajwanti Sood and Satyavati Devi, and Brahmo Samaj's Kadambini Ganguly and Sarala Devi Chaudhurani. Swarnakumari Devi was both an Arya Samaji and a Brahmo Samaji.

Female upliftment

See also: Indian Freedom Fighters

Theosophical Society wing

Dr. Reddy and 3 Indian women at the Paris Women's Congress (1926.)

The top 3 champions who politically improved Indian women's rights in the modern era were foreigners — Dr. Annie Besant, Dorothy Jinarajadasa, and Margaret Cousins. They did not tell Indian women to leave Hinduism but rather they themselves became Hindu in practice and Indian in habit. They then sought to restore the Vedic-era of womanhood wherein women had authority (i.e., to become clerics, scholars, and leaders.) Emma Mitchell (American) and Francesca Arundale (English) greatly contributed to building of Hindu educational institutions (i.e., Central Hindu College.)

Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy is a big name in female rights, and she was influenced by Dr. Besant in her college years (1907-1912) and was guided by Dr. Besant in both her social reform and political work. She worked with Dr. Besant and others to establish the Women's Indian Association (1917.) After Dr. Besant's death, she took over the presidency of the WIA. Gandhi was another major mentor but Reddy never formally joined the INC but sometimes protested colonial injustices (i.e., Gandhi's arrest.)

Ramakrishna Mission wing

Nivedita with Vivekanand.

Sister Nivedita (Margaret Noble), a convert from Ireland became a disciple of Swami Vivekanand and joined Aurobindo's Dawn Society and had also founded and ran girls' schools in Kolkata (i.e., Ramakrishna Sarada Mission Sister Nivedita Girls' School[10] in Baghbazar) to educate girls who had little to no access to education (i.e., poorest of the poor.) She advocated for women's intellectual and moral development, influenced by Vivekanand's vision of strong Indian womanhood. Her work included lectures, fundraising (India, England, and U.S.), and writings that promoted gender equality in access to knowledge and opportunities. She had worked with Dr. Annie Besant at times. Likewise, Sister Christine, disciple of Vivekanand, is another example of a Westerner who utilized the Ramakrishna Mission and Vivekanand's circles as vehicles for improving female rights in India.

INC wing

See also: INC's Hindu activist roots

N.S. Gupta.

Nellie Sen Gupta[11] (nee Edith Ellen Gray) had married freedom fighter Jatindra Mohan Sen Gupta, and both joined the INC — she also founded Deepali Sangha, a women's organization aimed at promoting social and political awareness, leadership, training, and empowerment among women. Her husband passed away but she was advised to stay in the-then East Pakistan to take care of Hindu rights, which she did. Umadevi (born Wanda Dynowska), a Polish convert to Sanatan Dharm too championed women's rights in India and translated Bhagavad Gita, Mahabharata, Ramayana, and other Hindu and Bauddh literature into Polish. Mira Behn (born Madeleine Slade), the daughter of a British Royal Navy admiral, gave up her affluent lifestyle to become Gandhi's servant in India.

Sarla Behn's Chipko act[1].

Sarla Behn[12] (born Catherine Mary Heilman) from England setup the Lakshmi Ashram Kausani in 1946 within Uttarakhand to uplift women, after having lived in the Sevagram Ashram[13] in Maharashtra. The organization educated rural hill girls academically, trained women of self-reliance and industrial skills (i.e., khadi weaving), taught personal care (i.e., literacy, hygiene, anti-liquor campaigns), and promoted ecological awareness (Chipko Movement.) It also worked with the INC to encourage nationalist fervour. Lakshmi Ashram individual units were known as Mahila Mandals. This ashram attracted foreign residents intrigued with Sanatan Dharm even after independence, like David Hopkins, who relocated to there in the 1990's.

Dr. D.D.

Dr. Durgabai Deshmukh, pupil of Gandhi and freedom fighter in the colonial era, established the Central Social Welfare Board (1953.) She later became president of the All India Women's Conference (1931.) Taraben Premchand is an important mention, as she was an important member of this organization, as well as the Jain Mahila Parishad[14], Jyoti Sangh[15] (local women's advancement group in Gujarat), and Shraddhanand Ashram[16].

Madeleine Rolland was Women's International League for Peace and Freedom's[17] French section and never settled in India. However, upon engaging with Hindu culture in the 1920's, she translated Ananda Coomaraswamy's The Dance of Shiva into French, introducing Hinduism to the-then residents of France. She also translated Rabindranath Tagore's writings of Sanatan themes and universal humanism, helping popularize them in Europe. She welcomed Gandhi on his visit to Marseille, France.

'Sarada'.

Kanuparti Varalakshmamma (alias 'Sarada'), a devout Gandhian, used Hindu themes like providing ethical refences (i.e., Savitri, Sita) to depict women's morality, dignity, and conduct. She often engaged with the idea of a grihalakshmi (idea woman of the household.) She also founded the Stree Hitaishini Mandali for uplifting women. She used Andhra Patrika, a newspaper created by a promoter of the Bhagavad Gita, Kasinathuni Nageswara Rao, to preach her ideas.

'Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit'.

It is also noteworthy that the 1st female head of government in the world was a Bauddh (Sirimavo Bandaranaike of Sri Lanka, non-INC member), and 2nd was a Hindu (Indira Gandhi, INC member.) Also Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit[18] (born Swaroop Rani Nehru) played a significant role in global representation of women, particularly in the United Nations. She was the first woman to serve as the President of the UN General Assembly (1953-1954), a position she held to advocate for decolonization and the independence of countries in Asia and Africa. Hansa Mehta[19] had an impact on the UN's constitution wording wherein "all human beings" instead of "all men" in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. (She was also one of only 2 women delegates working alongside Eleanor Roosevelt in the UN Human Rights Commission 1946-48.)

'Nilla Nagini Devi'.

Nilla Cram Cook, an American who settled at Gandhi's ashrams, had converted to Hinduism in the 1930's but identified with the 'sarva dharma sambhava' ideal, so considered herself a devotee of not only Krishna but of Jesus too, and so she later also translated the Quran and engaged with Islamic practices in a syncretic way with her Hindu and Christian customs. Her final literary work was The Way of the Swam: Poems of Kashmir (1958), which was mostly focused around the Shaiv mystic poetess Lal Ded[20][21] and others from Kashmir syncretic Sanatan-Bauddh-Sufi tradition. She dedicated the book to Pandit. She didn't work on women's upliftment directly but did participate with Gandhi's Harijan Sevak Sangh. She had also written about Sarojini Naidu.

Other associations

Maharani Chimnabai.

Junior Queen Bayi.

The National Council of Women in India[22], founded 1925, was also a monumental organization to make progress for women — it mainly focused on female literacy, vocational training, public participation, and legal reform. It was primarily the initiative of Lady Meherbai Tata, a Mazdaean icon, and its first president was Maharani Chimnabai Gaekwad II, born Gajrabai Ghatge, a princess of Dewas (M.P.) She supported societal progress of women that did not compromise on Hindu identity (i.e., traditional customs like wearing sari and sindhoor or like celebrating Raksha Bandhan), which is how she framed her The Position of Women in Indian Life book. She financed schools for girls, as well as Hindu charities and temples. The Gaekwad family also funded libraries and women's institutions and social reform initiatives. She discussed the eradication or the purdah, child marriage, women's restrictions (i.e., obtaining education and employment), and other obstacles towards advancement. Following her presidentship, Sethu Parvathi Bayi took over. She was from the royal family of Travancore (Kerala), and her family was deeply connected to the Padmanabhaswamy Temple[23][24]. She financed Hindu institutions as well. It is notable that Sucharu Deo, daughter of Brahmo leader Keshub Chandra Sen was a prominent member and she had also helped build the Maharani Girls' High School[25] in Darjeeling (W.B.) together with her sister (Suniti) and Hemlata Sarkar, daughter of Brahmo leader Sibnath Sastri.

From Hindu-based institutions like sociopolitical organizations and schools came a number of philanthropic associations.

Most influential persons for women's upliftment

Area of Contribution	Meaning	Steps Taken	Activists	Organizations	Founder's Affiliation(s)
Political rights and visibility	1. Women appearing in public political spaces 2. Women being recognized as leaders (not just participants) 3. Changing social norms about women's public roles 4. Symbolic representation	Helped institutionalize women's leadership through bodies like Women's Indian Association	Dr. Annie Besant (women's political rights + organizational leadership), Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay (political participation, economic empowerment, cooperatives), Margaret Cousins[26] (Suffarage, WIA), Sarojini Naidu (mass mobilization of women in politics)
Modern institutional equality		Helped institutionalize institutional equality through contributing policy influence (Hansa Mehta) and constitutional rights (Dr. Durgabai Deshmukh)	Dr. Durgabai Deshmukh (welfare systems), Hansa Mehta
Foundational legal reform			Raja Ram Mohan Roy (abolition of sati), Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (widow remarriage)
Education			Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar

Hindu influence internationally

Even outside of India during the 20th century, women's rights were not perfect, and so many women incorporated Hindu symbolism (i.e., worship) and concepts towards promoting societies where women would have equal rights.

Matilda Joslyn Gage.

Charlotte Despard, an Anglo-Irish suffragist who supported Indian independence.

As worship of God as a female or mother has been common in Sanatan Dharm since its foundation, that made validating female upliftment in India quicker. Even in Western nations, prominent women's rights organizations implemented imagery of goddesses from pertinent ancient cultures, like U.K.'s Women's Freedom League and National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies, and the global International Woman Suffrage Alliance, to legitimize female equality and women being in positions of power. Some Western feminists and women's rights activists, like Matilda Joslyn Gage (U.S. suffragist) and Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (European feminist), even used the examples of Hindu goddess-worship and Hindu queens to support their examples. (M.J. Gage[27] in her Woman, Church, and State even highlighted Hindu texts to counter the male-centric theology of the West and referenced Bhagavad Gita to validate the concept of a female divinity.) Even feminists of the colonial era like Victoria Woodhull that was skeptical of organized religion, respected "Christna and Buddha" (Krishna and Gautama.) Mary Lowe Dickinson at the World's Parliament Circles (1893) was so impressed by Swami Vivekanand's speech, that she developed a fascination with female divinity of Hinduism, and in her editorials and public circles, argued that Hinduism's recognition of a feminine aspect within the divine was spiritually superior to the rigidly patriarchal, all-male Trinity of mainstream American Christianity. Emily Pitts Stevens and Charlotte LeMoyne Wills (wrote about the genderless Brahm) became disciples of Vivekanand. Laura de Force Gordon wrote about the immortal soul and continuous cycle of life. Alice Moore McComas wrote about the interconnectedness (aikatmyam) of all things. In U.K., Charlotte Despard's specific pamphlets linked karma to political activism. Margaret Louise Sanger was influenced by Vivekanand and Rabindranath Tagore. Sarah Bull, who particularly focused on women's education and reform was connected to both Vivekanand and Sister Nivedita. Josephine MacLeod was a major promoter of Vivekanand in the West and was involved in transatlantic reform-intellectual networks. Viktoria Ocampo of Argentina was deeply influenced by Tagore, even hosting him in Argentina and promoting his ideas widely. Gabriela Mistral of Chile was too, and she applied Tagore's ideas to women's education, child welfare, and cultural reform. Mabel Dodge Luhan was fascinated with Sanatan philosophy and influenced by Vivekanand. Mentionable is Emma Calve of France, who wasn't a political feminist leader but influential in women's intellectual-cultural circles, and she was deeply influenced by Vivekanand.

Carol Patrice Christ.

After suffragists had attained complete institutional equality, they them progressed to the next stage of female liberation by ensuring that their own spiritual faith wasn't male-chauvinistic or making them subordinates of males. Feminists were inspired by goddess deity of Hinduism to then promote it within generic spirituality. Valerie Saiving, Isaac Bonewits and Naomi Goldenberg founded in the 1970's, Thealogy, a feminine-specific theology. Carol Patrice Christ launched the Goddess Movement, which provided 4 aspects of Goddess symbolism as reasons to needing a goddess in women's lives; 1) the Goddess as affirmation of female power, 2) the female body, 3) the female will, and 4) women's bond and heritage. She specifically used the Shakti concept to prove that a major global religion (Hinduism) explicitly defined the material universe/nature/change (Prakriti) as an inherently active, female, and sacred force. She was an ecofeminist, as were Charlene Spretnak and Miriam Simos were ecofeminists too. Merlin Stone wrote Ancient Mirrors of Womanhood: Our Goddess and Heroine Heritage (1979) and in a chapter analyzes goddesses like Durga, Kali, Lakshmi, Parvati, and Saraswati. Devout Christian women feminists too drew on Hindu practices and ideas to support women's advocacy, and they include Ivone Gebara, Pearl Sydenstricker Buck, and Sally McFague.

'Matriarchal religion' is a philosophy stating that societies were Goddess worshippers with females having the same status and rights as men before male gods began being worshipped, and the latter led to patriarchy. Goddesses being worshipped contiguously in Hindu societies for thousands of years was the backing this thought utilized, in addition to feminist archaeology (i.e., ancient idols and temples of goddesses uncovered.)

Start of modern reforms

In modern India, most positive social changes within Indian Hindu societies came not first as enforcement or pressure from European rulers but from advocacy of forward-thinking Hindus. Raja Ram Mohan Roy had led the campaign to purge Hindu societies of Sati and caste prejudices. Roy worked with British imperial authority, specifically Lord William Bentinck to have sati outlawed. Roy himself was a religious leader that reiterated Upanishads for their principles.

Other institutions of positive social changes were mainly Hindu ones or were governed by Hindu religious leaders, not secular ones.

The Indian National Social Conference of 1887 was organized by Mahadev Govind Ranade, Rai Raghunath Rao, Narendra Nath Sen Gupta, and Janki Nath Ghoshal. Ranade was founder of the Prarthana Samaj, a religious group.

Arya Samajis, Brahmo Samajis, and Prarthana Samajis were the most vocal and active forces advocating:

1. Widow Remarriage (i.e., Widow Remarriage Act 1856—initiative of Brahmo Samaj)
2. Women's right to divorce (i.e., Native Marriage Act 1872—initiative of Brahmo Samaj)
   
3. Property rights for women
   
4. Opposition to child marriages (i.e., Age of Consent Act 1891—initiative of Brahmo Samaj and Prarthana Samaj, Child Marriage Restraint Act 1929—initiative of Arya Samaj)
   
5. Universal accessible education (built schools, including colleges and gurukuls)
   
6. Caste-based reservations

Royal authority to implement reforms

Prince Yeshwantrao Ghatge being adopted by the royal family of Kohlapur.

Rajarshi Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj.

Foundation of Shri Shahu Chhatrapati Shikshan Sanstha.

The greatest champion on all of these sections for reforms was Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj[28] (born Yeshwantrao Ghatge), 'Rajarshi', the ruler of Kohlapur Kingdom who affiliated with organizations but probably the Arya Samaj[29] more than any other. Shahu definitely was not shy to publicly perform prayers, as he famously attended temples of goddesses Ambabai[30] and Bhavani[31] when having returned from his Europe trip in 1902. Also in 1902, Pratap Singh Maharaj of Idhar (Gujarat) introduced and educated him about the Arya Samaj. He provided patronage to the Arya Samaj.[32]

The king passed many policies for for the upliftment of untouchable, nomadic, non-Brahmin communities and for females.

Prejudiced disgruntled castists against Arya Samaj universalism

While Shahu was affiliated with the Satyashodhak Samaj, he did not feel they had any religious foundations, whereas the Arya Samaj was encompassed both a spiritual and social movement. Also, the Satyashodhak Samaj was antithetical to social cohesion because it targeted the Brahman caste as an enemy, and while its main founder (Jyotirao Phule) made absurd claims like 'Shiv-Dharma' or 'Mahadev-Dharma' (worship of Shiv as God and some local gods like Khandoba as avatars) being the true religion of Indians whereas every other Hindu belief and practice was an imposition by 'non-Indian Brahman invaders'. Being a chauvinist, he also criticized freedom fighter martyrs Lakshmi Bai, Nana Sahib, Tantia Tope for being Brahmans. Notable is that Phule's friend Narayan Meghaji Lokhande, a labour union leader, was close friends with Phule and used Khandoba-worship and the reverence of Sundays for Khandoba in his petition to achieve Sunday as a holiday for factory labourers. Phule and Lokhande emulated Brahmans like forming the political lobby group Deenbandhu Sarvajanik Sabha after Justice Ranade's Poona Sarvajanik Sabha and forming the Bombay Mill Hands Association based and its mouthpiece Deenbandhu on the Working Men's Club (India's 1st labor welfare platform) and its mouthpiece Bharat Sramajibi (India's 1st labor journal) of Sasipada Banerjee (Brahmo Samaji.) It is also noteworthy, however, is that Nana Patil, a founder of the Peasants and Workers Party (PWP), was affiliated with both the Satyashodhak and Prarthana associations [meaning that he, like most other Satyashodhaks didn't believe in Phule's religious ideology.] PWP founders Keshavrao Jedhe and Madhavrao Bagal were Satyashodhaks, they popularized Shiv Jayanti and Ganesh Chathuri. The latter and his son Vasantrao even wrote devotional pieces inspired from Bhakti Era saints (i.e., Tukaram, Eknath) and valourizing pieces about Shahu. Tulshidas Jadhav, a Gandian within the PWP, championed the Bhakti Era's Warkari Movement, which was still popular in his time, because it was based on social equality and public seva. Also noteworthy is, that even some prominent members supported the Arya Samaj, like Krishnarao Bhalekar (1 of the founders) defended Dayanand Saraswati (Arya Samaj’s founder), when the latter’s procession was opposed by some orthodox Hindus in Pune, and Bhalekar organized a speech to be delivered by Saraswati at a dharmshal near a Rokdoba Temple in Pune.

As a result of the Satyashodhak Samaj being too antagonistic of Brahmans, Shahu had instead founded his own branch in 1911 — Shree Shahu Satyashodhak Samaj. Noteworthy is that Anna Babaji Latthe, who worked personally with Shahu Maharaj, was its first VP and that he worked to dismantle priestly intermediation within the Jain clergy. (He was a big-time activist for general upliftment and for reform within the Jain community (i.e., wrote Jain Dharmacha Parichay.)

Granting, accommodating, and expanding Arya Samaj

Shahu attended Arya Samaj sessions like the one at Navsari in 1918 and another at Bhavnagar in 1920. He provided funding for Gurukul Boarding House to be built at Kerle, wherein large buildings and well-irrigated lands were granted to the Arya Samaj. Later, the Rajaram Anathalaya orphanage was added to this grant. He also brought educational institutions in his domain under the leadership of Arya Pratinidhi Sabha. Rajaram College's administration was also granted to the Arya Samaj.

Spiritual Authority as Rajarshi

Shahu Maharaj, being a devout Sanatan wanted to proclaim the rights that warriors of history had and so participated in important ceremonies and worked with priests (i.e., Brahmans) to achieve the rights to learn and perform Vedic ceremonies. He established the Vedokta Committee for Marathas to be able to perform Vedic rites without requiring priests. In 1905, the Karveer Peeth's (or Kolhapur Math's) Shankaracharya declared full rights of Vedokta to Chhatrapati Shahu.

Tatyarao Joshirao was appointed by Shahu Maharaj as new royal purohit, replacing the Rajopadhye (creator of the infamous 'Vedokta Controversy'), who denied the Maharaj to perform Vedic rites. Joshirao was from a family that had traditional ownership of the historic Binkhambi Ganapati Mandir in Kolhapur.

Rajaram Shastri (alias 'Bhagavata'), a Brahman scholar, linguist, and researcher, openly challenged the religious orthodoxy, arguing from scripture that Shahu Maharaj had full rights to the Vedas. Vishnu Topkhane was another Brahman who greatly helped the Chhatrapati with his progressive reforms. Topkhane the educationalist helped the latter establish the Vidyapeeth High School near the Shree Karveer Niwasini Ambabai Mahalakshmi Temple. Freedom fighter Gopal Krishna Gokhale was someone who worked with Shahu. When the Vedokta Controversy broke out and the conservative press attacked the Maharaja, Gokhale privately and publicly validated Shahu Maharaj's stance, recognizing that social reform was a prerequisite for true political freedom. Justice Ranade, though passed away before much Shahu's reforms began, was admired by the latter for his progressive ideals and actions.

Chhatrapati Shahu founded the Satyashodhak School for spiritual training in 1913, in which seminarians (predominantly from castes such as Marathas, Mahars, and Chambhars) were taught to recite and preach the poems (i.e., abhangs of Tukaram) of sants. He also created the Shivaji Vedic School (aliases 'Shahu Vedic School', 'Shahu Vedic Pathshala', 'Shri Shahu Vaidik Vidyalay') in 1920 and had invited scholars from Varanasi (spiritual capital of Sanatan Dharm) to ensure the highest standard of scriptural and linguistic training. The school trained seminarians (of all castes) to learn Sanskrit and become priests and conduct ceremonies. He further established and financed the office of the Kshatra Jagadguru (Warrior Universal Teacher), a pontiff seat open to anyone of any caste. The first Kshatra Jagadguru was Sadashivrao Lakshmanrao Sankpal Patil Benadikar, was an accomplished Sanskrit scholar who received his formal higher education at Rajaram College in Kolhapur. The Kshatra Jagadguru Peeth was the pontiff's seat at Patgaon (in the Bhudargad region of Kolhapur.) Patgaon was chosen because it was the historic site of the Mauni Maharaj Math[33], a highly respected spiritual center that had historically blessed Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj[34].

Successive associations

From Hindu-based institutions like sociopolitical organizations and schools came a number of philanthropic associations. Even other humanitarian associations that were not established by Hindu activists, were established by their influence. For example, Krishna Gopal Gokhale had participated in many sessions of the Prarthana Samaj as he was Ranade's pupil, and he later joined the Deccan Education Society, which he left to establish the Servants of India Society. Narayan Malhar Joshi was a member of Gokhale's group and later formed his own Social Service League[35]. Hriday Nath Kunzru too was part of Gokhale's group and left to establish the Seva Samiti.

Organization	Demographic of Focus	Region(s)	Founder	Founder's Affiliation(s)	Achievement
Anath Balikashram Society	Widows	Maharashtra	Dhondo Keshav Karve	Educated at BHU
Andhra Mahila Sabha	Females	Andhra Pradesh	Durgabai Deshmukh
Bharat Stree Mahamandal	Females	Bengal, Bihar, Punjab, Sindh, U.P.	Sarala Devi Chaudhurani	Arya Samaji, Brahmo Samaji, accepted Bijoy Krishna Chattopadhyaya as her guru
Central Social Welfare Board	Females and children		Dr. Durgabai Deshmukh
Hindu Widow Marriage Association	Females	Maharashtra	Dhondo Keshav Karve	Educated at BHU
Hindustani Seva Dal	Females	Every province	Dr. Narayan Subbarao Hardikar		Established the Hindustani Seva Mandal (later became Rashtriya Seva Dal) in 1923, established the Arya Bala Sabha, taught the Gita during his student days in Kolkata, was a fan of Lokmanya Tilak, and had enthusiastically worked with Lala Rai
Indian Reform Association	Females	West Bengal	Keshub Chandra Sen		Brahmo Samaji, founded Sulabh Samachar as weekly newspaper of group
Kasthurbha Gandhi Kanya Gurukulam[36]	Girls	Tamil Nadu (Vedaranyam)	Vedaratnam Pillai		Involved in temple-based philanthropy and donated to Sri Ramakrishna Mission too
Lakshmi Ashram	Females	Uttarakhand	Sarla Behn		Established individual Mahila Mandals throughout Uttarakhand and promoted important skills as well as ecological awareness
Lokahitawadi Mandal	Females and males	Maharashtra	Vishnu Vaman Shirwadkar		Wrote about Hindu themes, including persons from scriptures and about Shivaji poetically, philosophically, and nationally
Maharshi Karve Stree Shikshan Samstha	Females	Maharashtra	Dhondo Keshav Karve	Educated at BHU
Mahila Vidyalaya (Pune)	Females	Maharashtra	Dhondo Keshav Karve	Educated at BHU
Nishkam Karma Math	Females	Maharashtra	Dhondo Keshav Karve	Educated at BHU
Poona Seva Sadan	Females	Maharashtra (at its peak, included M.P. and T.N.)	Ramabai Ranade
Samata Sangh	Men and Women	Maharashtra	Dhondo Keshav Karve	Educated at BHU
Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA)	Females	18 states	Ela Bhatt	Gandhian Textile Labour Association	Established: own bank (Shri Mahila Sewa Sahakari Bank, or 'SEWA Cooperative Bank'), SEWA Mahila Housing Trust
Servants of the People Society	Females	Kerala, Maharashtra, M.P., Odisha T.N., Uttarakhand U.P.
Shraddhanand Ashram[37] (alias Hindu Women's Welfare Society)	Females and boys	Maharashtra (Mumbai)	Swami Shraddhanand		Has cared for thousands of destitute women and orphans, and educated them and provided skills development, as well as fostered personal development
Stree Hitaishini Mandali	Females	Andhra Pradesh	Kanuparti Varalakshmamma		Educated many females
Widow Marriage Association	Females	Maharashtra	Dhondo Keshav Karve	Educated at BHU

Inspiration to Madras Presidency

Mylai Chinna Thambi Pillai Rajah (the real 'Periyar'.)

While the Arya Samaj, Brahmo Samaj, Prarthana Samaj, and a host of other Hindu-based humanitarian and sociopolitical institutions existed in the-then Madras Presidency of southern India, they inspired local organizations as well. Shahu Maharaj had friends in the-then Justice Party (JP, est. 1916), like Arcot Ramasamy Mudaliar and Panaganti Ramarayaningar. While some ethnic groups, like certain castes even falsely supported the idea of an 'Aryan Invasion Theory' and themselves (Dravidian-languages speakers) as indigenous, they still appreciated Hinduism and did not consider it alien.

The biggest uplifter of the party was M.C. Rajah, who had the highest influence upon the policies that improved the lives of the Dalits in Madras Presidency. The party itself was founded primarily by 3 individuals — Sir Pitti Theagaraya Chetty (political founder who built the political machine), Dr. Taravath Madhavan Nair (ideological co-founder), and Dr. Chintadripet Natesa Mudaliar (cultural/grassroots mobilizer who helped shape cultural legitimacy.) Dr. Nair had said that Hindu society had originally possessed broader equality before caste dominance hardened it. Chetty occasionally used dharm-based ethical framing. He is consistently described as arguing that governance must align with "dharma and justice". The Dr. Mudaliar was a devout Shaiva that infused into the party Shaivism as a cultural identity for southerners.

P.T. Rajan (centre-right, wearing glasses next to priest), touring with the idol of Ayyappa he had made at Swamimalai Temple[2] and it was placed in the Sabarimala Temple[3].

An ideologue of influence to the JP and Self-Respect Movement was Maraimalai Adigal, a Shaiv preacher and writer, who claimed that both the JP and Self-Respect Movement were from his teachings and that militant atheist Erode Venkatappa Ramasami Naicker had hijacked them. JP founder Dr. Nair died in 1919 and Chetty in 1925, so had no interaction Naicker. Ponnambala Thiaga Rajan was an active party member and disagreed with Naicker's ideology, so joined Congress-aligned politics. Mudaliar died in 1935 around the time Naicker entered the JP. Naicker was also a prejudiced castist that criticized but did not contribute to build schools and shelters for women and children, as Rajah[38][39][40], a practicing Hindu of the party did. Rajah even once formed a political alliance with the Hindu Mahasabha, was the contributor. Before Rajah, the party's caste disparity was mainly about civil service occupations and education access for underprivileged castes. Rajah was recommended by Ambedkar to convert but Rajah replied there's no religion better than Hinduism. Adigal's writings had a profound impact on Subramania Ramanathan, the founder of the Self-Respect Movement, and on the Naicker but the latter only wanted pro-Tamil and castist societal changes, not promotion of Shaivism. Naicker would later break away from the party and form his own Dravidar Kazhagam, a title he copied from Adigal's Shaiv association (Podhunilak Kazhagam.) (His own pupil, Conjeevaram Natarajan Annadurai, would eventually disown him after he married his own adopted daughter, and Annadurai would leave his group.)

Alamelu Mangai Thayarammal, a Brahmo Samaji, was co-founder of the party among 29 others (all men.)

The Hindu sentiment was definitely present in the JP. Many left after Naicker's hijacking. Important members bothered by Naicker's rhetoric apart from Rajan were Ananda Prasad Patro, Arunachalam Thamaraiselvam Panneerselvam, Muthiah Annamalai Chettiar, Ramasamy Kandasamy Shanmukham Chetty, and Subbarayalu Kumaraswami Reddiar. Chettiar even personally regularly donated to temple renovations, endowing temple lands or festivals, supporting pilgrimage facilities, and Hindu-managed schools. Rajan, the last leader of the JP, was the head-of-government of the Presidency, and was a big devotee a Swami Ayyappa. Rajan even solemnized a marriage of a German couple converted to Hinduism in Coimbatore (Oct 31, 1962.) He further discouraged conversion of Dalits from Hinduism to another religion while encouraging caste-Hindus to better treat Dalits. His family had deep ties to the Meenakshi Amman Temple[41] in Madurai, with his son (Palanivel Rajan), serving as a minister, and his daughter-in-law (Rukmani), serving as the first female chairperson of the temple's board of trustees. His predecessor Ramakrishna Ranga Rao denied that the JP was anti-Hindu and declared that it aimed to purify Hindu society from "absurdities" and return "Hinduism greater and more glorious than it was in the past..." Alamelu Mangai Thayarammal, conferred 'Pandithai' title by Saiva Sabha in Palamcottah, was a JP co-founder [with 29 co-founders being men] who was a Brahmo Samaji, meaning the influence of the Hindu-based organizations wasn't insignificant. Paramasivan Subbarayan Gounder, while not technically a JP member, worked with it closely, and both he and his women's rights activist wife Kailash Radhabai Kulmud were Brahmos. It is also noteworthy that ascetic Swamiyar Kaivalyar who supported the party without being a member wrote pro-Shaiv material. Cattamanchi Ramalinga Reddy, an ex-member who formed his own party in 1923 was a close friend of Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, and he himself engaged with Hindu texts on a literary artistic level. As Hinduism isn't a scripture-dependent religion, some JP members like A.R. Mudaliar heavily criticized certain scriptures but were devout Hindus (Vaishnav in his case.) And while orthodox opposition was present, the majority of Indians, including religious leaders, supported reforms, like when Shankaracharya of Kanchi[42] supported the "Hindu Religious Endowments Bill" (1921) even while voicing some concerns in within. Mentionable is that Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy wasn't part of the JP but it still nominated her in 1926 for the Madras Legislative Council to bring about positive changes.

Related articles

• Women
• Women as Rishikas in the Vedas
• Worship of God as Mother

External resources

• "Changing status of women in Indian politics (1917-1947): the role of civil society" , P. 42-45 International Journal of Humanities & Social Science Studies Volume-I, Issue-II (September 2014) By Abhisek Karmakar
• Besant Hill School of Happy Valley in Ojai, California
• Annie Besant Women's College in Hyderabad, Telangana
• Arya Mahila Mandal (Mauritius)
• Arya Mahila Mandal Karol Bagh
• Vatika Shakti Peeth

Contributors to this article

Himanshu Bhatt

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